2016 Olympic BB Team Roster

[BD80]

Without Coach K, there may not be the same cache - kind of like the downswing after the "dream team."

Kobe is certainly not in and it looks like Lebron "has had a good run":

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/12/lebron-james-hints-that-he-may-not-return-for-rio-in-2016/related/

Bosch and Wade are unlikely due to age, as is Chandler. Howard is always a question mark. Derrick Rose will probably want to get back in, but once injured there are always concerns.

I think Melo was a key member of this team, but I doubt he returns without Boeheim. Melo, Lebron, Durant and Kobe created match-up issues with their length and strength.

I don't think Harden, Iguodola or Westbrook matter. There will be no shortage of great point guards: Paul, Rose, Irving, Wall.

Anthony Davis is a centerpiece of the next team - pardon the pun. Love was a great addition, but will he be willing to play second fiddle in 4 years?

Durant is a key, does he sign on again?

Rio will be a great party, which may entice some guys on the fence, but I would guess new members would have to play on the national team in the 2014 world games to earn a spot.

Who signs on? There will be loads of pressure to live up to the restored standard, and no Coach K or Lebron or Kobe to lead. Egos can sneak back into the program.

[OldPhiKap]

Without Coach K, there may not be the same cache - kind of like the downswing after the "dream team."

Kobe is certainly not in and it looks like Lebron "has had a good run":

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/12/lebron-james-hints-that-he-may-not-return-for-rio-in-2016/related/

Bosch and Wade are unlikely due to age, as is Chandler. Howard is always a question mark. Derrick Rose will probably want to get back in, but once injured there are always concerns.

I think Melo was a key member of this team, but I doubt he returns without Boeheim. Melo, Lebron, Durant and Kobe created match-up issues with their length and strength.

I don't think Harden, Iguodola or Westbrook matter. There will be no shortage of great point guards: Paul, Rose, Irving, Wall.

Anthony Davis is a centerpiece of the next team - pardon the pun. Love was a great addition, but will he be willing to play second fiddle in 4 years?

Durant is a key, does he sign on again?

Rio will be a great party, which may entice some guys on the fence, but I would guess new members would have to play on the national team in the 2014 world games to earn a spot.

Who signs on? There will be loads of pressure to live up to the restored standard, and no Coach K or Lebron or Kobe to lead. Egos can sneak back into the program.

Kyrie and CP as the points, it will be an incredible team. Gotta figure Durant and Lebron will be back.

[tommy]

Without Coach K, there may not be the same cache - kind of like the downswing after the "dream team."

Kobe is certainly not in and it looks like Lebron "has had a good run":

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/12/lebron-james-hints-that-he-may-not-return-for-rio-in-2016/related/

Bosch and Wade are unlikely due to age, as is Chandler. Howard is always a question mark. Derrick Rose will probably want to get back in, but once injured there are always concerns.

I think Melo was a key member of this team, but I doubt he returns without Boeheim. Melo, Lebron, Durant and Kobe created match-up issues with their length and strength.

I don't think Harden, Iguodola or Westbrook matter. There will be no shortage of great point guards: Paul, Rose, Irving, Wall.

Anthony Davis is a centerpiece of the next team - pardon the pun. Love was a great addition, but will he be willing to play second fiddle in 4 years?

Durant is a key, does he sign on again?

Rio will be a great party, which may entice some guys on the fence, but I would guess new members would have to play on the national team in the 2014 world games to earn a spot.

Who signs on? There will be loads of pressure to live up to the restored standard, and no Coach K or Lebron or Kobe to lead. Egos can sneak back into the program.

Of those who couldn't play this year, I would certainly expect Rose, Howard, and Blake Griffin to be involved. Of those that did play this time, I'd be surprised if we didn't see Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and Davis return. And I think Kyrie will be there. If I'm right about those guys, that's 9 guys right there in the mix, with most of them shoo-ins. I'd say LaMarcus Aldridge is likely too.

It so far out though. Not only are there current pros like Wall, Steph Curry, Rondo, Bynum, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans, and others that would be considered, but there are so many college players who will have some years as pros under their belts by that time, and even a few currently in high school may prove worthy of consideration. And who knows who will be derailed by injury, regression in quality of play, or just decide they're not interested for one of a number of possible reasons.

[COYS]

Of those who couldn't play this year, I would certainly expect Rose, Howard, and Blake Griffin to be involved. Of those that did play this time, I'd be surprised if we didn't see Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and Davis return. And I think Kyrie will be there. If I'm right about those guys, that's 9 guys right there in the mix, with most of them shoo-ins. I'd say LaMarcus Aldridge is likely too.

It so far out though. Not only are there current pros like Wall, Steph Curry, Rondo, Bynum, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans, and others that would be considered, but there are so many college players who will have some years as pros under their belts by that time, and even a few currently in high school may prove worthy of consideration. And who knows who will be derailed by injury, regression in quality of play, or just decide they're not interested for one of a number of possible reasons.

You gotta think Greg Monroe will be in the mix, as well. Personally, I think Lebron will be back. He'll be older, but he's in such superb physical shape I think it's reasonable to think he'll still be in his prime years. I didn't interpret his "good run" comment to mean he was finished with Olympic basketball. I think he was allowing himself to relax and enjoy the fact that he won an NBA Title and his second Olympic Gold as the unquestioned leader of both teams.

While point guard looks to be a deep position for Team USA, I think this is where the biggest question marks lie. Williams and Paul will be on the wrong side of 30. Small guards like Paul are also prone to relatively fast declines (I'm not saying Paul will no longer be elite, but there's no guarantee). Westbrook will probably be there, but he would have to improve his distribution immensely to be the number 1 choice. Despite the differences in the way they are perceived, Rose and Westbrook are very similar players, with Rose being only slightly better as a distributor, although Rose does have experience being "The Man" for his team. Rose currently has a more inconsistent outside shot and will be recovering from a serious injury. It mind sound like a homer comment, but I think that Kyrie will be an important cog in the team if he can improve his distribution skills. Kyrie adds excellent outside shooting to the mix at point guard. He's currently not better as an assist man than either Rose or Westbrook. However, if he improves that aspect of his game, he might actually be the best option. I would not be surprised to see Rose, Westbrook and Kyrie as the three PG on the next Team USA roster. If Rose recovers from his injury and all three improve, the USA will be in great shape. But I do think that Kyrie's shooting ability will be important to add to the PG pool in 2016.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I am a believer in the 2-gold rule - players will return unless they have 2 golds. Considering Kobe, Lebron, Melo, CP3, and DWill have 2 golds, a lot of players on this team want to emulate that success. IMO, Durant and Love will be back. Those two players will create the cornerstone for 2016. Furthermore, I feel that Westbrook, Davis, and possibly Harden will be back. Also, I don't think that aging superstars will play unless Lebron, Melo, and a few others aren't on that list (hence I don't include Dwight, Wade, Bosh, etc). Here are a select number of new players, with obvious reasons, who will probably be on that list:

-Rose: didn't get his chance this year, dying to be on the 2016 team. However, this is conditional on whether his explosiveness comes back
-Kyrie: if my theory is correct and both CP3 and DWill are out, Rose poses as the only true threat. I hope that Kyrie's history of freak accidents don't come back to bite him in the arse.
-Aldridge:Solid PF who will play C on Team USA.
-Griffin: Explosive PF who will destroy opponents and strike fear into centers not wanting to be youtubed
-Bynum: Great center who will probably be better than Davis at this point
-Some combination of MarShon Brooks, Harden, Curry, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, and some other wings who I can't think of right now)

The PG, PF, and C positions will be set for 2016. Ironically, it's the wings - an area that Team USA hasn't had issues with in the past - which will be harder to select.

On the plus side, Team USA doesn't need to be as good as this year. Why? With Parker, Pau Gasol, Navarro, essentially the whole Brazil team, Nowitzki, Kirelinko, Calderon, Scola, Ginoblli, and a whole slew of other NBA players being too old to play in the next Olympics, I don't think the international talent will be as good. Also, despite a lot of young international players in the NBA right now, there isn't a strong list of candidates to help fill the retiring international talent.

[CDu]

I am a believer in the 2-gold rule - players will return unless they have 2 golds. Considering Kobe, Lebron, Melo, CP3, and DWill have 2 golds, a lot of players on this team want to emulate that success. IMO, Durant and Love will be back. Those two players will create the cornerstone for 2016. Furthermore, I feel that Westbrook, Davis, and possibly Harden will be back. Also, I don't think that aging superstars will play unless Lebron, Melo, and a few others aren't on that list (hence I don't include Dwight, Wade, Bosh, etc). Here are a select number of new players, with obvious reasons, who will probably be on that list:

-Rose: didn't get his chance this year, dying to be on the 2016 team. However, this is conditional on whether his explosiveness comes back
-Kyrie: if my theory is correct and both CP3 and DWill are out, Rose poses as the only true threat. I hope that Kyrie's history of freak accidents don't come back to bite him in the arse.
-Aldridge:Solid PF who will play C on Team USA.
-Griffin: Explosive PF who will destroy opponents and strike fear into centers not wanting to be youtubed
-Bynum: Great center who will probably be better than Davis at this point
-Some combination of MarShon Brooks, Harden, Curry, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, and some other wings who I can't think of right now)

The PG, PF, and C positions will be set for 2016. Ironically, it's the wings - an area that Team USA hasn't had issues with in the past - which will be harder to select.

On the plus side, Team USA doesn't need to be as good as this year. Why? With Parker, Pau Gasol, Navarro, essentially the whole Brazil team, Nowitzki, Kirelinko, Calderon, Scola, Ginoblli, and a whole slew of other NBA players being too old to play in the next Olympics, I don't think the international talent will be as good. Also, despite a lot of young international players in the NBA right now, there isn't a strong list of candidates to help fill the retiring international talent.

I would expect one of Paul and Williams to still be on the team. The new Olympic approach values continuity and experience, and I don't see them going with just Westbrook as the only returning Olympian at PG. That is especially true if Rose (who does have the World Championship experience) doesn't return to form. I agree that the question marks may be at the wing spots, but I think there will be plenty of options available (it would be quite surprising if there aren't a multitude of star wing players available in 4 years).

That being said, it's hard to predict who will be on the Olympic roster. Four years ago, how many people would have predicted that Chandler, Love, Westbrook, Harden, or Davis would be on the team? Almost half of the 2012 roster would have a surprise as of 2008. I suspect at least 3-4 players will be surprises in 2016 as well.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I would expect one of Paul and Williams to still be on the team. The new Olympic approach values continuity and experience, and I don't see them going with just Westbrook as the only returning Olympian at PG. That is especially true if Rose (who does have the World Championship experience) doesn't return to form. I agree that the question marks may be at the wing spots, but I think there will be plenty of options available (it would be quite surprising if there aren't a multitude of star wing players available in 4 years).

CP3 will be 31 and DWill will be 33 in 32 - they aren't spring chickens anymore. It's possible that one of them makes it, but my money isn't on either. They've both solidified their legacy for the international game and would probably miss playing with LBJ, Melo, and co (who wouldn't). And I agree that in 4 years, the landscape for US wing players will be completely different. But right now, it's a little hard to see who will succeed and who won't succeed.

[CDu]

CP3 will be 31 and DWill will be 33 in 32 - they aren't spring chickens anymore. It's possible that one of them makes it, but my money isn't on either. They've both solidified their legacy for the international game and would probably miss playing with LBJ, Melo, and co (who wouldn't). And I agree that in 4 years, the landscape for US wing players will be completely different. But right now, it's a little hard to see who will succeed and who won't succeed.

The 2008 team had a 35 year old Kidd. The 2012 had a 33 year old Bryant. I see no reason why the 2016 team wouldn't have a 31 year old Paul or a 32 year old Williams, unless both of them simply decide not to play again. The possibility that both decide not to return is greater than the possibility that the selection committee views them as too old.

[flyingdutchdevil]

The 2008 team had a 35 year old Kidd. The 2012 had a 33 year old Bryant. I see no reason why the 2016 team wouldn't have a 31 year old Paul or a 32 year old Williams, unless both of them simply decide not to play again. The possibility that both decide not to return is greater than the possibility that the selection committee views them as too old.

Completely agree and I should have been more clear on that. I just feel that they have nothing left to prove. If they decide to join, great! They can certainly take that role of Kidd or Bryant as the elderly statesman. But, with two Olympics already under their belt, I'm not sure they'll be interested. Both Kidd and Bryant won two golds; I feel that this '2 gold medal' theory will prevent either of them from partaking again. Clearly, this is both completely speculative. But if neither decide to join, the PG position is already strong with a mix of Rose, Irving, Westbrook (probably better as a SG in the games), and Wall.

[sagegrouse]

There are six players 31 or 32 who could be the heart of the 2016 team:

Lebron
Paul
DWill
Carmelo
Howard
Bosh

I doubt the USA has six players over 30, but I think 3-4 of these will be on the team. (I am excluding 30-something players Kobe and Wade on the basis of age.)

I think these three 2012 selectees are mortal locks for 2016 barring injury or an unexpected fall off in play:

Durant
Love
Griffin

We could probably add Anthony Davis to the list, although I would prefer to see him play in the NBA before giving him a spot on the team.

That leaves 4-6 spots open. Harden, Westbrook, Iguadola (32 in 2016) and Chandler (31) will have their chances, but will have to make the team all over again. There will be plenty of room for Rose, Kyrie and other younger stars.

sagegrouse

[JasonEvans]

There has been a lot of buzz that LeBron wants to become the first person to win 3 Gold Medals in basketball. It has never been done before. Barring injury, I think he is a lock for the 2016 team. He would only be 31.

-Jason

[Dev11]

Names I heard thrown out during the telecast: Doc Rivers (he sounded really excited about the opportunity during the postgame discussion with Dan Patrick), Doug Collins (damn the Soviets), Gregg Poppovich. Any others? Reasons why any of those guys stand out? Roy Williams? How do you say 'dadgumit' in Portugese? So many questions

[Billy Dat]

There has been a lot of buzz that LeBron wants to become the first person to win 3 Gold Medals in basketball. It has never been done before. Barring injury, I think he is a lock for the 2016 team. He would only be 31.


Some of the Team USA women must have 3 Golds, right? They've now won 5 Golds in a row, I have to assume Lisa Leslie has at least 3, if not 4. If you meant men, then, yes, I agree, Lebron, CP3, Deron and Melo would have some serious motivation.


Names I heard thrown out during the telecast: Doc Rivers (he sounded really excited about the opportunity during the postgame discussion with Dan Patrick), Doug Collins (damn the Soviets), Gregg Poppovich. Any others? Reasons why any of those guys stand out? Roy Williams? How do you say 'dadgumit' in Portugese? So many questions

I don't think Doug Collins is right for the job at all. He has a rep as a guy who can't ease off the gas. Among the things K demonstrated with this team, he makes them accountable but doesn't berate or scold. I think he basically stays cool. I think that's why so many people think Phil Jackson would have been great (I agree). I think it's Pop or Doc, and I give Doc the inside track because Colangelo and Pop have a bad history tied to Team USA (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-popovich103107) and, aside from his credentials, Rivers has, perhaps, the most important qualification...he's a Chicago guy.

As for the potential 2016 roster, forget 2016. Team USA's next big gig is the World Championships in 2014 which, by the way, are just as fun to follow as the Olympics and is a tougher, more competitive tournament with more teams. Granted, the players seem to be more interested in the Olympics, but the World Championship is the more prestigious title worldwide. The only potential 2012 guys on the 2014 team, to me, will be Anthony Davis, assuming he has a solid first two years, and James Harden who may use the opportunity to deepen his team equity and role with the National Team. Because of the coaching turnover, don't be surprised if they decide to have a week long Team USA summer camp in 2013, like they did in 2009, to continue vetting players and shaping the 2014 team. I think the 2014 squad starts with this year's Select Team plus Davis and Harden. If we want to look ahead to 2016, Lebron-CP3-Deron-Melo are kind of a package. If you strip away that experience and leadership, the next package is Durant-Westbrook-Love, the 2010-2012 crew. If we have one group or the other, I think we're in good shape. It'll be interesting to see which countries can stay at the elite level. Spain and Argentina have a ton of aging talent to replace. Russia and Brazil are a little younger, but their best players are still getting older.

[ChillinDuke]

Names I heard thrown out during the telecast: Doc Rivers (he sounded really excited about the opportunity during the postgame discussion with Dan Patrick), Doug Collins (damn the Soviets), Gregg Poppovich. Any others? Reasons why any of those guys stand out? Roy Williams? How do you say 'dadgumit' in Portugese? So many questions

At first glance Collins strikes me as the most likely candidate. He has previous Olympic participation (as a player) in '72 in which the USA lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. He has connections with Coach K (through his son Chris as well as general basketball acquaintance) which leads me to believe he would have support from the retiring regime. He was asked to speak to the 2012 team in Vegas before the Olympics. And many (most?) on the 2012 team came over to shake his hand at the announcers' table after they had won indicating their respect for him.

I think Doug Collins would be a wonderful pick for 2016. My second choice would be Gregg Poppovich who I think is a superb basketball coach.

Depending on how the next few years go, Izzo and Self may be on the short list although I'd put them a tier below Collins/Popp/Rivers on the desirable scale. I like Tom Thibodeau too but doubt he'd be given much consideration, if any.

- Chillin

[Dev11]

As for the potential 2016 roster, forget 2016. Team USA's next big gig is the World Championships in 2014 which, by the way, are just as fun to follow as the Olympics and is a tougher, more competitive tournament with more teams.

Thanks for the thoughts on Collins, and good point here. K made a big deal out of making players commit to the program from the Worlds through the Olympics (wish we could have that much commitment in college, sigh), and I imagine his and Colangelo's successors will try to emulate the winning model as much as possible. With the exception of Anthony Davis, who was a last-minute addition anyway, all of the 2012 guys were at least in the system in 2010 right?

[Billy Dat]

Thanks for the thoughts on Collins, and good point here. K made a big deal out of making players commit to the program from the Worlds through the Olympics (wish we could have that much commitment in college, sigh), and I imagine his and Colangelo's successors will try to emulate the winning model as much as possible. With the exception of Anthony Davis, who was a last-minute addition anyway, all of the 2012 guys were at least in the system in 2010 right?

Aside from Davis, I am not sure that Harden was ever on a Select Team. The rest of the players were on either the '08 Olympic team or the 2010 World Champions. I think Colangelo has committed to being with the program through the Olympics in 2016 so that will provide crucial continuity. It will be a huge undertaking to keep this machine rolling, maybe even harder than getting back up the mountain from 2005-2008. Aside from the Colangelo/K partnership needing to be replicated - no small IF - a big key will be the experienced guys wanting to keep coming back. The 2010 World Title was so amazing, and demonstrated the USA's insane depth of talent, because it was a completely new group....but they were guys who had been on Select Teams. The program that Colangelo and K built leverages that depth. We always need a pool of ~30 players to make sure we have 12 who are able to play and good enough to win. As Durant proved in 2010, it also seems vital that at least 1-2 of those 12 be among the 5 best players in the NBA. It really is an amazing fact that putting the full force of our powers behind the National team, we can still lose. If we are able to keep the National team humming the way it has over the past 7 years, with the best American players and coaches having comfort with FIBA style ball and officiating, it will be interesting to see when our next loss will come...for it will come...and that will be another one of those landmark moments.

