Kobe Bryant thinks that Jazz point guard Deron Williams should have made the Western Conference All-Star team this season, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Maybe believed that Williams would replace Bryant if the NBA had allowed him to sit out the game.

"I think it was a really dumb rule," Bryant said. "I would have loved to see [Williams] in there playing and doing his thing. He's a deserving All-Star, without question. It's a stupid rule."

Deron Williams got the best of Chris Paul on Saturday.

Williams of the Jazz defeated Paul of the hometown Hornets to win the Skills Challenge at the All-Star Saturday, according to a Yahoo Sports report.

Williams was perfect in the final round, cruising through the course in a record 25.5 seconds. His time eclipsed the former record of 25.8 set by Steve Nash in 2005.

Kobe Bryant may be the next NBA star to step down from the All-Star game, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Bryant dislocated his right pinkie last week and is still in pain from the injury, according to the report.  He will see a doctor in Los Angeles on Thursday to determine whether he'll play in the All-Star game this weekend.

If Kobe decides he cannot play, it may open the door for Warriors' guard Baron Davis, Utah's Deron Williams, or another of the West's top tier guards who were overlooked.

Ben Wallace appears to be on the block, being offered to the Lakers before Pau Gasol landed in L.A., and more recently being linked to the Knicks.

Another scenario, Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune is reporting, could be sending Wallace to the Utah Jazz for Andrei Kirilenko.

According to Smith, trading Kirilenko for Wallace would save the Jazz $21 million as Kirilenko is paid more annually than Wallace.  With an extension, most likely for the max, coming up for Deron Williams it may make sense.

In the off season Kirilenko was upset at the Jazz and asked to be traded, and while his play and attitude do not appear to have been a distraction for Utah this season, he has never actually rescinded that trade request.

Asked by reporters about a trade, according to Smith, Kirilenko hardly said he would like to stay.

"It's not that I want to be traded, but I'm ready to be," he said. "Anybody in this league, they understand that position. Nobody wants to be traded. We're playing good. And I want to be part of it. But, again, it's a business?and it's not in my hands."

Wallace has told friends that he expects to be traded, and according to Smith the New York Knicks are high on his preference list.

"I just go out and do what I do," he said. "I'm fine with how it's going. Again, that's on management. There are a lot of teams out there making deals, trying to get better. Who knows? It don't worry me. It's a part of the business. If they're going to trade you, there's not much you can do. You have the best job in the world. It would just be in a different city. It don't bother me. The only time it starts bothering me is when nobody wants me."

Andrei Kirilenko now wants to remain with the Utah Jazz.

"It's not that I want to be traded, but I'm ready to be," Kirilenko said. "And I think anybody in this league, they understand that position. Nobody wants to be traded."

"Obviously," Kirilenko added before Utah beat Denver in overtime Wednesday for its 10th straight win, "we're playing good. And I want to be part of it. But, again, it's a business ? and it's not everything in my hands."