NBA looking at other cities for All-Star Game

— -- LAS VEGAS -- The NBA has reached out to multiple alternative host cities as it considers its options for the 2017 All-Star Game in February in Charlotte, N.C, sources told ESPN.com.

The league hadn't made a final decision as of Thursday morning but was moving closer to pulling out of Charlotte because of its objection to North Carolina House Bill 2, which limited anti-discrimination protections in the state.

Player reaction to the potential move was decidedly mixed and cautious as they seek to understand the issue further.

Stephen Curry reacted as if the game will be pulled while appearing on SportsCenter on Thursday.

"It's disappointing that my home team won't be able to host the All-Star Game as planned," he said. "I understand [commissioner] Adam Silver's position."

What really hurts, he said, is "just I know how much that would have meant to the city."

"We support [the decision]," he added, "but at the end of the day I love Charlotte. I love the city."

Before Team USA practice in Las Vegas on Thursday, Pacers forward Paul George told ESPN: "I'm huge on keeping your word. I'm not necessarily saying it's bad for the NBA to move it. Charlotte is a growing city and the Hornets have picked that program up. It's a shame it's possible that we'd take that away from them."

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry told ESPN: "We understand what's going on and how people feel about it, but as players we just go out there and do our jobs and let the people above us make those type of decisions."

New Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes, who played for North Carolina in college, said it's hard for him to weigh in on the subject -- or other political subjects -- without knowing more about the issues involved.

"Now that we're able to speak out on issues, there's no real standard about what you have to say," he said. "I think you can talk about whatever is on your mind or in your heart you can talk about. Other issues you can't. I think you kind of lose some credibility if all of a sudden on social media, you may not know what you're talking about but you're just weighing in on everything because you're like, 'There's some things going on here, but I want to talk about everything.'"

The Vertical reported Thursday that the league was on the verge of pulling out of Charlotte and that New Orleans had emerged as a front-runner to host the game.

The NBA did not respond to multiple requests for comment from ESPN.

Several other NBA cities have become options if the league takes the step, including Chicago and New York/Brooklyn, sources told ESPN.

After the owners meetings earlier this month, Silver acknowledged the league was mulling its options and said "the calendar is not our friend." That was a reference to the North Carolina Legislature being on summer hiatus and unable to make changes to the law as NBA has requested. It also applied to the time pressure of planning a large-scale event like All-Star Weekend.

North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Jackson (D) of Mecklenburg County told ESPN that if the NBA moves the All-Star Game from Charlotte that it's a "100 million hit to the city of Charlotte and the state. A lot of that money would go to schools, health care and roads. We've sacrificed all of that for Gov. [Pat] McCrory's social agenda. He would rather pander to his base than fix an obvious mistake that has major consequences."

McCrory's office has not responded to an ESPN request for comment on the possible move of the game.

Information from ESPN's Andy Katz was used in this report.