Going Off The Grid: NBA All-Star Panelists Discuss Biggest Issues Facing League

"Going Off The Grid" is a weekly survey of sports execs and personalities offering their thoughts on a handful of pressing (and trivial) issues in sports and pop culture. With the NBA All-Star Game headed to The Big Easy this weekend, our panelists discuss the biggest issues facing the league and weigh in on international expansion.

• TNT's Kenny Smith
  – His favorite basketball movie is "Cornbread, Earl and Me."
• State Farm Advertising Dir Ed Gold
  – Loves movies, primarily action and comedies. His go-to mindless TV show is "American Pickers."
• New Orleans Times-Picayune Pelicans beat writer John Reid
  – Enjoys '80s music -- Loose Ends, New Edition and Kashif.
• Smoothie King Center GM Alan Freeman
  – Tries to stay informed about trends in pop culture -- not an easy task with technology evolving daily.

Going Off The Grid
	Future NBA franchise - Mexico City or London?	The biggest issue facing the NBA is...	Most memorable dunk/dunker at the All-Star Game	Moving the ASG from Charlotte to New Orleans was...	An untapped All-Star Game market
Smith	London	There isn't a negative issue facing the league - it's in a great space right now	Chris "Birdman" Andersen	Ahead of the curve	Miami hasn't hosted in a while - everything there is centrally located
Gold	Overseas travel is tough - Mexico City	Maintaining the positive momentum in the league	I'm a Chicago guy, so gotta go MJ from the free throw line	Very difficult, but I appreciate Adam Silver putting the NBA's conviction into action	I'm ready to head to Memphis!
Reid	Mexico City	It's becoming strictly a 3-point shooting contest - get back to the basics	Dwight Howard - still see him soaring with that Superman cape	A strong move by the NBA	Portland - nice arena, nice area
Freeman	Hard to see how a standalone European team would work with scheduling	Sports in general are overexposed	Dwight Howard when he donned the Superman outfit	A tough loss for Charlotte	The NBA has expressed a desire to return to Charlotte - a great idea