All-Star Weekend in Vegas kicks off with Wade bash

                    

	Dwyane Wade's busy weekend in Las Vegas started by showing off his new Converses. Johnny Nunez/WireImage.com
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LAS VEGAS -- Common is spitting rhymes on me. Literally. As I lean against the stage set up on the dance floor of the Jet Nightclub inside of the Mirage, Common is towering above me, freestyling and giving shout outs to his friends in the crowd -- Carmelo Anthony and Jadakiss, seated to my left, Nick Cannon and Kenny Smith, seated to my right, and Amare Stoudemire and Dwyane Wade, who are standing behind me.

Wade is the star of the night and Common, a fellow Chicago native, lets it be known by pointing to Wade and saying, "I got my old school Converse on tonight, but I'm going to go and get the new Wades."

In case anyone was wondering what the new Converse Wade 2.0s looked like, all they had to do was gaze around the club as glass cases filled with the shoes are littered around the place; hanging from the ceiling, nestled inside the tables and lining the walls above the bar. The "soleful" design of the club is in honor of the debut of Wade's new shoe and apparel line. "I had a lot of input on the design of the shoe and the clothing line," says Wade. "I like to put my own personal touch on that."

Wade, wearing a silver medallion of his logo around his neck, is taking in the most of the party from his VIP table, set up near the center of the club and roped off from the rest of the crowd and guarded by a handful of security guards. As Wade sips on a can of Red Bull, he gets a text message from Anthony on his new Sidekick 3, which he helped design. "Everyone really likes the way it looks," he says. "I'm excited that I can take my skills outside of basketball and go into the technology world and make a difference."

At the moment, Wade seems to want to make a difference in the fashion world as he has his wife, mom, high school coach and other friends, such as Cannon and Smith, show of his apparel line on stage. "It's only the beginning," says Wade. "True story, when I came into the league four years ago nobody wanted to sign Dwyane Wade to a shoe deal. Nobody. Now we're making history."

• Before heading to his own party, Wade stopped by the Boost Mobile Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge at the Wynn Hotel to support his teammate Alonzo Mourning, along with Shaquille O'Neal, who was sporting a three-piece suit and a fedora. "You know Shaq always steps up for the big events," said Wade. "As the weeks goes on you'll see him looking even smoother."