[BlueDevil16]

Gotta think J. Parker will get a spot if hes as good as advertised.

[Big Pappa]

I think these three 2012 selectees are mortal locks for 2016 barring injury or an unexpected fall off in play:

Durant
Love
Griffin

We could probably add Anthony Davis to the list, although I would prefer to see him play in the NBA before giving him a spot on the team.

That leaves 4-6 spots open. Harden, Westbrook, Iguadola (32 in 2016) and Chandler (31) will have their chances, but will have to make the team all over again. There will be plenty of room for Rose, Kyrie and other younger stars.


Rose is certainly in if he wants to and is healthy. He would have been on this team if he was. Another name to remember is Eric Gordon who, even though he was coming off injury, almost made this team. He'll be 27 in Rio.

An interesting group to consider are current HS players. I could see Shabazz Muhammad (assuming he's one and done he'll have been in the league three years) in the mix as well as Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Andrew Wiggins (assuming Wiggins reclassifies and they all go one and done, they would have been in the league for two years before Rio).

[sagegrouse]

An interesting group to consider are current HS players. I could see Shabazz Muhammad (assuming he's one and done he'll have been in the league three years) in the mix as well as Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Andrew Wiggins (assuming Wiggins reclassifies and they all go one and done, they would have been in the league for two years before Rio).

I think Andrew Wiggins is a mortal lock -- for team Canada!

sage

[roywhite]

I think Andrew Wiggins is a mortal lock -- for team Canada!

sage

yeah, I'd say; he's 17 now, but should be on his way to a very good NBA career by 2016, judging by current evaluations.

By the way, if I understand the story correctly, Kyrie Irving nearly went to the Australian national team this past cycle, and was talked out of it by Coach K (looking ahead to a good chance Kyrie can be key for future USA teams).
Yet another Coach K legacy to the national team.

[Big Pappa]

I think Andrew Wiggins is a mortal lock -- for team Canada!

sage

My bad. Good catch.

[crote]

Names I heard thrown out during the telecast: Doc Rivers (he sounded really excited about the opportunity during the postgame discussion with Dan Patrick), Doug Collins (damn the Soviets), Gregg Poppovich. Any others? Reasons why any of those guys stand out? Roy Williams? How do you say 'dadgumit' in Portugese? So many questions

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season). Not unlike Coach K, he has credibility with NBA players (Lebron is a fan, for example) and has an effusive personality that would be an asset. Also like Coach K, he's a college coach, meaning he wouldn't bring the same baggage than an NBA guy would bring.

Just as significant, he is great at getting talent to play together. I would argue that there is a strong similarity between what he has done with his recent one-and-done heavy rosters and what the national team coach has to do. In both cases, your job is to get extremely talented, extremely proud people to give up their egos and buy into a system where they must accept a smaller role for the good of the team. In both cases, you also have to build a true team in a relatively short period of time.

I think he'd be a very solid choice.

[dcdevil2009]

yeah, I'd say; he's 17 now, but should be on his way to a very good NBA career by 2016, judging by current evaluations.

By the way, if I understand the story correctly, Kyrie Irving nearly went to the Australian national team this past cycle, and was talked out of it by Coach K (looking ahead to a good chance Kyrie can be key for future USA teams).
Yet another Coach K legacy to the national team.

We might need it, especially if Calipari keeps recruiting against Team America. If Kyrie would have lost his USA eligibility by playing with the Australian senior national team, didn't that class of '15 kid give up his eligibility to play in the USA program by playing with Calipari and the Dominican team in Olympic qualifying? He's never himself been caught cheating, but Calipari sure seems to be surrounded by eligibility issues wherever he goes.

[NSDukeFan]

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season). Not unlike Coach K, he has credibility with NBA players (Lebron is a fan, for example) and has an effusive personality that would be an asset. Also like Coach K, he's a college coach, meaning he wouldn't bring the same baggage than an NBA guy would bring.

Just as significant, he is great at getting talent to play together. I would argue that there is a strong similarity between what he has done with his recent one-and-done heavy rosters and what the national team coach has to do. In both cases, your job is to get extremely talented, extremely proud people to give up their egos and buy into a system where they must accept a smaller role for the good of the team. In both cases, you also have to build a true team in a relatively short period of time.

I think he'd be a very solid choice.
Not sure this is the reputation USA basketball is looking for (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19767908/critical-coaches-who-is-perceived-to-be-the-biggest-cheater-in-the-sport)

[crote]

Not sure this is the reputation USA basketball is looking for (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19767908/critical-coaches-who-is-perceived-to-be-the-biggest-cheater-in-the-sport)

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

[Billy Dat]

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

I think Cal would be an interesting choice, he and Pitino clearly want it or else they would never have done FIBA coaching stints. Here's an interesting HBR article about the selection process Colangelo went through. I had heard that Dean Smith was a big supporter of K getting the job and this article supports that:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/picking_the_man_whod_lead_bask.html

"At one point during the debate, Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith of UNC—soft-spoken off the court—voiced "loud support" for Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Coach K, head coach of Duke University. As Colangelo told this story, he couldn't resist the opportunity to set me straight, "You're from Louisville and you think that the Louisville/Kentucky game is a big deal and a big rivalry. But that's nothing compared to the rivalry when UNC plays Duke. They play for blood. So when Coach Smith told us that no one will connect with and motivate the players like Coach K, the whole crowd was silent. That was a big moment for all of us." "

The four most important characteristics the "committee" decided were the most important included; integrity, passion, transparency, and empathy.

[dball]

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season).

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

[Bluedog]

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

They didn't quite make it that far. ;)

[ChillinDuke]

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

No, I don't. But why give them the chance to know/care?

The Olympics is about global competition in good sportsmanship. Sending out a coach that has questions regarding his integrity is not in keeping with this message, especially as possibly the most visible coach the USA sends to the Olympics. Plus, it's begging to be talked about. In the absence of other equally (if not more) qualified coaches, then sure. But that's not the case here.

- Chillin

[crote]

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

I don't think being fired as an NBA coach is a huge issue. The list of talented coaches who for whatever reason never really got things going in the NBA is long. It's just the nature of the league. Doc was a .500 coach at Orlando before he was fired, and wasn't much better in Boston until Garnett and Allen fell into his lap. Pitino is another unsuccessful college-to-pros guy. Both are mentioned as candidates worthy of consideration (as they should be).

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

[g-money]

I don't think being fired as an NBA coach is a huge issue. The list of talented coaches who for whatever reason never really got things going in the NBA is long. It's just the nature of the league. Doc was a .500 coach at Orlando before he was fired, and wasn't much better in Boston until Garnett and Allen fell into his lap. Pitino is another unsuccessful college-to-pros guy. Both are mentioned as candidates worthy of consideration (as they should be).

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

My vote for coach of the 2016 team would be Doc Rivers. He, along with Coach K, is one of the few coaches on the planet that could get 12 NBA superstars to play within the team concept.

He might have to retire from the Celtics to ease players' concerns about a conflict of interest, though.

Sorry if this post represents a thread hijack.

[BD80]

As to Calipari, and maybe Pitino as well, I think there may be a bit of jealousy/animosity from elements of the US basketball "community." To some extent, Coach K was above that (maybe not with the press). Consider the assistant coaches that signed on to work "under" Coach K: McMillan and Dantonio, both highly respected NBA coaches (at least as of the time they signed on) as well as Boeheim - who had a resume comparable to Calipari or Pitino.

More specifically, I think the "community" will require a coach that can perform at the highest level: the NBA. Calipari's "dribble drive" offense would be swallowed whole by International-level contact permitted, the bigger, more physical guards and zone defenses.

Pitino has more coaching ability, but I still don't think you can compare him to Doc or Pop.

In my mind, the best coaching candidate would be the one who other coaches would jump at the chance to work under as assistant coaches. Frankly, I think only Popovich fits that description.

[tommy]

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

I think there are a lot of folks in this country who share that notion of national loyalty -- you don't work against your own country -- and would be offended by your terming of it as "cockamamie." In fact, I'm one of them.

For another, can you imagine any scenario in which Mike Krzyzewski would coach a real game against a team representing the United States of America? I can't.


His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

It would bother me a lot. If I'm picking a coach to represent this nation, a nation in which we strive to follow the rules and reward others who follow the rules, I would only be interested in a coach who has followed the rules in his professional (and for that matter, personal) life, regardless of whether I personally agree with all of those rules.

[crote]

I think there are a lot of folks in this country who share that notion of national loyalty -- you don't work against your own country -- and would be offended by your terming of it as "cockamamie." In fact, I'm one of them.

For another, can you imagine any scenario in which Mike Krzyzewski would coach a real game against a team representing the United States of America? I can't.

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

[ChillinDuke]

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

I don't think anyone has been claiming it as derisive as this.


If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

Nor as satirical as this.


All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

I think the point is, you choose the best man for the job. In the presence of many equally qualified people (coaching-wise), you can move on to other qualifications such as integrity, loyalty, etc. In the United States of America, in basketball, we simply have many qualified people for the job. People on this board have already mentioned at least 6 coaches who would be worthy of coaching Team USA. They may have different styles, but they are certainly all qualified (at least in my eyes). So why choose the guy with possible ethics and "loyalty" questions?

- Chillin

[COYS]

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

I think this is an accurate post in terms of how coaching for a different country is perceived by most international basketball/soccer/Olympic sports programs. Bob Bradley was recently let go as coach of the US Men's Soccer Team and now coaches for Egypt, so there's an example of a coach on the opposite end who did his work and when he was let go by the USMNT, he went for another high quality coaching gig.

I don't think Cal coaching the Dominican Republic or Pitino coaching PR is intrinsically bad or disloyal. It certainly doesn't fall into the category of "shady" or "unethical" in anyway. That being said, I don't think it is necessarily a positive, either, especially considering Cal has quite a bit of baggage in other areas, most of which everyone here already knows about. Indeed, if he actively recruited Karl Towns for the Dominican Team, and there is plenty of speculation that there is some truth to this, THAT might raise a few questions for USA basketball. So while there is no intrinsic disloyalty associated with coaching another country's national team, how you conduct yourself while you are the coach of that team can be taken into account. With Karl Towns, Cal may have managed to earn a questioning glance or two from USA basketball, which would be legitimate in determining whether or not he'd be a good fit as the head coach of USA basketball.

[JasonEvans]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

I would think Doc, who has made noise about retiring from the Celtics for a while, could be a good choice, perhaps starting after the 2014 NBA season. Phil Jackson is another one who would make a lot of sense. Recently retired Jerry Sloan would be a good choice, though I doubt Deron Williams could be on the team if Sloan was the coach. We'd be crazy not to consider Popovich too.

There are some college names that could make sense as well, guys who are late in their careers and might welcome this as a way to slowly leave the game. Jim Boeheim is the most obvious of these. I suppose Jim Calhoun could be a consideration as well, though his rep for low ethics probably rules him out.

-Jason "I would toss out Bo Ryan, who I respect tremendously as a coach, but I don't think he is well-known enough for it to fly" Evans

[COYS]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

I would think Doc, who has made noise about retiring from the Celtics for a while, could be a good choice, perhaps starting after the 2014 NBA season. Phil Jackson is another one who would make a lot of sense. Recently retired Jerry Sloan would be a good choice, though I doubt Deron Williams could be on the team if Sloan was the coach. We'd be crazy not to consider Popovich too.

There are some college names that could make sense as well, guys who are late in their careers and might welcome this as a way to slowly leave the game. Jim Boeheim is the most obvious of these. I suppose Jim Calhoun could be a consideration as well, though his rep for low ethics probably rules him out.

-Jason "I would toss out Bo Ryan, who I respect tremendously as a coach, but I don't think he is well-known enough for it to fly" Evans

I think this is a great idea, personally. I think it would help preserve continuity but it would also allow USA to do things like schedule the occasional friendly even during non-international summers, and things like that to keep the team fresh. This is the way things are done in soccer. There are obvious scheduling issues with the NBA season, preseason, and offseason, but if the players buy-in, it could be a great way to keep the team strong while simultaneously keeping international basketball in the public eye. Heck, if the NBA really wanted to cash in on some of the international basketball money, they could make the All Star break a day or two longer and include one day of international games, since plenty of foreign players already play in the NBA.

[dcdevil2009]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

Isn't this kind of what Jerry Colangelo already does as head of USA hoops? Having a full-time general manager/president to provide continuity, while using a part-time coach with significant control over personnel, seems to allow the national team to have the best coaching when it matters, while still maintaining a program in the non-tournament summers. I'm not suggesting that the team wouldn't benefit from having a full-time coach, but I'm not sure that the resources would be there to make it worthwhile. You'd be looking at a four-year contract for someone with enough respect as a coach to get 12 of America's best basketball players to listen to him in any given year. I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay him as much as Doc is making annually with the Celtics or K with Duke, but a top coach would probably command about $2 million a year if it were a year-round position. There's also the issue of a good coach not being a great GM. By having a part-time coach who handles all of the coaching duties and a full-time GM who handles everything else, with joint responsibility over recruiting and personnel decisions, the US is able to maximize its resources and have people who are among the best at both jobs.

There's also the problem with the national team coach spending too much time away from actually coaching. Since a lot of the benefits, such as scouting and recruiting, can be delegated (similarly to what K has done with Duke's recruiting during FIBA summers), I think it would be better to have a coach who is spending his time off from FIBA ball coaching. In other words, I'd prefer the benefits of having a national team coach who has coached 40-100 games per year at the college/professional level in addition to his summer work with the national team over the benefits of a retired coach who only coaches FIBA games plus a 5-10 friendlies/exhibitions per year.

[sagegrouse]

Isn't this kind of what Jerry Colangelo already does as head of USA hoops? Having a full-time general manager/president to provide continuity, while using a part-time coach with significant control over personnel, seems to allow the national team to have the best coaching when it matters, while still maintaining a program in the non-tournament summers. I'm not suggesting that the team wouldn't benefit from having a full-time coach, but I'm not sure that the resources would be there to make it worthwhile. You'd be looking at a four-year contract for someone with enough respect as a coach to get 12 of America's best basketball players to listen to him in any given year. I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay him as much as Doc is making annually with the Celtics or K with Duke, but a top coach would probably command about $2 million a year if it were a year-round position. There's also the issue of a good coach not being a great GM. By having a part-time coach who handles all of the coaching duties and a full-time GM who handles everything else, with joint responsibility over recruiting and personnel decisions, the US is able to maximize its resources and have people who are among the best at both jobs.

.

Sorry, guys! I believe the US would NOT benefit from having a full-time coach. First, there's not enough to do for a high-energy, high-accomplishment individual. Second, there's not enough money ($3-5 mil or so per year) to attract the very best. And, third, if somehow you overcame the first two hurdles and got Doc Rivers on a full-time gig, what would he do? He can only deal with a national team in uniform for about six weeks out of the year, and the premier players probably only in Olympic years. Every conversation he would have with a Lebron or KD outside that window would be colored by the concerns of the player that, "This guy wants more of my time than I can give him because I have a full-time job, and he doesn't."

You get Coach K for relatively little money, and he is even busier than the players, so they are all making time sacrifices for Team USA.

Who's next? I dunno but K was hired because (a) he was a great coach and (b) he had the management and leadership abilities to build a sustainable and winning Team USA. The other concerns -- patriotism and being a class act are also important -- but would serve as a disqualifying factor.

In the college ranks, I would guess Izzo and Calipari would be candidates. I think the pugnacious Calhoun would be in the wrong milieu. In the pro ranks, Pop, Collins, or Rivers may be good -- I don't know them well enough.

sagegrouse

[flyingdutchdevil]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

I would think Doc, who has made noise about retiring from the Celtics for a while, could be a good choice, perhaps starting after the 2014 NBA season. Phil Jackson is another one who would make a lot of sense. Recently retired Jerry Sloan would be a good choice, though I doubt Deron Williams could be on the team if Sloan was the coach. We'd be crazy not to consider Popovich too.

There are some college names that could make sense as well, guys who are late in their careers and might welcome this as a way to slowly leave the game. Jim Boeheim is the most obvious of these. I suppose Jim Calhoun could be a consideration as well, though his rep for low ethics probably rules him out.

-Jason "I would toss out Bo Ryan, who I respect tremendously as a coach, but I don't think he is well-known enough for it to fly" Evans

This system works in FIFA, but I don't think it will work with FIBA. The reason being that all football leagues respect the international game. They have weekends (and sometimes even weeks) during the season that are completely devoted to qualification / friendlies. In basketball, this doesn't exist - Stern doesn't respect the international game (he respects something that starts with 'm', ends with 'y', can is frequently abbreviated to '$'). Can you image Stern saying, "Okay...let's put the league off for a week in January and play friendlies with Spain and Argentina." Because of these qualifications / friendlies, a national coach frequently has a full-time job as a national coach. In international basketball, games are only played every 2 years. IMO, that doesn't warrant a full-time coach.

I feel that basketball still needs to be more international in order to place more resources to the international game. Football is obviously the golden standard for this model, but hockey is a model that basketball should follow.

[JasonEvans]

Heck, if the NBA really wanted to cash in on some of the international basketball money, they could make the All Star break a day or two longer and include one day of international games, since plenty of foreign players already play in the NBA.

I love this idea with a small twist -- make the All-star game USA vs. The World Team. Sorta like how the NHL All-star game is NAmerica vs. The World. Kinda like the Ryder/President's Cup in golf.

The World team would feature--


PG- Tony Parker, Steve Nash
SG- Manu Ginobli, Thabo Sefolosha
SF- Luol Deng, Danilo Gallinari
PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Al Horford
C- Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka

We could also expand the definition of International player so that Ben Gordon (born in England) and Kyrie Irving (born in Australia) could be on the International team.

I bet this would get fans to pay more attention to the All-star game too, as it would have some national pride involved. Frankly, I have never cared that much whether my conference won an All-star game.

-Jason "Internats loaded on the inside... " Evans

[pfrduke]

I love this idea with a small twist -- make the All-star game USA vs. The World Team. Sorta like how the NHL All-star game is NAmerica vs. The World. Kinda like the Ryder/President's Cup in golf.

The World team would feature--

PG- Tony Parker, Steve Nash
SG- Manu Ginobli, Thabo Sefolosha
SF- Luol Deng, Danilo Gallinari
PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Al Horford
C- Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka

We could also expand the definition of International player so that Ben Gordon (born in England) and Kyrie Irving (born in Australia) could be on the International team.

