Jeremy Lin and Players We Want to See in NBA All-Star Weekend

Every season we see guys left out of NBA All-Star Weekend for one reason or another.

Naturally there will be snubs from the All-Star Game itself, but the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Shootout are never selected properly either.

Add to that some snubs from the new Rising Stars Challenge and there are plenty of guys who won't be involved in All-Star Weekend that should be.

Here's a look at a list of players we would like to see added to the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend on Feb. 24-25.

Jeremy Lin

Given his popularity, if the New York Knicks would have turned to Jeremy Lin a month ago, he very well could be an All-Star starter.

Either way, NBA commissioner David Stern needs to find a spot somewhere for the NBA's latest phenom.

In his seven-game rise to success, Lin has averaged 24.4 points and 9.1 assists per game in leading the Knicks to seven straight wins.

By comparison, if Lin were eligible by the amount of games played to be ranked among the league leaders, he would rank fifth in the NBA in scoring and third in assists.

The NBA renamed the Rookie-Sophomore game the Rising Stars Challenge, and quite frankly there's no more bigger rising star in the NBA right now than Lin.

Iman Shumpert

Shumpert's case is much different than the case of Lin for inclusion to the Rising Stars Challenge.

In Lin's case, the rosters were already set. In Shumpert's case, he should have been included from the start.

Shumpert has averaged over 10 points, three rebounds and three assists per game and is becoming not only one of the better defensive rookie guards in the league, but one of the better defensive guards period, averaging 2.12 steals per game.

While rookies such as Tristian Thompson and Kawhi Leonard have promise, Shumpert is producing now and deserved a spot.

LeBron James

Sure, LeBron is starting in the All-Star Game on Sunday, but what fan doesn't want to see James compete in the Slam Dunk Contest?

You can make the case about how competing in it would go a long way to repair his reputation around the NBA, but that's not why we want to see him dunking on the 25th.

It's very simple: NBA fans would like to see a great dunk contest and a showdown between James and Blake Griffin.

His 55 dunks to date have him ranked seventh in the NBA, but you can't have a real dunk contest without some of the best pure dunkers in the league.

Blake Griffin

The NBA has the chance to give its fans something great on the 25th.

It can take us back to the old days of Michael Jordan vs. Dominique Wilkins, back when the dunk contest was at its best.

Griffin is the defending champ, so let's get him in the contest.

Griffin vs. LeBron in the dunk contest. If David Stern wants ratings, here's his chance.

Ray Allen

No disrespect to the six men included in the three-point contest, but you can't have a shooting contest without including the greatest three-point shooter in the history of the game.

Plus the three-point contest was much better with eight participants instead of the six that we've seen lately.

It's not like Allen isn't having a good year shooting the basketball. He's knocking shots down from behind the arc at a .491 clip, which is better than any of the six participants that will be competing in the event.

Jeremy Evans

Evans can flat out throw it down.

He may be the best dunker that not many people know about, but for a guy that doesn't get much playing time, Evans can certainly create some highlights above the rim.

If you aren't going to get the top names into the contest, Evans is a guy capable of doing some big things.

Rudy Gay

Gay probably deserves to be playing in the All-Star Game on the 26th, and his averages of 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game should get him in the conversation as an injury replacement, should an injury occur to a Western Conference selection.

If he's not in the game though, Gay should be throwing them down Saturday night in the dunk contest as well.

He's dunked the ball 59 times on the season and is capable of doing so highlight-reel stuff in a dunk contest environment.

Monta Ellis

Ellis is a pure scorer, and the All-Star Game is about scoring. If there's a chance to get him in this game, then it needs to be done.

He's the NBA's seventh-leading scorer at 22 points per game and is the highest scorer of any player not selected to either All-Star roster.

Ellis is more deserving of a spot on the Western Conference roster than some guys, and it would be nice to see a guy like Ellis get a spot that he quite frankly has earned.