NBA commissioner David Stern poses with an All-Star jersey with a replica of the Statue of Liberty wearing an All-Star uniform in the background. All-Star weekend in Las Vegas will feature the three-point-shooting and slam-dunk contests tonight and the game Sunday.

Las Vegas ? There was all the usual Las Vegas talk Friday about gambling and sex.

As far as the basketball, the best of that came from Scottie Pippen, who let it be known he’s looking for a job in the NBA – as a player.

It was a strange start to the most unusual All-Star weekend in NBA history, where the best kind of veteran knowledge was how to handle one of the many temptations this gambling mecca has to offer.

“I just know don’t hit on 17,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant said.

Some locals are calling Sunday’s All-Star game the biggest event ever to hit Las Vegas, and the players realize they are only a small part of that.

“I think this weekend is bringing the excitement back and Las Vegas is the reason,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.

The casinos were packed, traffic on the Strip slowed and brokers were asking thousands of dollars in anticipation of the first All-Star game held outside an NBA city.

“I think it’s a good match,” Bryant said. “Basketball is the greatest show in the world. Everybody loves watching, and what better place to have a great show than Las Vegas?”

Still, the NBA still couldn’t escape all its problems. The first half of a season that began with the controversial switch to the new ball ended with the anti-gay remarks by former player Tim Hardaway, who was here representing the league in various functions.

But the league sent Hardaway home after he said he hated gay people, a week after John Amaechi became the first former NBA player to say he was gay.

Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings, said he wouldn’t allow a player on his team who shared Hardaway’s views.

“What he said was wrong,” Maloof said. “I’m sure he’s apologized, but the damage has been done, and he never should have said it.”

Maloof’s presence showed just how different this weekend is. His family also owns the Palms, the casino where the players are staying. He and his brother, Joe, helped make this event happen by acting as the go-betweens between the NBA and Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, and their casino also hosted Friday’s player interviews and the announcement of the Hall of Fame finalists.

Stranger still was the proclamation from Pippen, who was on hand to participate in one of the Saturday night events.

The 41-year-old former All-Star has been out of the NBA since playing 23 games in 2004 for Chicago, where he helped Michael Jordan lead the Bulls to six NBA championships.

Now apparently Pippen is giving new meaning to “Be like Mike” – he wants do as Jordan did and come out of retirement to play again.

“I know that I have the skills, it’s just about me going about polishing them,” Pippen said. “I think it’s sort of been on my mind the last couple of months.”

Pippen said he’s been working out in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and would only consider coming back for a short stint with a contending team, preferably in a warm city.

That sounds like Miami, and Wade, who grew up a Bulls fan in Chicago, said it would be a “dream” to have Pippen on a team.

“He’s a guy who can play the 1 to the 4,” Wade said.

Also Friday, Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed that Dirk Nowitzki would replace the injured Yao Ming in the starting lineup for the Western Conference. Nowitzki or Steve Nash of the Suns were the likely choices, but Nash had to pull out of the event because of a shoulder injury. D’Antoni said he had been leaning toward Nowitzki, anyway.

That was about it for the basketball talk. Players were asked if they thought Las Vegas should have a team, which is naturally the biggest topic of discussion here. The city desperately wants a pro franchise, but Stern had previously said he would never put a team here as long as there is betting on the league in the casinos.

But there now seems like room for compromise, with Stern agreeing to allow Goodman to submit a proposal to the owners on how Las Vegas would handle betting on an NBA team.