I bet this would get fans to pay more attention to the All-star game too, as it would have some national pride involved. Frankly, I have never cared that much whether my conference won an All-star game.

-Jason "Internats loaded on the inside... " Evans

Two questions - 1) is Thabo Sefolosha really the second-best international shooting guard in the NBA? I can't think of any other of the top of my head, but that seems surprising. 2) wouldn't you want people who have already played, or may in the future play, for the US national team to be on the domestic squad, not the international squad? This would apply particularly to Duncan and Irving.

[Duvall]

I love this idea with a small twist -- make the All-star game USA vs. The World Team. Sorta like how the NHL All-star game is NAmerica vs. The World. Kinda like the Ryder/President's Cup in golf.

The World team would feature--


PG- Tony Parker, Steve Nash
SG- Manu Ginobli, Thabo Sefolosha
SF- Luol Deng, Danilo Gallinari
PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, Al Horford
C- Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka

We could also expand the definition of International player so that Ben Gordon (born in England) and Kyrie Irving (born in Australia) could be on the International team.

I bet this would get fans to pay more attention to the All-star game too, as it would have some national pride involved. Frankly, I have never cared that much whether my conference won an All-star game.

-Jason "Internats loaded on the inside... " Evans

Duncan? I guess the US Virgin Islands does field a soccer squad (shades of England/Scotland/Wales).

[CDu]

Two questions - 1) is Thabo Sefolosha really the second-best international shooting guard in the NBA? I can't think of any other of the top of my head, but that seems surprising. 2) wouldn't you want people who have already played, or may in the future play, for the US national team to be on the domestic squad, not the international squad? This would apply particularly to Duncan and Irving.

Sefalosha is on the short list. Guys like Barbosa (combo guard) and Belinelli would be in the mix as well. Beyond that, you're getting into the swingmen like Delfino and Batum. But it's six of one, half dozen of the other. Honestly, there are very few foreign SG even in the league.

[juise]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, so I thought this would be an appropriate place to put it. I wonder how the additional of a 3-on-3 tournament (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/basketball/story/2012-08-11/three-on-three-hoops-rio/56975564/1) would affect the team. I've seen it speculated that the 3-on-3 game could happen during 5-on-5 off days, so there may be opportunity for some players to participate in both.

[JasonEvans]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, so I thought this would be an appropriate place to put it. I wonder how the additional of a 3-on-3 tournament (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/basketball/story/2012-08-11/three-on-three-hoops-rio/56975564/1) would affect the team. I've seen it speculated that the 3-on-3 game could happen during 5-on-5 off days, so there may be opportunity for some players to participate in both.

Sorta like Singles and Doubles tennis.

What is the ideal 3-on-3 team? Does it include a big man who can post up one-on-one without much of a chance for help D (like Pau or Dwight)? Does it include a PG who can beat his man off the dribble (like Kyrie, Westbrook, or CP3)? Or, is it 3 "big wing" type players who can do a little bit of everything (like Lebron, Durant, and Melo)?

I am not sure. I was tempted to just say that the US team should be Lebron, Durant, and some other big wing, but the more I think about it, the more I think Kyrie or Westbrook, Lebron or Durant, and Dwight or KLove would be the best we could put on the court together. Hmmm.

--Jason "I like this idea as it gives us something new and unique to look forward to in Olympic basketball" Evans

[Jeff Frosh]

This is really fun to think about. For 2016, I like Lebron, Durant and Kyrie. Lebron and Durant are (and should still be) the two best players in the world and showed how well they work together. My Duke-colored glasses tell me that Kyrie will be the best point guard around in 2016, and I would rather go "small" with a point guard than big with Dwight in a game of 3-on-3. Any team that tries to go big against these three would just be creating huge matchup problems for themselves. Lebron's ability to guard any position would give this team great flexibility game-to-game depending on the opponent. I would enjoy seeing these three guys play together.

[subzero02]

If Kyrie stays healthy...

[dukelifer]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, so I thought this would be an appropriate place to put it. I wonder how the additional of a 3-on-3 tournament (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/basketball/story/2012-08-11/three-on-three-hoops-rio/56975564/1) would affect the team. I've seen it speculated that the 3-on-3 game could happen during 5-on-5 off days, so there may be opportunity for some players to participate in both.

To me the best part of this is having a qualifying tourney where guys from the city can get their best players together and try to compete. There are legit three-on-three tourneys and who knows- maybe there are some folks who excel at that game who do not on the other level. It could be interesting.

[tommy]

If 3-on-3 actually happens, I would doubt that any of our guys would play both on the traditional 5-on-5 fullcourt team and also play 3-on-3. Maybe just for the novelty of it, but they might not want to take away from their focus on the main event, or to risk fatigue. (who knows what the format of 3-on-3 would be?). Maybe it would be the kind of thing where our top players who don't make the main team would then be in the mix for 3-on-3, though I guess it would only be fair that they have to qualify in some way even for that.

But if all players were possibilities for the 3-on-3, I'd take LeBron, Durant, and Love. LeBron and Durant can handle the ball well enough that it won't be stolen, and they can guard little guys well enough. And no little guy could dream of covering either of them. I like Love as the big guy because he excels rebounding, passing, and shooting, and he can defend big guys well enough. Howard would protect the bucket better, but I don't think any team of 3 international players in the world is going to make much hay trying to go to the hoop against a team made up of LeBron, Durant, and Love, and Love just brings much more of an diversified game to the table than does Howard, which is important when the floor is spread like it is in 3-on-3.

[juise]

If Kyrie stays healthy...

Is this a fill-in the blank contest?

If Kyrie stays healthy...

he would be a top candidate for any USA basketball team.
he will be one of the most beloved personalities in the league.
he will be an All-Star in the next two years.
he has the potential to be Duke's best NBA player.


Did I win?

[juise]

But if all players were possibilities for the 3-on-3, I'd take LeBron, Durant, and Love. LeBron and Durant can handle the ball well enough that it won't be stolen, and they can guard little guys well enough. And no little guy could dream of covering either of them. I like Love as the big guy because he excels rebounding, passing, and shooting, and he can defend big guys well enough. Howard would protect the bucket better, but I don't think any team of 3 international players in the world is going to make much hay trying to go to the hoop against a team made up of LeBron, Durant, and Love, and Love just brings much more of an diversified game to the table than does Howard, which is important when the floor is spread like it is in 3-on-3.

Yeah, I think that the NBA teams might not like having their players going in competition for a week straight. What if the US took the entire "
pool" of players that try out (possibly expanding the quantity in the pool) and the guys who don't make the 5-on-5 team by default get grouped into 3-on-3 squads? I don't know how this would work with qualifying, though.

[COYS]

Is this a fill-in the blank contest?

If Kyrie stays healthy...


he has the potential to be Duke's best NBA player.


Did I win?

Ha. Honestly, he might have actually earned this title, last season. While his defense was perhaps still not up to snuff, his efficiency rating was tops among Dukies. Considering that Duke doesn't currently have any other star two-way players in the league (Shane is of course a defensive wiz while Corey, Carlos, and Elton are clearly past their peak on the offensive and defensive ends and Gerald is still working on getting his offense to catch up with his defense), you could make the argument that Kyrie's offensive game was enough to vault him to the top of the list.

[juise]

Ha. Honestly, he might have actually earned this title, last season. While his defense was perhaps still not up to snuff, his efficiency rating was tops among Dukies. Considering that Duke doesn't currently have any other star two-way players in the league (Shane is of course a defensive wiz while Corey, Carlos, and Elton are clearly past their peak on the offensive and defensive ends and Gerald is still working on getting his offense to catch up with his defense), you could make the argument that Kyrie's offensive game was enough to vault him to the top of the list.

I agree that he's in the top 2-3 of current players. I meant that he could become Duke's best NBA player ever (surpassing Grant).

[awhom111]

Here is some information on the current USA 3x3 teams preparing for the World Championships:
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/3x3/

That Women's team might be very interesting and fun to watch. Part of the appeal of 3 on 3 is that it lets a few smaller countries get into the act and compete a bit more.

Apparently there will not be any significant changes to international formats for the 2013-2016 cycle at this point. Without knowing anything about our coaching situation at this point, how do people think that we should approach the next couple tournaments? We benefited a lot from winning the 2010 World Championship because it gave us that automatic berth to the Olympics. I would hope that we put together a strong team for the 2014 World Championship where Spain will probably be determined to make a strong last stand at home with their current generation of players. Not winning would force us to then play in the 2015 FIBA Americas tournament, which I would assume would involve a nearly full strength team (like we did in 2007). Personally I would like us to play as strong of a team as possible in 2014, depending on which players are willing to play. We should invite all of the players who missed the Olympics due to injury at a minimum. Does anyone think we should play a select or younger squad for the FIBA Americas tournaments even if we don't need to play in them to qualify?

[COYS]

Here is some information on the current USA 3x3 teams preparing for the World Championships:
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/3x3/
Does anyone think we should play a select or younger squad for the FIBA Americas tournaments even if we don't need to play in them to qualify?

Yes! The U-17 and U-18 basketball championships are small cheese compared to the highest level of international basketball. The US U-18 is cobbled together at the last second, does a few practices, and then plays games. That is often the only international basketball experience many of our players will have before they are expected to win on a big stage. Playing in a tournament that means a lot more to the competition (it's a battle for Olympic qualification so even the "small" teams will be playing their hearts out to make it) will be a great way to give a much wider array of American players experience in international tournaments. Even if the team is a young C or C/D team, it's still worthwhile. The injury bug hit the senior team big, this year. Luckily, the core of the team remained intact with Lebron, Durant, Melo, Paul, Williams, etc. remaining healthy. However, if in the future the injury bug strikes again and takes away players who form the heart of the team, it would be nice to have the deepest pool possible. It would also give players who played bit roles on previous teams a chance to see if they can handle a starring role. If the FIBA Americas tournament were this year, it would be cool to see a team led by Harden and Davis along with a host of other players who are on the cusp of contributing to the full national team or who are projected to do so in the future. A healthy Aldridge, Irving, possibly Wall, Cousins, Monroe, etc. So some sort of Select Team, I guess.

[awhom111]

Yes! The U-17 and U-18 basketball championships are small cheese compared to the highest level of international basketball. The US U-18 is cobbled together at the last second, does a few practices, and then plays games. That is often the only international basketball experience many of our players will have before they are expected to win on a big stage. Playing in a tournament that means a lot more to the competition (it's a battle for Olympic qualification so even the "small" teams will be playing their hearts out to make it) will be a great way to give a much wider array of American players experience in international tournaments. Even if the team is a young C or C/D team, it's still worthwhile. The injury bug hit the senior team big, this year. Luckily, the core of the team remained intact with Lebron, Durant, Melo, Paul, Williams, etc. remaining healthy. However, if in the future the injury bug strikes again and takes away players who form the heart of the team, it would be nice to have the deepest pool possible. It would also give players who played bit roles on previous teams a chance to see if they can handle a starring role. If the FIBA Americas tournament were this year, it would be cool to see a team led by Harden and Davis along with a host of other players who are on the cusp of contributing to the full national team or who are projected to do so in the future. A healthy Aldridge, Irving, possibly Wall, Cousins, Monroe, etc. So some sort of Select Team, I guess.

Well, so much for that idea...

This article about the next FIBA Americas Tournament appears to confirm that we have dropped out. Honestly I think it would be good to play in these tournaments. I hope Paraguay enjoys their tournament instead.
http://www.fibaamericas.com/en/noticiasread4.asp?r=79B0B998BFFA42888617C58E509C60 F6

[sporthenry]

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8924471/mike-krzyzewski-being-courted-team-usa-basketball-according-sources

Might have a familiar guy on the bench again.

[Billy Dat]

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8924471/mike-krzyzewski-being-courted-team-usa-basketball-according-sources

Might have a familiar guy on the bench again.

How does everyone feel about this? I think the benefits outweigh the potentials pitfalls because he actually seems to get energized by these summers with the pros. Rather than burn him out, I feel like it might keep him going longer. Maybe he just wants another shot at coaching Kyrie.

[Ben1029]

What if the countries could bring 2 teams if they were able to qualify. They do it in track. Wouldn't you want to watch USA 1 VS USA 2 in the finals?

[Troublemaker]

Was thinking about the 2016 Rio roster this morning.

Steph Curry was not on the 2012 London team, so he currently possesses no Olympic Gold. I have to think he's in if healthy.

Harden and Anthony Davis WERE on the 2012 team but barely played. Especially Davis, who was only 19-yrs-old at the time and was basically playing the role of Laettner on the Dream Team. Harden and Davis should be in, especially Davis.

Paul George already committed at the time of his injury that he'll be back.

Durant will probably play since he skipped out on the 2014 World Cup. He's a gym rat and loves playing, and USA had promoted him as the face of USA basketball for this cycle. Also, Monty Williams is now the lead assistant for Billy Donovan on OKC, so there's that relationship as well.

So, the starting lineup for the 2016 Rio team might/should be:

PG - Curry
SG - Harden
SF - George
PF - Durant
C - Davis

Kyrie and Klay both have zero Olympic Golds and can be the perimeter players off the bench.

Ditto Faried and Cousins to be the backup bigs.

That team's going to be tough to beat.

[BD80]

Was thinking about the 2016 Rio roster this morning.

Steph Curry was not on the 2012 London team, so he currently possesses no Olympic Gold. I have to think he's in if healthy.

Harden and Anthony Davis WERE on the 2012 team but barely played. Especially Davis, who was only 19-yrs-old at the time and was basically playing the role of Laettner on the Dream Team. Harden and Davis should be in, especially Davis.

Paul George already committed at the time of his injury that he'll be back.

Durant will probably play since he skipped out on the 2014 World Cup. He's a gym rat and loves playing, and USA had promoted him as the face of USA basketball for this cycle. Also, Monty Williams is now the lead assistant for Billy Donovan on OKC, so there's that relationship as well.

So, the starting lineup for the 2016 Rio team might/should be:

PG - Curry
SG - Harden
SF - George
PF - Durant
C - Davis

Kyrie and Klay both have zero Olympic Golds and can be the perimeter players off the bench.

Ditto Faried and Cousins to be the backup bigs.

That team's going to be tough to beat.

Did LeBron ever say he wasn't going to play?

He is interested in Team accomplishments. Another gold medal would mean something to him.

He loves playing for Team USA and for Coach K. He enjoys it when he doesn't have to be the primary scoring option.

He will have signed his next big contract, no financial risk.

Olympic Gold continues to boost his brand.

The games are in freakin RIO baby. This could be the best party for athletes EVER.

I pencil LeBron in at the 4 and slide KD to the 3.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Was thinking about the 2016 Rio roster this morning.

Steph Curry was not on the 2012 London team, so he currently possesses no Olympic Gold. I have to think he's in if healthy.

Harden and Anthony Davis WERE on the 2012 team but barely played. Especially Davis, who was only 19-yrs-old at the time and was basically playing the role of Laettner on the Dream Team. Harden and Davis should be in, especially Davis.

Paul George already committed at the time of his injury that he'll be back.

Durant will probably play since he skipped out on the 2014 World Cup. He's a gym rat and loves playing, and USA had promoted him as the face of USA basketball for this cycle. Also, Monty Williams is now the lead assistant for Billy Donovan on OKC, so there's that relationship as well.

So, the starting lineup for the 2016 Rio team might/should be:

PG - Curry
SG - Harden
SF - George
PF - Durant
C - Davis

Kyrie and Klay both have zero Olympic Golds and can be the perimeter players off the bench.

Ditto Faried and Cousins to be the backup bigs.

That team's going to be tough to beat.

Agreed on all fronts except for Durant. I'd be shocked if Durant played, and not because he doesn't have the talent nor the drive. It's all about his injuries, which are probably second in severity only to Derrick Rose. Foot injuries are some of the worst, and history hasn't been kind to NBA players: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25125735/what-does-history-say-about-kevin-durants-injury

Durant needs rest, and I'd figure that he'd rather rest his foot than play a full season PLUS a full Olympic schedule post-surgery.

So, if I had to guess, I'm going with the following line-up

PG - Irving
SG - Curry
SF - Harden
PF - George (only if healthy)
C - Davis

[COYS]

Was thinking about the 2016 Rio roster this morning.

Steph Curry was not on the 2012 London team, so he currently possesses no Olympic Gold. I have to think he's in if healthy.

Harden and Anthony Davis WERE on the 2012 team but barely played. Especially Davis, who was only 19-yrs-old at the time and was basically playing the role of Laettner on the Dream Team. Harden and Davis should be in, especially Davis.

Paul George already committed at the time of his injury that he'll be back.

Durant will probably play since he skipped out on the 2014 World Cup. He's a gym rat and loves playing, and USA had promoted him as the face of USA basketball for this cycle. Also, Monty Williams is now the lead assistant for Billy Donovan on OKC, so there's that relationship as well.

So, the starting lineup for the 2016 Rio team might/should be:

PG - Curry
SG - Harden
SF - George
PF - Durant
C - Davis

Kyrie and Klay both have zero Olympic Golds and can be the perimeter players off the bench.

Ditto Faried and Cousins to be the backup bigs.

That team's going to be tough to beat.

Hmm, the PG position is a really interesting one, at this point. There's no doubt that Steph is amazing. However, he has struggled in international play. At the World Cup, he couldn't seem to keep himself on the court due to foul trouble. Meanwhile, all of the other point guard options with international experience (Rose, Kyrie, Westbrook, etc.) have dealt with/are dealing with injuries that may or may not either keep them out of Rio or at least give them pause. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out. I could definitely see a scenario where Lillard or perhaps another PG (Wall has come on strong in the past few years) ends up getting into the mix. The good news is, the USA has a truly ridiculous amount of depth at PG. And that doesn't even count the time that Harden could easily spend running the offense.

As for the bigs, do we see Aldridge or Griffin get a shot? They've both been in camps but have pulled out with injuries.

Also, Gay, DeRozan, and Hayward have all been in camps/made the team, as well.

[SilkyJ]

Hmm, the PG position is a really interesting one, at this point. There's no doubt that Steph is amazing. However, he has struggled in international play. At the World Cup, he couldn't seem to keep himself on the court due to foul trouble. Meanwhile, all of the other point guard options with international experience (Rose, Kyrie, Westbrook, etc.) have dealt with/are dealing with injuries that may or may not either keep them out of Rio or at least give them pause. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out. I could definitely see a scenario where Lillard or perhaps another PG (Wall has come on strong in the past few years) ends up getting into the mix. The good news is, the USA has a truly ridiculous amount of depth at PG. And that doesn't even count the time that Harden could easily spend running the offense.

As for the bigs, do we see Aldridge or Griffin get a shot? They've both been in camps but have pulled out with injuries.

Also, Gay, DeRozan, and Hayward have all been in camps/made the team, as well.

Rio is 12 months away, but it is the offseason...

Not sure why injuries right now would affect the guards you mentioned, those injuries should all be fine by then...assuming other ones don't crop up. But I do agree the guard situation is interesting. CP3 is on the 2014-2016 roster as well, so who sits and who plays if you have CP3, Steph, Kyrie, Westbrook...not to mention D-Rose, Wall, Lillard. Some of these guys will opt out b/c of injuries, contract situations, etc., but it still should be an interesting decision for the staff.

Griffin should still be in the mix if he wants to be, as I recall he showed up to camp and was injured 2 years ago and then last year had a legit back fracture. My bet is that he starts at the 4 if he opts to play. Aldridge on the other hand may have worn out his welcome as he's opted out several times (http://www.blazersedge.com/2014/7/14/5898557/blazers-f-lamarcus-aldridge-withdraws-from-usa-basketballs-2014-fiba). I imagine he won't be at training camp next summer.

Just FYI, Dwight Howard and Lebron are both listed on the 2014-2016 roster so they could be in the mix next summer. My guess is both will opt out, but who knows. Here's the 2014-2016 roster. (http://www.usab.com/mens/national-team/roster/2014-roster.aspx)

[superdave]

Where are all the homers calling for Mason to make the team? This board is slipping!

I kid, I kid.

I do think CP3 is involved if he would like to be. Coach K and Colangelo have a history of keeping a senior player on to play limited minutes (Kidd in 08, Kobe in 12). LeBron will want to play too unless there's something external going on (injury, contract).

I would go with -

PG: Curry, Irving, Paul
Wings: James, Durant, Harden, Thompson, Korver, Kawhi
Bigs: Davis, Cousins, Love

Next few out: Faried, Westbrook (if Paul plays), George (we'll see how good he remains), Drummond.

This will migrate with injuries and contract years.

[CDu]

Yeah, PG is the one spot on the floor where I have no concerns. Any of Wall, Lillard, Paul, Westbrook, Irving (assuming he doesn't suffer any new injuries... we're getting to the point where one has to be concerned that he is brittle with the myriad of different injuries he's sustained in his short college/pro career), Rose (though even more concerns about his health and how effective he can be consistently), and Curry would be just fine. We just need 3 of them to play (perhaps even just 2).

I'm not yet sold that Paul George will be back. But hopefully he will. If so, pencil him in. I get the feeling that Durant, James, and Paul are going to ride off into the sunset given their age/miles (James and Paul) and injuries (Durant).

I'd guess:
PG: Curry, Irving, Westbrook (listed in alphabetical order)
SG/SF: George, Harden, Thompson
PF/C: Davis, Griffin, Love, Cousins

That leaves a couple of spots. Perhaps another big and another wing. Maybe a youngster like Okafor? A shooter like Korver? A versatile lockdown wing defender like Butler or Leonard? A scorer like Beal?

[COYS]

Rio is 12 months away, but it is the offseason...

Not sure why injuries right now would affect the guards you mentioned, those injuries should all be fine by then...assuming other ones don't crop up. But I do agree the guard situation is interesting. CP3 is on the 2014-2016 roster as well, so who sits and who plays if you have CP3, Steph, Kyrie, Westbrook...not to mention D-Rose, Wall, Lillard. Some of these guys will opt out b/c of injuries, contract situations, etc., but it still should be an interesting decision for the staff.

Here's the 2014-2016 roster. (http://www.usab.com/mens/national-team/roster/2014-roster.aspx)

My reference to injuries for Kyrie and Rose still being a factor are based on their now pretty extensive injury history. Westbrook has also had his share. I don't think it unreasonable to believe that it is more likely than not that one or some combination of those three guys will not be going to Rio if only to keep their knees healthy.

I somehow forgot about Love when mentioning extra bigs. I think he's definitely on the team if he wants to be. Floor spacing big man who can rebound = perfect fit. He provided some big minutes in London, too.

If Lebron decides to come to Rio, then I think it actually knocks an extra big guy off the list. He'll play the bulk of his minutes at PF. I agree with the others, though, in thinking he doesn't make the trip. He's won two Golds, already, and will likely be playing in his sixth NBA Finals in a row. He'll be 31 with A LOT of basketball on his legs. It wouldn't bother me at all if he deems it time to pass the Olympic Basketball Torch to the next generation of stars.

Durant is more of a wild card to me. He's got a World Championship and a Gold, but he's still younger than Lebron and has never been "The Man" on an Olympic team. He was out this season, but has otherwise been really healthy. Assuming he comes back and reaches the same level as before, he would be the centerpiece of the Rio team, even with Davis on the squad. With Lebron entering his 30's and a possible decline being likely, Durant might see the Olympics as a chance to establish himself as the best in the league (though obviously Davis might have something to say about that).

[cato]

This talk of 2016 is getting me excited. Any more knowledgable posters out there have care to muse about how the competition is going to stack up?

[CDu]

My reference to injuries for Kyrie and Rose still being a factor are based on their now pretty extensive injury history. Westbrook has also had his share. I don't think it unreasonable to believe that it is more likely than not that one or some combination of those three guys will not be going to Rio if only to keep their knees healthy.

I would consider it highly likely that three of the following five PGs won't play in Rio: Irving, Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Rose. However, even in the somewhat unlikely event that four of those guys don't play (I'd be shocked if all five skip out), we'll still have guys like Lillard, Wall, Conley, and Lowry to fill in the gaps. I have zero concerns about the position. We'll have the best PGs in the Olympics one way or another.


Durant is more of a wild card to me. He's got a World Championship and a Gold, but he's still younger than Lebron and has never been "The Man" on an Olympic team. He was out this season, but has otherwise been really healthy. Assuming he comes back and reaches the same level as before, he would be the centerpiece of the Rio team, even with Davis on the squad. With Lebron entering his 30's and a possible decline being likely, Durant might see the Olympics as a chance to establish himself as the best in the league (though obviously Davis might have something to say about that).

If we have both Durant and Davis on the team, I think we're borderline unbeatable. I mean, even without Durant, I think we're unbeatable (the Spanish Armada is in decline now, and none of the other countries have the depth to challenge). But with Durant and Davis, we should destroy everyone.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I would consider it highly likely that three of the following five PGs won't play in Rio: Irving, Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Rose. However, even in the somewhat unlikely event that four of those guys don't play (I'd be shocked if all five skip out), we'll still have guys like Lillard, Wall, Conley, and Lowry to fill in the gaps. I have zero concerns about the position. We'll have the best PGs in the Olympics one way or another.



If we have both Durant and Davis on the team, I think we're borderline unbeatable. I mean, even without Durant, I think we're unbeatable (the Spanish Armada is in decline now, and none of the other countries have the depth to challenge). But with Durant and Davis, we should destroy everyone.

It's likely that the US will have the best player at each position one way or another. And also likely that they will have 12 of the top 15 players in the Olympics in 2016 (including the top 5 players).

Now that US basketball is back of track, it's become a much more boring event. And that is very much a product of the success that Coach K and Colangelo have brought to the program (structure = success = destroy competition = boring). Can Team USA lose? Of course! Will they lose with this current system and great players that Team USA has? Doubtful.

[sagegrouse]

It's likely that the US will have the best player at each position one way or another. And also likely that they will have 12 of the top 15 players in the Olympics in 2016 (including the top 5 players).

Now that US basketball is back of track, it's become a much more boring event. And that is very much a product of the success that Coach K and Colangelo have brought to the program (structure = success = destroy competition = boring). Can Team USA lose? Of course! Will they lose with this current system and great players that Team USA has? Doubtful.

Sometimes "boring" is good!

[CDu]

This talk of 2016 is getting me excited. Any more knowledgable posters out there have care to muse about how the competition is going to stack up?

I don't think the competition looks too tough. The logical #2 has been Spain in recent memory. But the key Spanish players are getting really long in the tooth, and aside from Marc Gasol and Ibaka they don't really have huge talent coming up the ranks. They'll be good still (perhaps still #2), but their best chances to beat the US were in 2010 and 2014.

France could put together an interesting team if they so desired (Parker, Noah, Batum, Gobert, Fournier, Diaw, de Colo). But it remains to be seen if guys like Parker and Noah will participate (they are getting older and have had a lot of wear and tear). If they don't that group isn't good enough to threaten the US.

Teams like Brazil (Nene, Splitter, Varejao) and Turkey (Asik, Aldemir, Ilyasova, Kanter) have solid size, but are too weak in the backcourt to really compete with the US.

Serbia might be the new #2 in the world. Croatia and Lithuania will be in the mix as well.

Basically, the big problem the other countries have is that they don't have the depth of talent to compete. Plenty of countries have 3-4 legitimate NBA starters, but the dropoff from there is pretty stark. And almost none of those countries have more than one or two All-Star level talent on the squad. The advantages some of the countries have is that they play much more often together over the years (turnover elsewhere is much less than in the US). But as the US has changed their system and more and more of these guys have had international experience, the difference in continuity is decreasing such that the US talent edge is just too much.

[CDu]

It's likely that the US will have the best player at each position one way or another. And also likely that they will have 12 of the top 15 players in the Olympics in 2016 (including the top 5 players).

Now that US basketball is back of track, it's become a much more boring event. And that is very much a product of the success that Coach K and Colangelo have brought to the program (structure = success = destroy competition = boring). Can Team USA lose? Of course! Will they lose with this current system and great players that Team USA has? Doubtful.

Right. We're going to be overwhelmingly the most talented team out there at every spot on the floor. There is not a position in which we don't have the best (and usually the second and third best) players available in the tournament (even if several of our top guys forego the event).

And now that we've revamped the system such that almost all of these guys have played international ball (so they are familiar with the rules) and have played some together (so they are familiar with the system), it's not like we'll get "out-teamed" enough to lose. The US will be favored by 20+ in almost every game.

[COYS]

Right. We're going to be overwhelmingly the most talented team out there at every spot on the floor. There is not a position in which we don't have the best (and usually the second and third best) players available in the tournament (even if several of our top guys forego the event).

And now that we've revamped the system such that almost all of these guys have played international ball (so they are familiar with the rules) and have played some together (so they are familiar with the system), it's not like we'll get "out-teamed" enough to lose. The US will be favored by 20+ in almost every game.

Didn't FiveThirtyEight or Basketball Reference do a simple point differential analysis and conclude that the 2014 World Cup team was second only to the original Dream Team in terms of dominance? And obviously that team was missing Durant, Westbrook, Griffin, CP3, etc. That really doesn't bode well for the rest of the world. I would be willing to bet that if one of the USA team scrimmages were taken as seriously as a real game, had real refs, and were advertised and then broadcast on ESPN that it would potentially be more highly rated than any one Olympic game in Rio. I'm not one for getting to cocky when it comes to the Olympics. All it takes is one bad game. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that watching the team go all out in scrimmage sounds like the most exciting game the men's team can play.

[SilkyJ]

I do think CP3 is involved if he would like to be. Coach K and Colangelo have a history of keeping a senior player on to play limited minutes (Kidd in 08, Kobe in 12). LeBron will want to play too unless there's something external going on (injury, contract).

I would go with -

PG: Curry, Irving, Paul
Wings: James, Durant, Harden, Thompson, Korver, Kawhi
Bigs: Davis, Cousins, Love




I'd guess:
PG: Curry, Irving, Westbrook (listed in alphabetical order)
SG/SF: George, Harden, Thompson
PF/C: Davis, Griffin, Love, Cousins

That leaves a couple of spots. Perhaps another big and another wing. Maybe a youngster like Okafor? A shooter like Korver? A versatile lockdown wing defender like Butler or Leonard? A scorer like Beal?

There's really no spot for Korver on this team...not that you guys are strongly advocating for him. Generally, I can't think of an example under K where someone tried out and was cut from the FIBA team and then made the following Olympic team during that "cycle." If the talent flows in for the Olympics like usual, I'd expect guys on the margin like Korver to get squeezed. We also saw K sort of "reserve" a spot on the roster for a spot-up specialist in first few int'l tournaments that he coached (Mike Miller & Michael Redd iirc), so sometimes there's a mentality that he'll continue to do that, but with this team he doesn't need to. If Curry and Thompson are on the team you already have 2 of the best 5 shooters in the world...then mix in Kyrie and potentially Durant. The team doesn't need shooting, it already has plenty of it.

I think that last wing spot goes to a versatile defender type ala Iguodala in 2012...Lenoard or Butler would be great, though Butler hasnt been involved with the national team to date.


My reference to injuries for Kyrie and Rose still being a factor are based on their now pretty extensive injury history. Westbrook has also had his share. I don't think it unreasonable to believe that it is more likely than not that one or some combination of those three guys will not be going to Rio if only to keep their knees healthy.

Yep...though I'd say that's a concern with just about everyone. There's always a set of guys that sit out to rest, and its tough to predict what guys will want to do. I mean D-rose debuted from his last injury with team USA last summer so who knows.



Durant is more of a wild card to me. He's got a World Championship and a Gold, but he's still younger than Lebron and has never been "The Man" on an Olympic team. He was out this season, but has otherwise been really healthy. Assuming he comes back and reaches the same level as before, he would be the centerpiece of the Rio team, even with Davis on the squad. With Lebron entering his 30's and a possible decline being likely, Durant might see the Olympics as a chance to establish himself as the best in the league (though obviously Davis might have something to say about that).

Durant was the leading scorer by far for the 2012 team

Durant: 19.5ppg
Melo: 16.3ppg
Lebron: 13.3ppg

The paul george injury last year clearly spooked him as he pulled out immediately after. Given his injuries, his prior int'l accomplishments, his ability to be spooked, my guess is he's probably not showing up. The real wild card is Lebron. If he decides to play, then I could see it snowballing with CP3 & KD hopping on board...

[awhom111]

I don't think the competition looks too tough. The logical #2 has been Spain in recent memory. But the key Spanish players are getting really long in the tooth, and aside from Marc Gasol and Ibaka they don't really have huge talent coming up the ranks. They'll be good still (perhaps still #2), but their best chances to beat the US were in 2010 and 2014.

France could put together an interesting team if they so desired (Parker, Noah, Batum, Gobert, Fournier, Diaw, de Colo). But it remains to be seen if guys like Parker and Noah will participate (they are getting older and have had a lot of wear and tear). If they don't that group isn't good enough to threaten the US.

Teams like Brazil (Nene, Splitter, Varejao) and Turkey (Asik, Aldemir, Ilyasova, Kanter) have solid size, but are too weak in the backcourt to really compete with the US.

Serbia might be the new #2 in the world. Croatia and Lithuania will be in the mix as well.

Basically, the big problem the other countries have is that they don't have the depth of talent to compete. Plenty of countries have 3-4 legitimate NBA starters, but the dropoff from there is pretty stark. And almost none of those countries have more than one or two All-Star level talent on the squad. The advantages some of the countries have is that they play much more often together over the years (turnover elsewhere is much less than in the US). But as the US has changed their system and more and more of these guys have had international experience, the difference in continuity is decreasing such that the US talent edge is just too much.

It is very hard to know right now how things will look next summer, but I will of course be tracking the various qualifying tournaments on the other thread. Even Brazil is not a guarantee to be allowed to enter a team at this point. Eurobasket should be extremely competitive this summer with a few teams that were down last cycle figuring things out in the last year or two. The only team I think I can pencil in right now is Australia, who has to beat New Zealand in a two game aggregate series to qualify. Australia as of now is supposed to be fielding a virtually full strength team this summer, including the possible return of Andrew Bogut. New Zealand will be hoping that Steven Adams will show up, but I could see them tanking this summer and concentrating their efforts on the extra qualifying tournament next summer.


There's really no spot for Korver on this team...not that you guys are strongly advocating for him. Generally, I can't think of an example under K where someone tried out and was cut from the FIBA team and then made the following Olympic team during that "cycle." If the talent flows in for the Olympics like usual, I'd expect guys on the margin like Korver to get squeezed. We also saw K sort of "reserve" a spot on the roster for a spot-up specialist in first few int'l tournaments that he coached (Mike Miller & Michael Redd iirc), so sometimes there's a mentality that he'll continue to do that, but with this team he doesn't need to. If Curry and Thompson are on the team you already have 2 of the best 5 shooters in the world...then mix in Kyrie and potentially Durant. The team doesn't need shooting, it already has plenty of it.

I think that last wing spot goes to a versatile defender type ala Iguodala in 2012...Lenoard or Butler would be great, though Butler hasnt been involved with the national team to date.



Yep...though I'd say that's a concern with just about everyone. There's always a set of guys that sit out to rest, and its tough to predict what guys will want to do. I mean D-rose debuted from his last injury with team USA last summer so who knows.



Durant was the leading scorer by far for the 2012 team

Durant: 19.5ppg
Melo: 16.3ppg
Lebron: 13.3ppg

The paul george injury last year clearly spooked him as he pulled out immediately after. Given his injuries, his prior int'l accomplishments, his ability to be spooked, my guess is he's probably not showing up. The real wild card is Lebron. If he decides to play, then I could see it snowballing with CP3 & KD hopping on board...

The forgotten name here is Carmelo. Whatever criticisms that people have of his NBA play, they seem to disappear in this setting. Of course health will be an issue for him too, but I think that if he is in shape and capable, we will not exclude him solely due to age.


Didn't FiveThirtyEight or Basketball Reference do a simple point differential analysis and conclude that the 2014 World Cup team was second only to the original Dream Team in terms of dominance? And obviously that team was missing Durant, Westbrook, Griffin, CP3, etc. That really doesn't bode well for the rest of the world. I would be willing to bet that if one of the USA team scrimmages were taken as seriously as a real game, had real refs, and were advertised and then broadcast on ESPN that it would potentially be more highly rated than any one Olympic game in Rio. I'm not one for getting to cocky when it comes to the Olympics. All it takes is one bad game. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that watching the team go all out in scrimmage sounds like the most exciting game the men's team can play.

A scrimmage like the game Paul George got hurt in last year? There will actually be a minicamp this summer with a scrimmage at the end, which I assume will be televised. No big names are likely to be involved, but it would not be surprising to see a player or two emerge to fight for a spot next summer.

[brevity]

Teams like Brazil (Nene, Splitter, Varejao) and Turkey (Asik, Aldemir, Ilyasova, Kanter) have solid size, but are too weak in the backcourt to really compete with the US.

What about Bruno Caboclo? By 2016 he'll just be two years away (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2111373-fran-fraschilla-believes-bruno-caboclo-is-2-years-away-from-being-2-year-away).

[Billy Dat]

If there were ever a time when past events don't predict future events, specifically in terms of who will be on the final roster, I feel like it is 2016 Rio.

A lot has changed since Colangelo took over 10 years ago....(A) Team USA's dominance has been re-asserted (B) Guys seem to be breaking down more due to injury in part from grueling training and the increased speed and strength of the game (C) Paul George's leg freaked everyone out (D) The new collective bargaining agreement makes nearly every summer a huge one for contracts.

