Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported that NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver and Portland Trail Blazers president Chris McGowan both indicated that there is some level of interest in hosting an All-Star Weekend in Portland.

"They (Trail Blazers) have shown interest and we have interest," Silver said. "It's an ongoing process. Portland is a great city. We like the idea, but it's something we have to investigate further." CSNNW.com reached out to Trail Blazers President Chris McGowan and he acknowledged that there is a desire to bring the showcase to Portland and he added, "It would be great for the city to host the event." Silver says Portland has not put in a bid to host the event.

2014 All-Star Weekend is in New Orleans. Silver indicated on Saturday that 2015 will be held in either Manhattan or Brooklyn. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reported this weekend that Toronto has begun the process to bid for the 2016 game. During Silver's Saturday address, Cleveland was also linked to hosting another All-Star Game.

Mike Tokito of The Oregonian reported at the 2012 All-Star Game that Silver said that a lack of hotel rooms would hold back Portland's chances. That reason has been given for years.

"We'd love to find a way to get to Portland, but that continues to be the issue for Portland and many other ideal cities, and just a function of not enough hotel rooms," Silver said.

Another major impediment is the Rose Garden. While not ancient, a list of recent All-Star Weekend venues has favored newer buildings and the NBA has given multiple All-Star Weekends to brand new arenas soon after they opened. The list of the last 10 venues plus next year's venue includes nine host arenas that are newer than the Rose Garden: New Orleans Arena (twice), Staples Center (twice), Toyota Center (twice) Amway Center, Cowboy Stadium and Pepsi Center. Only the US Airways Arena in Phoenix and the Tomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas were older.

There's also the issue of geography. The only host city since 2003 to be in the top-half of the United States was Denver. New York would be another exception to this trend if the city does host All-Star Weekend in 2015.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter