I think Harden would be a great fit for the national team; hope he ends up on the Select squad. He's pretty much the perfect complementary player.
I think Harden would be a great fit for the national team; hope he ends up on the Select squad. He's pretty much the perfect complementary player.
RE: alternates
"The final 12-man roster and six alternates must be submitted June 18, before the NBA Finals will be complete. But all 18 names have to be given to the U.S. Olympic Committee by the end of January to be placed in the drug program."
http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketba...tes-january-18
RE: Gay and Iguodala
Based on all the discussion on this thread, many of us feel that Gay and Iguodala won't make the Final 12 man, 6 alternate roster. That would make them potential Select Team players. So, while they are part of the pool being considered, they are not on the Olympic roster because that list won't be made public until late June.
RE: Evans
I didn't know that, thanks for setting me straight.
Davis selected for one of five openings. Cousins on select squad, Monroe and Jefferson being considered for London. So is Lamar Odom?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...2_a2&eref=sihp
I am surprised Lamar Odom is still under consideration. I'm also surprised Eric Gordon is still on the list after only playing 9 games this season.
Anthony Davis would probably be a much better Select Team guy this year. I do not think he's ready. I dont think we should have a "college" spot on Team USA either.
Greg Monroe and Al Jefferson would both be good choices to try out. I think Monroe can do more things without the ball in his hands.
It would not be a shock to see another injury or two as the playoffs move along.
Thanks, BD. Can someone help me out here: right now what's the point of announcing who's a "finalist" vs who's on the select team when there won't even be a tryout. Why is there only "one more spot" open for a verbal list. Its not like these guys are going to be trying out right? Or am I missing something? I guess what I'm saying is, why not just add ALL of Monroe, Jefferson, Cousins, and Davis to the "finalist" list for now since they're going to pare the list down without a tryout anyway?
OK, assuming we take 3 bigs (Chandler, Love, Bosh), which of the following 9 are you leaving home?
Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Blake Griffin
My point is simply that I don't think Gay and Iggy are givens. In fact, I think there is no way both make it unless injuries further decimate the field, and I think it's long odds that either of them make it.
Deron Williams and Chris Paul played alongside each other in 2008, with Deron at the 2. It's doable. He's a big guard.
I'm skeptical on Blake as well. I think we're better off with a bigger guy, with more height and better defensive chops. Maybe even a big with a mid-range jumper. Like Greg F. Monroe.
This is a tough group. Those who follow the FIBA game know that other countries like to be coy during group play, often willing to drop games in order to hide their best line-ups and strategies. The USA blueprint has always been to try and win every game. No matter who comes out of the qualifying tournament, our group will be really tough, but it's very hard to imagine that we wouldn't advance to the medal round. In the K/Colangelo era, I don't think we've faced a full Argentina squad since the 2006 bronze medal game - which is really the game that set the team on the right path after the loss to Greece. It'll be interesting to see if that crew (Ginoblili, Nocioni, Sanchez, Scola, Oberto et al) can mount one last run for a medal.
Story here: not authoritative, but plausible.
http://cleveland.sbnation.com/2012/5...sa-select-team
Kyrie Irving Picked For USA Select Team...
Congrats Kyrie... The best is yet to come
Last edited by subzero02; 05-03-2012 at 07:56 PM. Reason: because I felt like it
As these announcements start to trickle out, it looks like Brian913 may have been right when he said that anyone on the 18 team roster (12 official and 6 alternates) would not be on the Select Team. As the late great Jerry Orbach (and Dave Dameshek) say, "When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong".
Still, I wonder if the 6 Olympic Team alternates would be considered for the 2014 World Championships squad if they wanted to play? I am sure Colangelo and K would want some of the experienced guys to come back and help lead the team. After all, if they are good enough to be an alternate for the Olympics, that means they are, basically, the next best 6 players. Why wouldn't we want them on the Worlds Team? I am guessing that they would be considered if they were interested.
Bottom line, there's going to be a whole lot of talent at that training camp in Vegas. That would be an incredible scene to witness, because dozens of great coaches, GMs and basketball guys go out there just to hang out and watch. It's like a huge American basketball celebration.
A few weeks ago I would have disagreed strongly, but given the injuries it might open up a spot or two. They still face the problem of playing on the wing, where we might be more stacked than ever in the history of USA basketball with arguably the four best players in the world all playing 2 or 3 (Wade, Bryant, James, Durant) and one of the best scorers in the game playing the 3/4 in Carmelo (he's really a 4 in the int'l game).
If one makes it, my guess is Iggy over Gay for his defense. Gay is a better shooter and scorer, but we don't need scoring on the wing and Iggy started on the 2010 team b/c of his defense. (BTW this year Iggy has actually shot much better than Gay, but Gay has traditionally been a better shooter...)
(Also BTW I say this team vs Dream Team is a tossup on the wing: Jordan/Bird/Pippen/Drexler vs James/Bryant/Durant/Wade...that's a tough call.)
Why do you think we only take 2? The only year we had two under K's guidance was 2006 when we lost. In 07 we had Kidd, Billups, D-Will, in 08 we had Kidd, Paul, DWill, in 2010 we had Rose, Billups, Westbrook.
I think we can get away with 2 given James, Wade and Bryant can handle primary ball handler responsibilities, but if all 3 of Paul/WBrook/Dwill are availalable, I'd guess we take all 3 for insurance/injury purposes. (its possible given the playoffs and Dwill's contract issue that all 3 won't be available...)
didn't see any response on this. anyone have any idea? still doesn't make any sense to me...
I completely agree with this, primarily because all three are excellent basketball players. In terms of Deron, when Amar'e signed with the Knicks, they didn't let him play that summer even though he wanted to. But Amar'e also had physical issues that far outdistance anything Deron might have. I'd think if Paul wants to play on his creaky knees, the Clippers will roll over and let him do whatever he wants even if they're not crazy about it, since his deal runs out after next season and they'll do whatever they feel will make him happy.
Amidst all of the speculation about the National Team and the Select Team, David Stern gave an interview last week on ESPN radio where he opined that Olympic basketball should move to a 23-years old and under system like they have for soccer. I didn't catch WHY he felt that way, but it would put an interesting spin on the tournament. It would probably favor USA, anyway, as our team in 2012, if the limit was in place, would include Durant, Westbrook, Love, et al.
I haven't heard his reasoning either, but if it's driven by Stern not wanting his best players to risk injury playing somewhere other than the NBA, it's kind of ridiculous. I can understand where he's coming from, and if he can avoid his best players risking injury, while using the Olympics to showcase some of the league's up and coming stars, then it would be a savvy move, but I want to see the best in the world representing their countries in the Olympics. With soccer, there's the World Cup as the premier international tournament, so the Olympics only using primarily under 23 players can be excused. With basketball, the Olympics are the premier tournament, and as such countries should be able to use any players they'd like. However, if there is concern about international basketball placing too big of a demand on the players' time, then perhaps the world championships could go to some sort of age limit and showcase the games up and coming players.