It has certainly been established that these guys value the Olympics more than the World Cup. The last 2 World Cup rosters featured 12 entirely new faces for Team USA. The last 2 Olympic teams were basically 5 players from the prior Olympic team, 5 from the World Championship team and 1-2 entirely new faces. My gut tells me that we will see more new faces this time around, and that guys who already have Olympic gold medals will sit it out to rest, deal with contracts, avoid overuse, etc.

Steph Curry missed the 2012 cycle because of injury. He also played second fiddle to Kyrie, at K's behest, this past summer. Who knows how that sat with him? I can't imagine that he liked it much. But, I do think Kyrie's injury keeps him out. As others have said, he is now officially injury prone and this current one is really serious. Back to Steph, this time next year he may be coming off back to back titles and lots of games. Will the Olympic gold, and the prospect of it being his team to lead, be enough of a lure...I say yes, but it's no gimme.

I also think Anthony Davis comes back for a final Team USA appearance. He'll likely have established himself as the most dominant player in the NBA by next summer and, along with Curry, will be the face of the team.

As for the other 2012 Olympians, I don't think many will be back, here's the list:
Anthony, Bryant, Chandler, Davis, Durant, Harden, Iguodala, James, Love, Paul, Westbrook, Williams

Of these guys, considering he won't have played any playoff games for years, maybe Carmelo plays the role of the wise vet, but he also seems like the type who wouldn't want to go if his friends weren't there. Other than that, I too think Harden and Westbrook are the best bets and both are signed through 2017 so they shouldn't have that looming next year.

Here's the 2014 World Cup squad:
Cousins, Curry, Davis, DeRozan, Drummond, Faried, Gay, Harden, Irving, Plumlee, Rose, Thompson

Of this group, aside from Curry/Davis/Harden, I go with Cousins (likely not to be in the playoffs again) and Thompson (wants that Olympic Gold). Maybe Faried.

Then there are the guys who participated last summer but got cut or hurt:
George, Hayward, Korver, Wall, Beal, Lillard, Millsap, Parsons

You never know if these guys are going to be interested - I bet Wall never comes back, he's talked like he felt slighted.

Don't forget about the 2014 Select Team who scrimmaged the main pool guys:
Harry Barnes, Trey Burke, Draymond, Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, McBuckets, Oladipo, MP2, Marcus Smart, Dion Waiters, Cody Zeller

Then there are the guys who have said no in the past, and I don't expect them to change their minds:
Kawhi, LaMarcus

Then there are the rookies, many with Team USA experience, I assume a bunch of these guys will be involved this summer:
Russell, Okafor, Winslow, Myles Turner, Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Cam Payne, Stanley Johnson, etc.

Whew...that's a lot of different buckets.

Prediction:
Backcourt:
Curry, Thompson, Westbrook, Harden, Lillard, Winslow

Frontcourt:
Davis, Cousins, Draymond Green, Anthony, Hayward, Okafor

Doesn't K have to go out in a blaze of glory by, again, taking 2 of his Duke guys?

As for competition, it may not be this year, but I keep beating the drum for the Canadian talent pool:

Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Nicholson, Nik Stauskas, Kelly Olynk, Robert Sacre, Corey Joseph, Anthony Bennett, etc. Unlike the other countries, these guys didn't grow up playing together so they lack that cohesion, but the talent is there and everytime I watch one of these younger Intl competitions, the Canadians are the ones who look the most formidable.

[NSDukeFan]

If there were ever a time when past events don't predict future events, specifically in terms of who will be on the final roster, I feel like it is 2016 Rio.

A lot has changed since Colangelo took over 10 years ago....(A) Team USA's dominance has been re-asserted (B) Guys seem to be breaking down more due to injury in part from grueling training and the increased speed and strength of the game (C) Paul George's leg freaked everyone out (D) The new collective bargaining agreement makes nearly every summer a huge one for contracts.

It has certainly been established that these guys value the Olympics more than the World Cup. The last 2 World Cup rosters featured 12 entirely new faces for Team USA. The last 2 Olympic teams were basically 5 players from the prior Olympic team, 5 from the World Championship team and 1-2 entirely new faces. My gut tells me that we will see more new faces this time around, and that guys who already have Olympic gold medals will sit it out to rest, deal with contracts, avoid overuse, etc.

Steph Curry missed the 2012 cycle because of injury. He also played second fiddle to Kyrie, at K's behest, this past summer. Who knows how that sat with him? I can't imagine that he liked it much. But, I do think Kyrie's injury keeps him out. As others have said, he is now officially injury prone and this current one is really serious. Back to Steph, this time next year he may be coming off back to back titles and lots of games. Will the Olympic gold, and the prospect of it being his team to lead, be enough of a lure...I say yes, but it's no gimme.

I also think Anthony Davis comes back for a final Team USA appearance. He'll likely have established himself as the most dominant player in the NBA by next summer and, along with Curry, will be the face of the team.

As for the other 2012 Olympians, I don't think many will be back, here's the list:
Anthony, Bryant, Chandler, Davis, Durant, Harden, Iguodala, James, Love, Paul, Westbrook, Williams

Of these guys, considering he won't have played any playoff games for years, maybe Carmelo plays the role of the wise vet, but he also seems like the type who wouldn't want to go if his friends weren't there. Other than that, I too think Harden and Westbrook are the best bets and both are signed through 2017 so they shouldn't have that looming next year.

Here's the 2014 World Cup squad:
Cousins, Curry, Davis, DeRozan, Drummond, Faried, Gay, Harden, Irving, Plumlee, Rose, Thompson

Of this group, aside from Curry/Davis/Harden, I go with Cousins (likely not to be in the playoffs again) and Thompson (wants that Olympic Gold). Maybe Faried.

Then there are the guys who participated last summer but got cut or hurt:
George, Hayward, Korver, Wall, Beal, Lillard, Millsap, Parsons

You never know if these guys are going to be interested - I bet Wall never comes back, he's talked like he felt slighted.

Don't forget about the 2014 Select Team who scrimmaged the main pool guys:
Harry Barnes, Trey Burke, Draymond, Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, McBuckets, Oladipo, MP2, Marcus Smart, Dion Waiters, Cody Zeller

Then there are the guys who have said no in the past, and I don't expect them to change their minds:
Kawhi, LaMarcus

Then there are the rookies, many with Team USA experience, I assume a bunch of these guys will be involved this summer:
Russell, Okafor, Winslow, Myles Turner, Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles, Cam Payne, Stanley Johnson, etc.

Whew...that's a lot of different buckets.

Prediction:
Backcourt:
Curry, Thompson, Westbrook, Harden, Lillard, Winslow

Frontcourt:
Davis, Cousins, Draymond Green, Anthony, Hayward, Okafor

Doesn't K have to go out in a blaze of glory by, again, taking 2 of his Duke guys?

As for competition, it may not be this year, but I keep beating the drum for the Canadian talent pool:

Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Nicholson, Nik Stauskas, Kelly Olynk, Robert Sacre, Corey Joseph, Anthony Bennett, etc. Unlike the other countries, these guys didn't grow up playing together so they lack that cohesion, but the talent is there and everytime I watch one of these younger Intl competitions, the Canadians are the ones who look the most formidable.

Nice analysis. I believe you can add Trey Lyles to the Canadian pipeline, though he may have competed for both countries in the past. I expect he would compete for Canada in the future due to more opportunities.

[Duvall]

As for competition, it may not be this year, but I keep beating the drum for the Canadian talent pool:

Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Nicholson, Nik Stauskas, Kelly Olynk, Robert Sacre, Corey Joseph, Anthony Bennett, etc. Unlike the other countries, these guys didn't grow up playing together so they lack that cohesion, but the talent is there and everytime I watch one of these younger Intl competitions, the Canadians are the ones who look the most formidable.

Don't most of the Toronto players come out of the same AAU program? Not the same as playing on a club team together, but still.

[Billy Dat]

Don't most of the Toronto players come out of the same AAU program? Not the same as playing on a club team together, but still.

I don't know. "Canada - Sleeping FIBA Giant" would be a great article for someone to write. After his experience with USA Basketball, I know that Jay Triano is up there trying to create a similar model.

[SilkyJ]

The forgotten name here is Carmelo. Whatever criticisms that people have of his NBA play, they seem to disappear in this setting. Of course health will be an issue for him too, but I think that if he is in shape and capable, we will not exclude him solely due to age.

Just an embarrassment of riches at guard and forward. I'm guessing most of the guys with 2 golds will opt out...this would be lebron and melo's 4th olympics and I'm guessing they'll focus on other mountains to climb, especially at their age.

I also don't think we'll exclude anyone due to age; guys will be selected based on skill and fit. Having just won a natty at 68 I don't think K factors age into the equation too much :)

[BD80]

Just an embarrassment of riches at guard and forward. I'm guessing most of the guys with 2 golds will opt out...this would be lebron and melo's 4th olympics and I'm guessing they'll focus on other mountains to climb, especially at their age. ...

How many Gold's does MJ have?

I'll bet Lebron knows.

[gurufrisbee]

Some great posts in here already about the team prospects (especially Billy Dat) and about international competition (especially Cdu). I think a great point was made about how many top other countries have 3-4 really good players but nowhere near the depth of the USA. Of course it's also a competition that turns into a single elimination tournament, like the Big Dance - and we've seen many times where one team just has one big game there.

I think the two biggest factors are going to be health and contracts. While I think a lot of these guys love playing for the country and with each other and for Coach K, the risk of getting hurt does loom large, especially after George, and guys with injury histories will bail as well as guys looking at big free agency opportunities coming up who don't want to risk it. But obviously we don't know what injuries may come between then and now and I don't know everyone's contract info (and even if I did, no telling about guys signing deals/extensions before then).

So blindly without all that, here is my guess for the roster:

Guards: Curry, Westbrook, Lillard, Paul
Wings: Harden, Durant, Lebron, Thompson,
Posts: Griffin, Davis, Faried, Okafor

[gurufrisbee]

How many Gold's does MJ have?

I'll bet Lebron knows.

Isn't it 2? Off the top of my head I think he got one in college and one on the Dream Team. Which would make him tied with lebron. And part of why I do expect Lebron to be back on the 2016 team (but I see it more like Kobe was in London).

[CDu]

Isn't it 2? Off the top of my head I think he got one in college and one on the Dream Team. Which would make him tied with lebron. And part of why I do expect Lebron to be back on the 2016 team (but I see it more like Kobe was in London).

Yes, Jordan has two: one with the 1984 team and one with the 1992 team.

[gocanes0506]

Some great posts in here already about the team prospects (especially Billy Dat) and about international competition (especially Cdu). I think a great point was made about how many top other countries have 3-4 really good players but nowhere near the depth of the USA. Of course it's also a competition that turns into a single elimination tournament, like the Big Dance - and we've seen many times where one team just has one big game there.

I think the two biggest factors are going to be health and contracts. While I think a lot of these guys love playing for the country and with each other and for Coach K, the risk of getting hurt does loom large, especially after George, and guys with injury histories will bail as well as guys looking at big free agency opportunities coming up who don't want to risk it. But obviously we don't know what injuries may come between then and now and I don't know everyone's contract info (and even if I did, no telling about guys signing deals/extensions before then).

So blindly without all that, here is my guess for the roster:

Guards: Curry, Westbrook, Lillard, Paul
Wings: Harden, Durant, Lebron, Thompson,
Posts: Griffin, Davis, Faried, Okafor

I doubt we see Paul or Lebron in the team. Paul is hurt a lot and will want the offseason. Lebron will need more offseason time as well.

Gaurds: Curry, Thompson, Lillard, Westbrook
Wings: Harden, Durant, Leonard, George
Forwards: Thompson, Cousins, Okafor, Davis

[Olympic Fan]

I doubt we see Paul or Lebron in the team. Paul is hurt a lot and will want the offseason. Lebron will need more offseason time as well.


I'll be absolutely flabbergasted if LeBron is NOT on the roster. His role will diminish a bit, but he's still going to be the US headliner.

[CDu]

I'll be absolutely flabbergasted if LeBron is NOT on the roster. His role will diminish a bit, but he's still going to be the US headliner.

The only reason LeBron wouldn't be on the roster is if it is by his choice. As others have said, he has logged a LOT of minutes the past 5 years. He has not had an extended summer off since 2010 (when his Cavs lost in the 2nd round). He has been playing basketball into mid-June each summer for the past 5 years, and had an even longer summer in 2012. If the Cavs make it back to the Finals next summer, I could very well see him choosing to get some rest rather than put himself through more work in the Olympics.

If he wants to play though, then yes, he'll absolutely be on the roster. It's just a question of his preference.

The same is true for most of the other big names: Durant, Paul, Curry, etc. They'll be on the team if they want to be there. It's just a question whether wear and tear will lead them to choose not to participate.

[gurufrisbee]

I doubt we see Paul or Lebron in the team. Paul is hurt a lot and will want the offseason. Lebron will need more offseason time as well.

Gaurds: Curry, Thompson, Lillard, Westbrook
Wings: Harden, Durant, Leonard, George
Forwards: Thompson, Cousins, Okafor, Davis

I definitely think Lebron will play - even if it's like as the best 6th man ever. I also do think Leonard is the first choice if any of the guards/wings I listed weren't there.

[SilkyJ]

How many Gold's does MJ have?

I'll bet Lebron knows.


Isn't it 2? Off the top of my head I think he got one in college and one on the Dream Team. Which would make him tied with lebron. And part of why I do expect Lebron to be back on the 2016 team (but I see it more like Kobe was in London).

Yes, its two. BD- do you really think besting MJ on the gold medal list is on Lebron's priority list?? Methinks not. No one talks about Olympic gold medals when they are comparing MJ/Russel/Wilt/Kareem. They talk about NBA championships, NBA MVPs, NBA Scoring titles, etc etc. I'll bet Lebron knows that.


I'll be absolutely flabbergasted if LeBron is NOT on the roster. His role will diminish a bit, but he's still going to be the US headliner.

Really?? You'd be flabbergasted if Lebron chose not to participate? So you think its 99.99% chance he's going to play--why?


I definitely think Lebron will play - even if it's like as the best 6th man ever. I also do think Leonard is the first choice if any of the guards/wings I listed weren't there.

OK now I'm flabbergasted. Lebron is currently the best player in the world, as he has been for about 5-10 years, and you think he might be the 6th man on team USA??

Bartender--give me a double of what these guys are having...


The only reason LeBron wouldn't be on the roster is if it is by his choice. As others have said, he has logged a LOT of minutes the past 5 years. He has not had an extended summer off since 2010 (when his Cavs lost in the 2nd round). He has been playing basketball into mid-June each summer for the past 5 years, and had an even longer summer in 2012. If the Cavs make it back to the Finals next summer, I could very well see him choosing to get some rest rather than put himself through more work in the Olympics.

Surprised this even needed to be typed, but, yes, I agree.

[Billy Dat]

Yes, its two. BD- do you really think besting MJ on the gold medal list is on Lebron's priority list?? Methinks not. No one talks about Olympic gold medals when they are comparing MJ/Russel/Wilt/Kareem. They talk about NBA championships, NBA MVPs, NBA Scoring titles, etc etc. I'll bet Lebron knows that.

Really?? You'd be flabbergasted if Lebron chose not to participate? So you think its 99.99% chance he's going to play--why?

OK now I'm flabbergasted. Lebron is currently the best player in the world, as he has been for about 5-10 years, and you think he might be the 6th man on team USA??

Bartender--give me a double of what these guys are having...

Surprised this even needed to be typed, but, yes, I agree.

I agree with all of these responses and that's why I think Lebron won't play. The dude is straight up exhausted and has so many miles on his tires. Odds are he's gonna march right to the Finals again next year. Win or Lose, can you imagine him, right now, getting ready to report to Team USA in a few weeks? Even if the Cavs are healthy, he's playing 35 minutes a night in the playoffs.

RE: Kawhi, I agree he'd be a shoe-in but San Antonio is not really a bastion of Team USA support. Duncan hated it, Pop got passed over for K, etc. Now, they are a big FIBA team (Manu, Parker, Tiago, Diaw, etc.) but when Kawhi passed last summer, it felt like a final answer.

One guy I didn't mention anywhere is Mike Conley. He's not the classic FIBA PG as he is skinny, but it would be nice for him to get an invite to tryouts.

[sagegrouse]

I agree with all of these responses and that's why I think Lebron won't play. The dude is straight up exhausted and has so many miles on his tires. Odds are he's gonna march right to the Finals again next year. Win or Lose, can you imagine him, right now, getting ready to report to Team USA in a few weeks? Even if the Cavs are healthy, he's playing 35 minutes a night in the playoffs.

s.

The self-proclaimed and generally acknowledged "best player in the world" won't play in the Olympics? I think he'll play.

[CDu]

I agree with all of these responses and that's why I think Lebron won't play. The dude is straight up exhausted and has so many miles on his tires. Odds are he's gonna march right to the Finals again next year. Win or Lose, can you imagine him, right now, getting ready to report to Team USA in a few weeks? Even if the Cavs are healthy, he's playing 35 minutes a night in the playoffs.

RE: Kawhi, I agree he'd be a shoe-in but San Antonio is not really a bastion of Team USA support. Duncan hated it, Pop got passed over for K, etc. Now, they are a big FIBA team (Manu, Parker, Tiago, Diaw, etc.) but when Kawhi passed last summer, it felt like a final answer.

One guy I didn't mention anywhere is Mike Conley. He's not the classic FIBA PG as he is skinny, but it would be nice for him to get an invite to tryouts.

I agree with all of this. I would be a bit surprised if LeBron decided to play again in 2016. He would certainly be the best player on the team, but I think he'll be worn out. And more importantly, I think he knows that his legacy hinges on NBA success, not Olympic success. And recharging the batteries for another deep playoff run will probably win out over competing at Rio. I mean, he could still play, and I wouldn't be shocked if he did. But I'd say he's more likely to opt out than to opt in.

And the same for Leonard. I don't expect him to suddenly decide he wants to play. Maybe that will change. But I would be surprised.

I think Conley is an example of our depth. I don't think he'll get a sniff, but if he did I would say that he'd still be better than just about any other country's PG. We would be just fine with him at PG, but there are just so many good options ahead of him that it is hard to see him getting invited much less selected.

[Des Esseintes]

I think Conley is an example of our depth. I don't think he'll get a sniff, but if he did I would say that he'd still be better than just about any other country's PG. We would be just fine with him at PG, but there are just so many good options ahead of him that it is hard to see him getting invited much less selected.
The depth of the point guard position in the NBA right now amazes me. Something like half the league has a really, really good player at that spot. Of those that don't, such as Boston with Smart and Utah with Exum, a number have highly-drafted guys they've invested in for the future. PG is considered a critical position, yet more teams than not are pretty set. Strange state of affairs.

[Billy Dat]

I think Conley is an example of our depth. I don't think he'll get a sniff, but if he did I would say that he'd still be better than just about any other country's PG. We would be just fine with him at PG, but there are just so many good options ahead of him that it is hard to see him getting invited much less selected.

Yeah, he needs the carousel to spin, but not maybe THAT much and it helps that the 2 guard spot is not the deepest in the NBA right now meaning that some of these dudes would be counted on to be combos. Here are some top PG rankings ESPN.com did in April (I excluded the non Americans):

-Paul - can't see him going back again, too many miles
-Curry - I say he's in, could also be a 2
-Westbrook - on the fence but maybe
-Wall - I think he's pissed about getting cut last year and might not go back
-Conley - our man
-Lillard - right there, could also be a 2
-Lowry - in the mix
-Irving - injury
-Teague - not really involved in the program to date
-Rose - I think his FIBA days are over

[CDu]

The depth of the point guard position in the NBA right now amazes me. Something like half the league has a really, really good player at that spot. Of those that don't, such as Boston with Smart and Utah with Exum, a number have highly-drafted guys they've invested in for the future. PG is considered a critical position, yet more teams than not are pretty set. Strange state of affairs.

I think a lot of that has to do with the rules changes, which have improved freedom of movement and allowed these incredibly gifted athletes to fluorish. Look no further than Kyrie Irving. He's a guy who would have been brutalized in the mid/late-90s with all the physical play that was allowed back then. But the rules changes (which have cut down on hand-checking and overly physical play on the perimeter) has allowed him to utilize those skills. Similar story for guys like Curry and Tony Parker. All guys who are/were not the biggest/strongest/fastest guys, but who have very good skills.

Guys like Wall, Westbrook, and Rose (pre-injury) are/were physical freaks, but the "technicians" have really benefited from the NBA cleaning up the play on the perimeter. And the result is the plethora of brilliant playmakers we have.


Yeah, he needs the carousel to spin, but not maybe THAT much and it helps that the 2 guard spot is not the deepest in the NBA right now meaning that some of these dudes would be counted on to be combos. Here are some top PG rankings ESPN.com did in April (I excluded the non Americans):

-Paul - can't see him going back again, too many miles
-Curry - I say he's in, could also be a 2
-Westbrook - on the fence but maybe
-Wall - I think he's pissed about getting cut last year and might not go back
-Conley - our man
-Lillard - right there, could also be a 2
-Lowry - in the mix
-Irving - injury
-Teague - not really involved in the program to date
-Rose - I think his FIBA days are over

If I had to guess, I'd say Curry, Westbrook, and Lillard make the team. Irving, if healthy, would stand a good chance of taking Lillard's place. I'd put Conley, Lowry, and Teague in the next category. I am not sure what to think of Rose's NBA future, but I agree he is probably done playing FIBA ball. And I think you're right that Wall isn't going to show up to be snubbed again (by the way, I think DeMarcus Cousins deserves a ton of credit for how he's handled the possibility of getting snubbed, saying he'd keep coming back even if they cut him last summer).

[Edouble]

I've enjoyed lurking on this thread for the past few days. Some really interesting thoughts, in particular, by Billy Dat.

I finally have to comment though... I am surprised at how bullish people are on Curry. Yes, he's the NBA MVP, but he just didn't do much last summer; he doesn't seem to fit the mold of the playmaking and/or athletic guards that we've used in the past. I know he's sort of an anomaly, but he has been pretty ineffective in the international game. As we've all seen, it's a different game than the NBA.

Which brings me to my next point... I'm surprised at how bearish (is that a word?) people are on Faried. The guy was one of our most important players in 2014. I just don't see how he's not in the rotation. His game is perfect for Team USA and the international game.

Finally, kind of going along with the Faried point... I don't see Jah making the team at all. In the past, Coach K has preferred athletic bigs that can run and play above the rim in a manner that is favorable to the international (lack of) basket interference rules. Jah's old school game just doesn't seem to be suited for Team USA's style of play.

[Troublemaker]

I wonder if he dropped the Team USA gathering into his texts to the current targets? ("So stoked! Blake and Melo confirmed they'll be coming to camp here in Vegas, along with 4/5 of the starting line-up of the World Champion Warriors.")

BD80 alerted us to USA minicamp news with the post above.

Here is Marc Stein (http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/13320876/blake-griffin-los-angeles-clippers-participate-team-usa-minicamp-hopes-play-2016-summer-olympics)'s article about confirmed attendees for minicamp, which is a prerequisite for making the Olympic Team, per Colangelo.

I've loosely arranged all the confirmed players into positions below. I'm not married to these designations, and obviously a year from now, some of these guys will opt out due to injury or other reasons.

C - Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
PF - Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony
SF - Kahwi Leonard, Paul George
SG - James Harden, Klay Thompson
PG - Steph Curry, Mike Conley

deep bench - Draymond Green, Gordon Hayward, Brad Beal, Andre Drummond, Chandler Parsons, Mason Plumlee, Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, Michael Carter-Williams, Pigeon

Lillard opted out.

Two guys I expect to be there but weren't mentioned in the article are Anthony Davis and Kyrie.

Davis would be a huge loss if he opted out, obviously. USA has an almost unbeatable team there as long as Davis is the starting center. Love and Griffin are great players, but we want Davis anchoring the defense at center.

Kawhi attending is a surprise since he's previously skipped.

[tbyers11]

Lillard opted out.


Lillard's quotes in that article:

In an interview with CBS Sports Radio, Lillard said Saturday he is "probably not going to Vegas" and "doesn't know why [he] would go." After being cut last summer, Lillard said he "doesn't feel like [he's] a part of it."

I know being one of the final cuts must sting a bit but that reeks of sour grapes. Don't you want to come back and prove you deserve a spot this time? Hayward and Parsons were also among the final cuts last summer and they are both attending this mini-camp.

[OldPhiKap]

Lillard's quotes in that article:


I know being one of the final cuts must sting a bit but that reeks of sour grapes. Don't you want to come back and prove you deserve a spot this time? Hayward and Parsons were also among the final cuts last summer and they are both attending this mini-camp.

Meh. He's in or he's out. He chose out. Next play(er).

[BD80]

BD80 alerted us to USA minicamp news with the post above.

Here is Marc Stein (http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/13320876/blake-griffin-los-angeles-clippers-participate-team-usa-minicamp-hopes-play-2016-summer-olympics)'s article about confirmed attendees for minicamp, which is a prerequisite for making the Olympic Team, per Colangelo.

I've loosely arranged all the confirmed players into positions below. I'm not married to these designations, and obviously a year from now, some of these guys will opt out due to injury or other reasons.

C - Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
PF - Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony
SF - Kahwi Leonard, Paul George
SG - James Harden, Klay Thompson
PG - Steph Curry, Mike Conley

...

Lillard opted out.

...

Lillard is having a hissy...

Q: Are you headed to Vegas next month?

Umm, probably not.

Q: Why not?

I did it the last few summers. Last summer I didn't make it, so I don't know why I would go. If I got cut last summer, I don't think I'm a part of it.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25250867/damian-lillard-on-team-usa-camp-i-dont-know-why-i-would-go

[duke09hms]

Lillard is having a hissy...

Q: Are you headed to Vegas next month?

Umm, probably not.

Q: Why not?

I did it the last few summers. Last summer I didn't make it, so I don't know why I would go. If I got cut last summer, I don't think I'm a part of it.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25250867/damian-lillard-on-team-usa-camp-i-dont-know-why-i-would-go

Wow. Someone call the WAHHHHHmbulance.

[gurufrisbee]

Stein's article only listed like 20 names, but said there will be 34 there. I would think there are a number of guys not listed in there who I could see being some of those other sports (A.Davis, Lebron, Irving, Rose, Faried, Butler, Aldridge, Westbrook, etc.).

[Troublemaker]

Stein's article only listed like 20 names, but said there will be 34 there. I would think there are a number of guys not listed in there who I could see being some of those other sports (A.Davis, Lebron, Irving, Rose, Faried, Butler, Aldridge, Westbrook, etc.).

34 (plus some young newbies) have been invited, but I doubt all 34 show up.

[Olympic Fan]

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that at least a few of the invites will be able to miss this mini-camp and still make the team next year. I know I read that some place about LeBron -- that he won't be in Vegas this summer, but probably will be on the Olympic team. I would guess it would apply to Anthony Davis.

[Billy Dat]

Kawhi attending is a surprise since he's previously skipped.

I agree, and I think it's great. I had him slotted as a guy who wasn't interested. I am also surprised that Blake Griffin is going, but he's a strange case in that he kept having to back out due to contracts and injuries and stuff. Maybe he wants the Team USA experience that has helped so many others - maybe he thinks it can push him to MVP level heights before his skills start to erode.

I give Lillard more of a pass. It is easy for us to say that a guy needs to keep coming back no matter how many times he is told no, but not everyone is "Rudy".

Colangelo is definitely talking a lot tougher than in the past with the "show up or you don't play" rhetoric. That has never happened in the off summers, but he is surely a student of history. The original dream team was 1992 and by 2002, everyone had de-committed and the US tailspin was in full flower. We are pulling up on 10 years since Colangelo and K resurrected the program and he probably senses that it's time for everyone to ante up lest the Team USA experience be seen as passe.

[JasonEvans]

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that at least a few of the invites will be able to miss this mini-camp and still make the team next year. I know I read that some place about LeBron -- that he won't be in Vegas this summer, but probably will be on the Olympic team. I would guess it would apply to Anthony Davis.

I would suspect that Kyrie, coming off an injury and likely not even healthy enough to play ball at this point, would also be allowed to miss this mini-camp and still be a candidate for the team next summer.

-Jason "this summer is really about getting buy-in from everyone. Guys who have played for K and the National Team in the past are allowed to skip it if they have the right kind of excuse" Evans

[superdave]

I agree, and I think it's great. I had him slotted as a guy who wasn't interested. I am also surprised that Blake Griffin is going, but he's a strange case in that he kept having to back out due to contracts and injuries and stuff. Maybe he wants the Team USA experience that has helped so many others - maybe he thinks it can push him to MVP level heights before his skills start to erode.

I give Lillard more of a pass. It is easy for us to say that a guy needs to keep coming back no matter how many times he is told no, but not everyone is "Rudy".

Colangelo is definitely talking a lot tougher than in the past with the "show up or you don't play" rhetoric. That has never happened in the off summers, but he is surely a student of history. The original dream team was 1992 and by 2002, everyone had de-committed and the US tailspin was in full flower. We are pulling up on 10 years since Colangelo and K resurrected the program and he probably senses that it's time for everyone to ante up lest the Team USA experience be seen as passe.

I think part of Colangelo and K enforcing attendance is because it is just enough to ask of someone to know whether they are serious about the commitment. If they blow it off or cannot adjust their schedule, then their commitment is not strong enough.

Sometimes you have to put these guys to the test and use it as a weeding process. Remarkably, Demarcus Cousins did everything leadership asked of him last summer and was a key part of the team. If Lillard came back and gave the team everything he had for this mini-camp, would he make the team next summer? Who knows. But he did not make the effort. John Wall is another who did not want to try again.

If a guy cannot make the commitment and accept being pushed, do you really want to take them overseas and have them cause trouble? I am not suggesting Wall and Lillard would cause trouble, but I could see them sulk about having a limited role on the team given their statements about being overlooked.

[Billy Dat]

I think part of Colangelo and K enforcing attendance is because it is just enough to ask of someone to know whether they are serious about the commitment. If they blow it off or cannot adjust their schedule, then their commitment is not strong enough.

Sometimes you have to put these guys to the test and use it as a weeding process. Remarkably, Demarcus Cousins did everything leadership asked of him last summer and was a key part of the team. If Lillard came back and gave the team everything he had for this mini-camp, would he make the team next summer? Who knows. But he did not make the effort. John Wall is another who did not want to try again.

If a guy cannot make the commitment and accept being pushed, do you really want to take them overseas and have them cause trouble? I am not suggesting Wall and Lillard would cause trouble, but I could see them sulk about having a limited role on the team given their statements about being overlooked.

I agree about needing to make the commitment, because, just like the span from 1992-2002, the US has re-asserted its dominance. Last time around, guys didn't think it was special anymore, and I am sure that Colangelo is making sure that same level of casualness, or whatever is the right word, doesn't creep back in.

At the same time, I am not sure it's about not liking to be pushed. These guys are the best of the best, they got where they are because they push themselves plenty hard and don't lack for motivation. They are also not stupid. They see who is getting little talks on the side with K and who isn't - who he invests time in and who he doesn't, etc. People gravitate toward certain other people. K's going to have his favorites for whatever reason and a guy like Lillard or Wall can sense that, and I don't blame them for refusing to keep sticking their hand into the blender. At the same time, I credit a guy like Cousins who, even after Jerry Colangelo publicly called him immature, decided to keep coming back.

[Duvall]

I would suspect that Kyrie, coming off an injury and likely not even healthy enough to play ball at this point, would also be allowed to miss this mini-camp and still be a candidate for the team next summer.

-Jason "this summer is really about getting buy-in from everyone. Guys who have played for K and the National Team in the past are allowed to skip it if they have the right kind of excuse" Evans

*Damien Lillard stans, including Damien Lillard, whine impotently*

[BD80]

... I give Lillard more of a pass. It is easy for us to say that a guy needs to keep coming back no matter how many times he is told no, but not everyone is "Rudy". ...

Absolutely no freakin way should he get a pass in any way. This is a chance to be part of Team USA, even if you don't make the trip. This is no surprise, and certainly no hardship, merely a commitment. Its Las Vegas! And a chance to have a minicamp with some of the world's best coaches and trainers.

He's 4th on the depth chart? Boo, friggin hoo! He's behind Kyrie and Steph, who are likely to be pretty burned out from playoffs next year. Injuries happen. And Coach K will take at least 3 PGs.

[SilkyJ]

Absolutely no freakin way should he get a pass in any way. This is a chance to be part of Team USA, even if you don't make the trip. This is no surprise, and certainly no hardship, merely a commitment. Its Las Vegas! And a chance to have a minicamp with some of the world's best coaches and trainers.

He's 4th on the depth chart? Boo, friggin hoo! He's behind Kyrie and Steph, who are likely to be pretty burned out from playoffs next year. Injuries happen. And Coach K will take at least 3 PGs.

I don't understand those who are holding this against Lilliard. That's great that you would like to be a part of Team USA. Its great that you love Las Vegas. And its great that you think this commitment is minimal. But just b/c you value those things, why does Lilliard have to? He tried out once, didn't make it, why can't he move on? What if he'd rather vacation in his offseason? What if he hates vegas? Seems silly to be all over this guy b/c he doesn't want to try out again. I'd feel markedly different if he backed out of a commitment or something like that, but turning down an invite or not wanting to be a part of it hardly deserves the critiques he's receiving on this board.

[dukejim1]

I would suspect that Kyrie, coming off an injury and likely not even healthy enough to play ball at this point, would also be allowed to miss this mini-camp and still be a candidate for the team next summer.

-Jason "this summer is really about getting buy-in from everyone. Guys who have played for K and the National Team in the past are allowed to skip it if they have the right kind of excuse" Evans

Melo and Durant will not be able to practice but will attend; I would think Kyrie has to meet their standard. Lebron may not have to.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Melo and Durant will not be able to practice but will attend; I would think Kyrie has to meet their standard. Lebron may not have to.

Could not agree more. Lebron can do whatever he wants, and Team USA will cave. I mean, he's Lebron $%&# James!

If Kyrie wants to play next summer, he should attend. It's also a solid way to say 'hi' to his college coaches ;)

[Troublemaker]

Lebron might want to come just to hang out with his friend Carmelo and Kevin Love at the XS pool/nightclub or other equivalently cool hangout spot. Coach K might even join them at XS since he's a whale at the Wynn, apparently.

It's not like anyone would expect Lebron to suit up and play. The bar has been set so low -- come hang out in Vegas for a few days to re-connect with USA teammates and re-learn some terminology -- that I'd really like to see everybody who wants to be on the team show up.

[gurufrisbee]

Right or wrong, when you are the best basketball player ever and have been the best player on your nation's last two Olympic teams that won gold medals and lead your professional team to five straight NBA finals, I think you get a pass on being required to come the "mandatory" get together. Right now the 2016 roster is:

Lebron
Durant (IF he is healthy and has his FA status cleared up)
10 open spots

Proceed accordingly.

[CDu]

Right or wrong, when you are the best basketball player ever and have been the best player on your nation's last two Olympic teams that won gold medals and lead your professional team to five straight NBA finals, I think you get a pass on being required to come the "mandatory" get together. Right now the 2016 roster is:

Lebron
Durant (IF he is healthy and has his FA status cleared up)
10 open spots

Proceed accordingly.

I would add "(IF he wants to spend next summer with Team USA)" to LeBron's name too. He's already done this show 3 times, he might be ready to have some time off. But I agree: if James wants to play, he is on the team. Same for Durant. Same is probably true for Chris Paul, though he may be even more likely than James to be done with international ball. Anthony Davis is probably closing in on "lock" status, but is not quite there yet. Everyone else needs to pay their dues.

[BD80]

Could not agree more. Lebron can do whatever he wants, and Team USA will cave. I mean, he's Lebron $%&# James!

If Kyrie wants to play next summer, he should attend. It's also a solid way to say 'hi' to his college coaches ;)

Reports are Kyrie will attend but not participate

[flyingdutchdevil]

Reports are Kyrie will attend but not participate

Very nice. Will the introductory meeting conference room with Coach K, Colangelo, and the players be split into two: one with chairs and the other with hospital beds?

[BD80]

Very nice. Will the introductory meeting conference room with Coach K, Colangelo, and the players be split into two: one with chairs and the other with hospital beds?

But, oh, the nursing staff and physical therapists they have in Vegas!

[SilkyJ]

Right or wrong, when you are the best basketball player ever and have been the best player on your nation's last two Olympic teams that won gold medals and lead your professional team to five straight NBA finals, I think you get a pass on being required to come the "mandatory" get together. Right now the 2016 roster is:

Lebron
Durant (IF he is healthy and has his FA status cleared up)
10 open spots

Proceed accordingly.


I would add "(IF he wants to spend next summer with Team USA)" to LeBron's name too. He's already done this show 3 times, he might be ready to have some time off. But I agree: if James wants to play, he is on the team. Same for Durant. Same is probably true for Chris Paul, though he may be even more likely than James to be done with international ball. Anthony Davis is probably closing in on "lock" status, but is not quite there yet. Everyone else needs to pay their dues.

This is all fair in my mind. Though I like the way Guru put it and said the only two "locks" are LBJ and KD. If we start saying Cp3 is a lock, then Anthony Davis is a virtual lock, well isn't Steph Curry probably a lock now too after his world cup performance and then MVP season (more on this in a minute)...and Kyrie outplayed Steph at the world cup last year and was MOP so he's probably a lock if healthy, and Westbrook was probably the best guard in the world the 2nd half of last year...the list of "locks" starts to get too long. And how can CP3, Kyrie, Steph and Westbrook all be locks if 2 of them are guaranteed to come off the bench (if all were on the roster).

And then CDu will argue that we have more "need" for Davis in the post than need for any of the guards b/c we're so loaded there/on the wing, which is fair, so then its OK to call him a lock...anywho, I think its obvious that if Lebron and Durant want in they are in and will start. After that spots quickly become up for grabs. If both of those guys show up and only 2/4 of CP3, Kyrie, Steph, Westbrook are on the team, things could quickly get ridiculous again :)

Back to Curry and his MVP season, he is now the 2nd player to play for Coach K in an int'l tournament and then breakout to become MVP of the NBA the next season. Derrick Rose did it in 2011 after taking the reigns as the starting PG for team USA in 2010. D-Rose made a large jump statistically going from averages of 21/6 to 25/8 (and jumping his 3pt% from 26% to 33%) after his team USA breakout. Curry's jump is less significant, his averages barely moved the last 2 years, though in the playoffs he did up his scoring nicely. Durant almost makes this list after being featured in the 2010 world championships, then destroying the world at the 2012 Olympics, but didn't pick up his MVP award until the 2013-14 season. Guess duke can't coach big men or nba players

[gurufrisbee]

I nearly put A.Davis as a third lock. Probably should have.

Paul has been great, but he has age and a growing pool of very talented, young players at the same position. In fact, point guard is so deep for USA right now I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Curry and/or Westbrook make the team for Rio and neither actually play the point at all.

[Olympic Fan]

I would add "(IF he wants to spend next summer with Team USA)" to LeBron's name too. He's already done this show 3 times, he might be ready to have some time off. But I agree: if James wants to play, he is on the team. Same for Durant. Same is probably true for Chris Paul, though he may be even more likely than James to be done with international ball. Anthony Davis is probably closing in on "lock" status, but is not quite there yet. Everyone else needs to pay their dues.

I very much agree with this as far as LeBron is concerned. He was on the last three Olympic teams (going back to the one Larry Brown coached in 2004), plus I'm pretty sure he was on K's 2006 World Championship team (that finished second).

He's paid his dues. If he wants a summer off, that's fine. It would be nice if he showed up to say hello in Vegas, but I'm not ruling him out if Rio until (and if) he decides he doesn't want to go.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I nearly put A.Davis as a third lock. Probably should have.

Paul has been great, but he has age and a growing pool of very talented, young players at the same position. In fact, point guard is so deep for USA right now I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Curry and/or Westbrook make the team for Rio and neither actually play the point at all.

Paul could easily take on the Jason Kidd role: steady hand, smart player, good defensive, great distributor. But, then again, Lebron James does all of that and more.

Regardless, if the US has Lebron or no Lebron, it doesn't really matter; there is a 99% that the US brings home the gold. The Latin American teams are really old and the European teams aren't replenishing their great aging talent with younger, better talent. The US, meanwhile, probably has the top 20 players in the NBA.

NOTE TO THE WORLD: We need more Rik Smits

[Duvall]

Paul could easily take on the Jason Kidd role: steady hand, smart player, good defensive, great distributor. But, then again, Lebron James does all of that and more.

Regardless, if the US has Lebron or no Lebron, it doesn't really matter; there is a 99% that the US brings home the gold. The Latin American teams are really old and the European teams aren't replenishing their great aging talent with younger, better talent. The US, meanwhile, probably has the top 20 players in the NBA.


Well, there's the Gasols, and then, uh, Al Horford? Hm.

I guess we just have to hope USA Basketball avoids complacency until the Canadian Golden Generation is as ready as it's going to get.

[gurufrisbee]

Yes, we seem to be at sort of a funny stage of international basketball. It was the USA and no one else was close. Then the rest of the world was supposed to be catching up, but it was really Argentina that first became a legit threat. But now that sort of golden generation for them has gotten too old and no one came up behind them. Then Spain was the big threat. But now they seem to be getting to the end of their window without really having the next wave of talent to maintain them as well. So while the overall international community continues to get better and better, there aren't single nations really rising up. Canada might be the next one, but it won't be by 2016. Lithuania, Russia, Serbia - they all still seem to be 2-3 more NBA level starters from being a contender. However, the Olympics is a one-and-done tournament so anyone can have an off day the same day someone else gets hot.

[NSDukeFan]

Well, there's the Gasols, and then, uh, Al Horford? Hm.

I guess we just have to hope USA Basketball avoids complacency until the Canadian Golden Generation is as ready as it's going to get.

I will be quite happy to see the Canadian Golden Generation qualify. They should, but it's been awhile.

[gep]

I very much agree with this as far as LeBron is concerned. He was on the last three Olympic teams (going back to the one Larry Brown coached in 2004), plus I'm pretty sure he was on K's 2006 World Championship team (that finished second).

He's paid his dues. If he wants a summer off, that's fine. It would be nice if he showed up to say hello in Vegas, but I'm not ruling him out if Rio until (and if) he decides he doesn't want to go.

Yes... he's paid his dues. But I think that he should "show up" if only to "show up"... not participate in games, etc... give the rest of Team USA a better feeling for LBJ. And besides, isn't this a week or so? What's a week in Las Vegas do to a summer "off"? He doesn't even have to stay the whole time... just the intro meetings, etc. If anything, to show support for those that will be there trying to make the team. :cool: Who knows.. maybe he doesn't even want to participate in 2016. But since he's kinda the elder stateman for this rejuvinated Team USA, him showing up, I think, would be very beneficial.

[JasonEvans]

I will be quite happy to see the Canadian Golden Generation qualify. They should, but it's been awhile.

If Canada cannot qualify -- heck, if they are not a strong medal contender -- with a roster of Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Kelly Olynyk, Nick Stauskus, Robert Sacre, Joel Anthony, Tyler Ennis, Trey Lyles, Cory Joseph, Olivier Hanlan, and Andrew Nicholson then I'll be flabbergasted. I fully expect them to be the top contender to the US (replacing the aging Spanish stars) if not in 2016 then certainly in 2020. They need some guards -- the forward/big man contingent is quite strong.

-Jason "worth noting, the Canadian guys are like the US stars, they haven't played together much. The advantage the European teams have is more cohesion" Evans

[flyingdutchdevil]

-Jason "worth noting, the Canadian guys are like the US stars, they haven't played together much. The advantage the European teams have is more cohesion" Evans

Also worth noting that the players you listed have a combined zero NBA All-Star appearances. I believe that will change in the 2016-17 season with Wiggins, but this is still a raw team with mediocre talent. If this is the best that can compete with the US, than the US doesn't have much to worry about. Of course, complacency can be an issue, but Colangelo's and Coach K's best value to the team is avoiding the complacency that was installed by the UNC coaches.

[CDu]

If Canada cannot qualify -- heck, if they are not a strong medal contender -- with a roster of Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Kelly Olynyk, Nick Stauskus, Robert Sacre, Joel Anthony, Tyler Ennis, Trey Lyles, Cory Joseph, Olivier Hanlan, and Andrew Nicholson then I'll be flabbergasted. I fully expect them to be the top contender to the US (replacing the aging Spanish stars) if not in 2016 then certainly in 2020. They need some guards -- the forward/big man contingent is quite strong.

-Jason "worth noting, the Canadian guys are like the US stars, they haven't played together much. The advantage the European teams have is more cohesion" Evans

Jamal Murray is going to be on the 2020 Canada team. He might even be on the 2016 Canada team. He's a heck of a young scorer. Not nearly as good as our SGs obviously, but he's going to be one of the best scoring guards in college this season. Just a terrific talent.

I don't think that team looks very threatening in 2016. I don't think they'd be a contender by next year. And by 2020, Anthony (who isn't very good now) will be 37. It remains to be seen if guys like Wiggins, Thompson, Ennis, Lyles, Joseph, Hanlan, Stauskas, Nicholson, Bennett and Murray develop into stars in the NBA. Right now, Wiggins is the closest, and Thompson is a very good role player, but the rest are just fringe NBAers or completely unproven young players. If more of those guys don't develop into more prominent players, will that group be better than Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Ricky Rubio by 2020?

[phaedrus]

Jamal Murray is going to be on the 2020 Canada team. He might even be on the 2016 Canada team. He's a heck of a young scorer. Not nearly as good as our SGs obviously, but he's going to be one of the best scoring guards in college this season. Just a terrific talent.

I don't think that team looks very threatening in 2016. I don't think they'd be a contender by next year. And by 2020, Anthony (who isn't very good now) will be 37. It remains to be seen if guys like Wiggins, Thompson, Ennis, Lyles, Joseph, Hanlan, Stauskas, Nicholson, Bennett and Murray develop into stars in the NBA. Right now, Wiggins is the closest, and Thompson is a very good role player, but the rest are just fringe NBAers or completely unproven young players. If more of those guys don't develop into more prominent players, will that group be better than Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Ricky Rubio by 2020?

Don't forget Anthony Bennett! And, um, Kevin Pangos. Sam Dalembert still around?

Actually, Kyle Wiltjer is a realistic contributor.

[CDu]

Don't forget Anthony Bennett! And, um, Kevin Pangos. Sam Dalembert still around?

Actually, Kyle Wiltjer is a realistic contributor.

Bennett was in there. Wiltjer probably has about as much chance as Stauskas, so he's a fair addition for sure. But yeah, they don't exactly have a ton of proven players.

Maybe some of those guys (Wiltjer is a nice fit for FIBA, but can he defend?; Murray may be a star by 2020; maybe Thompson's game grows?) develop into stars. But right now, Canada has a long way to go to threaten for a medal. This is a team that barely beat a bunch of US scrubs (in fairness, they didn't have Olynyk, Thompson, or Wiggins) in the Pan Am games.

[JasonEvans]

Jamal Murray is going to be on the 2020 Canada team. He might even be on the 2016 Canada team. He's a heck of a young scorer. Not nearly as good as our SGs obviously, but he's going to be one of the best scoring guards in college this season. Just a terrific talent.

I don't think that team looks very threatening in 2016. I don't think they'd be a contender by next year. And by 2020, Anthony (who isn't very good now) will be 37. It remains to be seen if guys like Wiggins, Thompson, Ennis, Lyles, Joseph, Hanlan, Stauskas, Nicholson, Bennett and Murray develop into stars in the NBA. Right now, Wiggins is the closest, and Thompson is a very good role player, but the rest are just fringe NBAers or completely unproven young players. If more of those guys don't develop into more prominent players, will that group be better than Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Ricky Rubio by 2020?

Here's the thing. There are so many Canadians in the NBA right now, young guys who are getting minutes and experience, that I would expect a few of them to develop into (if not stars) at least really solid starters. Plus, it is almost a certainty that Canada will have NBA-quality players on their bench, something that sets them apart from a team like Spain. I am not saying they will be favorites versus the US team, but they will at least be able to contend. Remember that the medal round is not a series but single elimination games. A Canadian team that featured at least a few strong NBA starters plus a roster with other decent NBA contributors would have at least a 25% chance of winning a game with Team USA.

-Jason "I could be wrong, but I expect Wiggins to be a top 10-15 NBA player by 2020" Evans

[Duvall]

Here's the thing. There are so many Canadians in the NBA right now, young guys who are getting minutes and experience, that I would expect a few of them to develop into (if not stars) at least really solid starters. Plus, it is almost a certainty that Canada will have NBA-quality players on their bench, something that sets them apart from a team like Spain. I am not saying they will be favorites versus the US team, but they will at least be able to contend. Remember that the medal round is not a series but single elimination games. A Canadian team that featured at least a few strong NBA starters plus a roster with other decent NBA contributors would have at least a 25% chance of winning a game with Team USA.

-Jason "I could be wrong, but I expect Wiggins to be a top 10-15 NBA player by 2020" Evans

*Is* there a Canadian that's close to being a strong NBA starter? I guess Thompson is, even though he won't start if/when he resigns with the Cavs. I guess Wiggins can get there, but he need to become a shotmaker instead of just a shottaker.

[sagegrouse]

*Is* there a Canadian that's close to being a strong NBA starter? I guess Thompson is, even though he won't start if/when he resigns with the Cavs. I guess Wiggins can get there, but he need to become a shotmaker instead of just a shottaker.

Is there an authoritative list of NBA players who are eligible to play for Canada? FWIW, it seems like every time a new name surfaces, I am surprised to find he is from Canada.

[superdave]

*Is* there a Canadian that's close to being a strong NBA starter? I guess Thompson is, even though he won't start if/when he resigns with the Cavs. I guess Wiggins can get there, but he need to become a shotmaker instead of just a shottaker.

Wiggins seems like a cross between TMac and Kawhi. He may never be exceptional offensively, but he may be on another planet on the defensive end with his athleticism. He moves so well, but seems a little more mechanical and boxy on the offensive end like Kawhi. If he cant find some go to moves, watch out.

The Canadian roster is pretty good for a few years down the road. The 2020 Olympics will be prime years for some of those guys.

[gurufrisbee]

I'd also keep an eye on Australia. Bogut gives them size (with Baynes and Bairstow also as NBA big men) and the backcourt has Patty Mills and Dante Exum and Delladova. If Ben Simmons is everything he is touted to be, the Boomers could be a factor in 2020 as well.

[phaedrus]

Bennett was in there. Wiltjer probably has about as much chance as Stauskas, so he's a fair addition for sure. But yeah, they don't exactly have a ton of proven players.

Maybe some of those guys (Wiltjer is a nice fit for FIBA, but can he defend?; Murray may be a star by 2020; maybe Thompson's game grows?) develop into stars. But right now, Canada has a long way to go to threaten for a medal. This is a team that barely beat a bunch of US scrubs (in fairness, they didn't have Olynyk, Thompson, or Wiggins) in the Pan Am games.

And don't forget, Olynyk is the KLove-stopper.

[Billy Dat]

Yes, we seem to be at sort of a funny stage of international basketball. It was the USA and no one else was close. Then the rest of the world was supposed to be catching up, but it was really Argentina that first became a legit threat. But now that sort of golden generation for them has gotten too old and no one came up behind them. Then Spain was the big threat. But now they seem to be getting to the end of their window without really having the next wave of talent to maintain them as well. So while the overall international community continues to get better and better, there aren't single nations really rising up. Canada might be the next one, but it won't be by 2016. Lithuania, Russia, Serbia - they all still seem to be 2-3 more NBA level starters from being a contender. However, the Olympics is a one-and-done tournament so anyone can have an off day the same day someone else gets hot.

With the benefit of hindsight, I think we can safely say that the rest of the world closed an enormous gap to a certain degree and then, once they US got its program re-established on a solid base, we can see how far ahead we still are, largely because of the un-matched depth of our talent pool. And, by "program", I am talking about the U16 all the way to the Senior Men's National team. 10 years into the Colangelo regime, I think we hold nearly every World Title from U16 on up. That NEVER used to be true. Those World Title teams, for the most part, are increasingly attracting the cream of the high school crop who, in theory, should wind up populating a chunk of the senior men's national team going forward. Colangelo has managed, amazingly, to legitimately wedge USA Basketball into the sneaker-soaked summer circuit, and they continue to try and grab a growing share of the youth market with their new coach training curriculum and certification program. The foundation is really solid.


If Canada cannot qualify -- heck, if they are not a strong medal contender -- with a roster of Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Kelly Olynyk, Nick Stauskus, Robert Sacre, Joel Anthony, Tyler Ennis, Trey Lyles, Cory Joseph, Olivier Hanlan, and Andrew Nicholson then I'll be flabbergasted. I fully expect them to be the top contender to the US (replacing the aging Spanish stars) if not in 2016 then certainly in 2020. They need some guards -- the forward/big man contingent is quite strong.

-Jason "worth noting, the Canadian guys are like the US stars, they haven't played together much. The advantage the European teams have is more cohesion" Evans

I agree with this and, in reference to your signature quote, I have noticed Canada being really competitive and "USA-like" in the U16-U19 FIBA stuff I have watched on YouTube so maybe the younger guys are playing together more. It may take a few more cycles, but they should be medal contenders within 5-10 years, perhaps right around when USA Basketball is dealing with finding a worth successor to Colangelo (and maybe that successor is K)

[devildeac]

Is there an authoritative list of NBA players who are eligible to play for Canada? FWIW, it seems like every time a new name surfaces, I am surprised to find he is from Canada.

Don't have a current list but it is a shame Danny Meagher and Greg Newton have expectorated, err, exceeded their age limits:rolleyes::o.

[gurufrisbee]

With the benefit of hindsight, I think we can safely say that the rest of the world closed an enormous gap to a certain degree and then, once they US got its program re-established on a solid base, we can see how far ahead we still are, largely because of the un-matched depth of our talent pool. And, by "program", I am talking about the U16 all the way to the Senior Men's National team. 10 years into the Colangelo regime, I think we hold nearly every World Title from U16 on up. That NEVER used to be true. Those World Title teams, for the most part, are increasingly attracting the cream of the high school crop who, in theory, should wind up populating a chunk of the senior men's national team going forward. Colangelo has managed, amazingly, to legitimately wedge USA Basketball into the sneaker-soaked summer circuit, and they continue to try and grab a growing share of the youth market with their new coach training curriculum and certification program. The foundation is really solid.


Good point. I do think the rest of the world has been improving rapidly and to whatever extent, has been "catching up" to the point that we'll never see Olympics as lopsided as 92 or even 96. But yes, the closer calls in 2000 and failure in 2004 were likely far more about us not having good leadership, good coaching, or anywhere close to the best roster we should have had. We were taking our success there for granted - we don't anymore. And with good reason - there are threats internationally. No one who could challenge us in a series or for a long extended period, but in a one-and-done format some countries are getting good enough to be threats - even with USA basketball being stronger right now than they ever have been before.

[Billy Dat]

No one who could challenge us in a series or for a long extended period, but in a one-and-done format some countries are getting good enough to be threats - even with USA basketball being stronger right now than they ever have been before.

Indeed, and that's what makes it exciting. Let's not forget the overwhelming media opinion that, had we played Spain last summer in the World Cup, they would have beaten us. Many opined they would have crushed us. Based on how well Team USA played, it looks different in hindsight, but the "any given sunday" cliche applies to the medal rounds, for sure. And, not for nothing, we never did play Spain.

[gurufrisbee]

Indeed, and that's what makes it exciting. Let's not forget the overwhelming media opinion that, had we played Spain last summer in the World Cup, they would have beaten us. Many opined they would have crushed us. Based on how well Team USA played, it looks different in hindsight, but the "any given sunday" cliche applies to the medal rounds, for sure. And, not for nothing, we never did play Spain.

Ironically while the world was worried that we were weaker and vulnerable and ready for Spain to beat us, it ended up being Spain that apparently lost focus and got "any given sunday"-ed by France.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Indeed, and that's what makes it exciting. Let's not forget the overwhelming media opinion that, had we played Spain last summer in the World Cup, they would have beaten us. Many opined they would have crushed us. Based on how well Team USA played, it looks different in hindsight, but the "any given sunday" cliche applies to the medal rounds, for sure. And, not for nothing, we never did play Spain.

I really think the world underestimates how strong the US is and how strong they've become over the last decade. The US in basketball is arguably the most dominant team in any major sport (more so than Canada in hockey, US in baseball, [Best European team] in soccer). I was one who completely thought that Spain was overrated and the US was underrated last summer; I think the media is bored of "US basketball wins again" and was looking for another angle.

Can the US lose? Yes. Will they lose? No. The talent gap is just too big. The best want to play for Team USA again, and that means that the rest of the world doesn't have a snowball chance in hell. Spain in the 2012 Euro Cup (one of the biggest favorites in any soccer tournament) would be a quarter as likely to win that tournament than Team USA in any international basketball tournament. There is some competition, but either the US has gotten a lot better or the rest of the world has gotten a lot worse (probably a combination of both), because that gap has certainly increased.

[Billy Dat]

Ironically while the world was worried that we were weaker and vulnerable and ready for Spain to beat us, it ended up being Spain that apparently lost focus and got "any given sunday"-ed by France.

It's interesting, Spain shows up to meet us in the Finals of recent Olympics but fails to get there in the World Cup.

Here's a link to the current FIBA rankings:
http://www.fiba.com/rankingmen

Canada is down at 25

[Olympic Fan]

Canada did just win silver at the Pan Am games ...

One Canadian not mentioned so far is Xavier Rathan-Mayes of FSU ... he's going to be an NBA guard in 2020

And, gurufrisbee, I disagree with your characterization of our 2004 failures as "not having anywhere near the best roster we could have had"

That team had:
Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Tim Duncan
Allen Iverson
LeBron James (coming off a rookie if the year season in which he was 9th in the MVP vote)
Richard Jefferson
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Marion
Lamar Odom
Emeka Okafor
Amar'e Stoudemire
Dwyane Wade

Okay, LeBron, Wade and Carmelo were very young (1-2-3 in the ROY vote in 2004), but Duncan, Iverson, Odom, Jefferson, Marion and Marbury were in their prime. Stoudemire was a stud inside. They were missing Garnett and Shaq, but that was still a loaded team. Maybe not the best possible US team, but when has K had the best possible team (look at the team he won the world championship with in 2014). It was a very talented team in 2004. I think the lack of familiarity caused by the poor structure of USA Basketball at the time and some bonehead decisions by coach Larry Brown (he barely played LeBron and he appointed Allen "Practice? Practice?" Iverson as the caoptain) had more to do with the third-place finish.

[gurufrisbee]

Canada did just win silver at the Pan Am games ...

One Canadian not mentioned so far is Xavier Rathan-Mayes of FSU ... he's going to be an NBA guard in 2020

And, gurufrisbee, I disagree with your characterization of our 2004 failures as "not having anywhere near the best roster we could have had"

That team had:
Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Tim Duncan
Allen Iverson
LeBron James (coming off a rookie if the year season in which he was 9th in the MVP vote)
Richard Jefferson
Stephon Marbury
Shawn Marion
Lamar Odom
Emeka Okafor
Amar'e Stoudemire
Dwyane Wade

Okay, LeBron, Wade and Carmelo were very young (1-2-3 in the ROY vote in 2004), but Duncan, Iverson, Odom, Jefferson, Marion and Marbury were in their prime. Stoudemire was a stud inside. They were missing Garnett and Shaq, but that was still a loaded team. Maybe not the best possible US team, but when has K had the best possible team (look at the team he won the world championship with in 2014). It was a very talented team in 2004. I think the lack of familiarity caused by the poor structure of USA Basketball at the time and some bonehead decisions by coach Larry Brown (he barely played LeBron and he appointed Allen "Practice? Practice?" Iverson as the caoptain) had more to do with the third-place finish.

Lebron, Wade, and Melo were either too young to be counted on for that team or they were badly underused. I'm inclined more to blame Brown, but the coach also needs to put together a roster he can utilize for success with his coaching. Whatever it was, it didn't work at all.

The first team all NBA in 2004 was Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd. I only see one of those names on here.

Second team was Jermaine O Neal, Cassell, McGrady, and Ben Wallace (and Peja Stojakovic, but he obviously wasn't going to be on the team). I don't see any of them here.

Third team was Baron Davis, Artest, and Redd (and Yao and Dirk). O for 3.

Lebron and Melo did get some MVP votes. Along with Duncan they are the only three on the roster who did.

Of the top twenty scorers in the league that season, this roster has #8, 12, 13, 15, and 19.

I'm not arguing it still wasn't the most talented roster there and should have still won gold, but I think it could have clearly been much, much better.

Honestly I would have loved to see Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd tear up the world. They could have just played the 1st and 3rd quarters and let the 2nd and 4th be fun time for the kids half of the roster with Lebron, Melo, Wade, Boozer, and Emeka.

[sagegrouse]

Lebron, Wade, and Melo were either too young to be counted on for that team or they were badly underused. I'm inclined more to blame Brown, but the coach also needs to put together a roster he can utilize for success with his coaching. Whatever it was, it didn't work at all.

The first team all NBA in 2004 was Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd. I only see one of those names on here.

Second team was Jermaine O Neal, Cassell, McGrady, and Ben Wallace (and Peja Stojakovic, but he obviously wasn't going to be on the team). I don't see any of them here.

Third team was Baron Davis, Artest, and Redd (and Yao and Dirk). O for 3.

Lebron and Melo did get some MVP votes. Along with Duncan they are the only three on the roster who did.

Of the top twenty scorers in the league that season, this roster has #8, 12, 13, 15, and 19.

I'm not arguing it still wasn't the most talented roster there and should have still won gold, but I think it could have clearly been much, much better.

Honestly I would have loved to see Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd tear up the world. They could have just played the 1st and 3rd quarters and let the 2nd and 4th be fun time for the kids half of the roster with Lebron, Melo, Wade, Boozer, and Emeka.

Team USA in 2004 was a thrown-together team coached by a brilliant madman, Larry Brown. I suppose the meltdown was predictable, but it was ugly. Its failure (coining the term, "LeBronze") led directly to the hiring of Colangelo and then K. K was nominated by Dean Smith as the one college coach that could do the job of building a team USA program.

[devildeac]

Lebron, Wade, and Melo were either too young to be counted on for that team or they were badly underused. I'm inclined more to blame Brown, but the coach also needs to put together a roster he can utilize for success with his coaching. Whatever it was, it didn't work at all.

The first team all NBA in 2004 was Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd. I only see one of those names on here.

Second team was Jermaine O Neal, Cassell, McGrady, and Ben Wallace (and Peja Stojakovic, but he obviously wasn't going to be on the team). I don't see any of them here.

Third team was Baron Davis, Artest, and Redd (and Yao and Dirk). O for 3.

Lebron and Melo did get some MVP votes. Along with Duncan they are the only three on the roster who did.

Of the top twenty scorers in the league that season, this roster has #8, 12, 13, 15, and 19.

I'm not arguing it still wasn't the most talented roster there and should have still won gold, but I think it could have clearly been much, much better.

Honestly I would have loved to see Garnett, Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, and Kidd tear up the world. They could have just played the 1st and 3rd quarters and let the 2nd and 4th be fun time for the kids half of the roster with Lebron, Melo, Wade, Boozer, and Emeka.

I'll still blame the coach. Always have. Always will. Chevy trucks. Ford tough. The c*rolina way. I'm not on the Mount for nothing.;)

5343

[JasonEvans]

Second team was Jermaine O Neal, Cassell, McGrady, and Ben Wallace (and Peja Stojakovic, but he obviously wasn't going to be on the team). I don't see any of them here.

gurufrisbee, YOU BLEW IT!! I am telling you, you could have won major coin off me (and probably a lot of other people) betting me whether or not Sam Cassell was ever a 2nd team All-NBA player. The notion that Cassell was one of the 10 best players in the NBA fries my synapses.

--Jason "I swear, I read 'Cassell' and spent a good 2 or 3 minutes trying to think of who this was because I knew it couldn't be SAM Cassell" Evans

[OldPhiKap]

Don't have a current list but it is a shame Danny Meagher and Greg Newton have expectorated, err, exceeded their age limits:rolleyes::o.

Dan Meagher spits in the face of age limits. And, of course, Tom Sheehey.

[awhom111]

Is there an authoritative list of NBA players who are eligible to play for Canada? FWIW, it seems like every time a new name surfaces, I am surprised to find he is from Canada.

If all else fails, you can consult this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_in_the_National_Basketball_Assoc iation

The issue with Canada challenging the United States is that they tend to have a ton of American influence in their basketball style and thus become just a less talented version of us. That may work against other international teams, but seems to give us less trouble. The teams that we have the hardest time with seem to be the very international styled teams.

[sagegrouse]

If all else fails, you can consult this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_in_the_National_Basketball_Assoc iation

The issue with Canada challenging the United States is that they tend to have a ton of American influence in their basketball style and thus become just a less talented version of us. That may work against other international teams, but seems to give us less trouble. The teams that we have the hardest time with seem to be the very international styled teams.

Rick Fox is from Canada?

[brevity]

The issue with Canada challenging the United States is that they tend to have a ton of American influence in their basketball style and thus become just a less talented version of us.

Less talented, but more polite.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Ironically while the world was worried that we were weaker and vulnerable and ready for Spain to beat us, it ended up being Spain that apparently lost focus and got "any given sunday"-ed by France.

Hrmmm... sounds sort of like that inevitable UK title of 2015. That didn't work out quite as planned either.

It's really a shame Kentucky wasn't able to prove themselves against the best, just because of the tournament logistics. You know, that little know detail of "single elimination."

[eyeroll]

[Billy Dat]

Hrmmm... sounds sort of like that inevitable UK title of 2015. That didn't work out quite as planned either.

It's really a shame Kentucky wasn't able to prove themselves against the best, just because of the tournament logistics. You know, that little know detail of "single elimination."

[eyeroll]

I love the Kentucky/Spain connection

Kentucky - 2010 and 2015
Spain - 2010 and 2014

What did Woody Allen say about success and showing up...

[luburch]

Less talented, but more polite.

And scared of the dark.

[Troublemaker]

From the front-page Yahoo interview with Colangelo:

Q: Do you already have a next coach in mind?
Colangelo: I always have a guy already in my head. Always did and always will.

I nominate Jeff Capel! Hey, Colangelo did push hard for Jeff to coach ASU.

[Skitzle]

If LeBron is thinking about playing in 2016, I think he'll show up to the mini-camp.

In fact, I'll even say I'd be SHOCKED to see him on the 2016 USA Team if he wasn't at the camp this month, not because of Team USA rules, but because of LeBron himself.

He's never seemed to be anything but supportive of USA Basketball in the K era, and I wouldn't expect him to start using his superstar privilege now as he never has before.

[Olympic Fan]

Just saw a TV report yesterday, talking about LeBron -- they said he WOULD show up in Vegas for the mini-camp, but would not play:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25260421/report-lebron-james-paul-george-will-attend-team-usa-minicamp

Seems pretty clear that he's keep his options open for 2016.

[sagegrouse]

Just saw a TV report yesterday, talking about LeBron -- they said he WOULD show up in Vegas for the mini-camp, but would not play:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25260421/report-lebron-james-paul-george-will-attend-team-usa-minicamp

Seems pretty clear that he's keep his options open for 2016.

I mean this kindly, but King James views his realm as the entire world of basketball. The chance he will voluntarily sit out the next Olympics would seem remote.

[NSDukeFan]

I mean this kindly, but King James views his realm as the entire world of basketball. The chance he will voluntarily sit out the next Olympics would seem remote.

The chances that he would involuntarily sit out the next Olympics would be even more remote.

[flyingdutchdevil]

The chances that he would involuntarily sit out the next Olympics would be even more remote.

Is Lebron the most powerful man in all of basketball? Does he trump Nike? Or even Adam Silver? I would think so, given that Lebron could set Cleveland on fire and the fans would just blame it on Johnny Football's drinking problem.

[Billy Dat]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo

An AWESOME collection of players!

Notable absentees - not necessarily surprises:
D. Wade, Derrick Rose, Millsap, Dame Lillard, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry...also, absolutely no incoming rookies. This being K's last run, and likely the last run of a lot of these 10 year vets, this feels like a really seasoned veteran affair.

[flyingdutchdevil]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo

An AWESOME collection of players!

Notable absentees - not necessarily surprises:
D. Wade, Derrick Rose, Millsap, Dame Lillard, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry...also, absolutely no incoming rookies. This being K's last run, and likely the last run of a lot of these 10 year vets, this feels like a really seasoned veteran affair.

Spain and Canada are clearly coming in first and second with the US a distant third.

[BD80]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, ... Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, ... Kyrie Irving, ... Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, ... Paul George, Blake Griffin, ..., Draymond Green, ...

An AWESOME collection of players!

...

The guys in bold are not likely to make the team! Sure, some spots will open up due to injury or contracts or whatever, but Westbrook would be the 4th PG behind Paul, Curry and Kyrie!

Starting the underlined players, the team competes with the original "Dream Team"

Paul George may deserve a spot because of the injury he incurred before the World Games, he also is the type of player that complements the megastars.

Draymond Green is such a fast rising star for doing everything a team needs to win, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make the roster.

[Edouble]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo

An AWESOME collection of players!

Notable absentees - not necessarily surprises:
D. Wade, Derrick Rose, Millsap, Dame Lillard, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry...also, absolutely no incoming rookies. This being K's last run, and likely the last run of a lot of these 10 year vets, this feels like a really seasoned veteran affair.

So, is the guy there or not?

[luburch]

So, is the guy there or not?

According to the press release I saw, he is there.

[Billy Dat]

So, is the guy there or not?

Ha - my bad, I need an editor and fact checker.

[David Bunkley]

Westbrook would be the 4th PG behind Paul, Curry and Kyrie!

I actually think Westbrook would be more of a two guard with this team and he makes the squad.

[David Bunkley]

Anthony Davis F/C
Carmelo Anthony F
Chris Paul G
Dwight Howard C
James Harden G
Kawhi Leonard F
Kevin Durant G/F
Kevin Love F/C
Kyrie Irving G
Lebron James F
Russell Westbrook G
Stephen Curry G/F

A defensive unit of Westbrook, Kawhi, LBJ, AD, and Dwight would be pretty darn scary.

[Troublemaker]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo

An AWESOME collection of players!

Notable absentees - not necessarily surprises:
D. Wade, Derrick Rose, Millsap, Dame Lillard, Mike Conley, Jeff Teague, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry...also, absolutely no incoming rookies. This being K's last run, and likely the last run of a lot of these 10 year vets, this feels like a really seasoned veteran affair.

Wow. That is MUCH more participation from A-list stars than I expected (even given that some of these guys will drop out next summer due to injury/fatigue/etc).

The last hurrah for Coach K is probably the motivating factor here, right? This is massive respect shown for him, imo.

[luburch]

Figured I'd get in on the prediction action

2016 Prediction
Dwight Howard - C
Anthony Davis - F/C
Kevin Love - F/C
Blake Griffin - F
LeBron James - Every Position
Kevin Durant - F
Carmelo Anthony - F
Paul George - F
JamesHarden - G
Chris Paul - G
Stephen Curry - G
Kyrie Irving - G

The two picks I feel least confident in are Dwight Howard and Paul George. I think if PG was healthy then he would be a shoe-in, but him making it now would be a huge positive story. Realistically, Leonard probably takes his place.

[CDu]

Figured I'd get in on the prediction action

2016 Prediction
Dwight Howard - C
Anthony Davis - F/C
Kevin Love - F/C
Blake Griffin - F
LeBron James - Every Position
Kevin Durant - F
Carmelo Anthony - F
Paul George - F
JamesHarden - G
Chris Paul - G
Stephen Curry - G
Kyrie Irving - G

The two picks I feel least confident in are Dwight Howard and Paul George. I think if PG was healthy then he would be a shoe-in, but him making it now would be a huge positive story. Realistically, Leonard probably takes his place.

I don't see how Westbrook, who is a better PG than Irving and has more experience with the national team, doesn't make it. I would also be surprised if we have just 4 guards on the team. On that list, I would say George probably doesn't make it and Westbrook does.

[Billy Dat]

Wow. That is MUCH more participation from A-list stars than I expected (even given that some of these guys will drop out next summer due to injury/fatigue/etc).
The last hurrah for Coach K is probably the motivating factor here, right? This is massive respect shown for him, imo.

I am surprised too, and I think the K finale is part of it, but I think the larger aspect is that it is a very likely FIBA goodbye for Lebron, CP3 and Melo, the generation that put Team USA back on top. 1992 will always be a singular moment in time, but this potential squad is so freakin awesome that maybe it's a little bit of, "24 years later, we are going to show that the US is nearly as better at basketball than the rest of the World as we have always been!". Maybe it's the party no one wants to miss?


I don't see how Westbrook, who is a better PG than Irving and has more experience with the national team, doesn't make it. I would also be surprised if we have just 4 guards on the team. On that list, I would say George probably doesn't make it and Westbrook does.

I was about to say the same thing. I haven't done a complete analysis to see if I think they can both make it, but I can't see Kyrie winning that head-to-head. Westbrook is too much of an overall athletic FREAK. So much of our K-developed Team USA style is "shock and awe", we leverage our insane athletic advantage by pressuring relentlessly on both ends until the opponent wilts. Westbrook is the definition of that kind of style.

[sagegrouse]

Figured I'd get in on the prediction action

2016 Prediction
Dwight Howard - C
Anthony Davis - F/C
Kevin Love - F/C
Blake Griffin - F
LeBron James - Every Position
Kevin Durant - F
Carmelo Anthony - F
Paul George - F
JamesHarden - G
Chris Paul - G
Stephen Curry - G
Kyrie Irving - G

The two picks I feel least confident in are Dwight Howard and Paul George. I think if PG was healthy then he would be a shoe-in, but him making it now would be a huge positive story. Realistically, Leonard probably takes his place.

Looking at your list, I think (as you do) that Paul George is unlikely. Then there are those on the back side of their careers, who may slip off the back of the truck: Dwight Howard? Melo? Chris Paul maybe, but he and K are pretty close, and K likes a "coach on the floor" on the roster.

I'd also look to the possibility of youth: Karl-Anthony Towns (who I believe is eligible as an American) or Jahlil Okafor or maybe even a resurgent Jabari Parker. Or some new kid who breaks through next season in either college or pros. Gotta think about 2020 (although I am personally trying not to).

[JayZee]

I am surprised too, and I think the K finale is part of it, but I think the larger aspect is that it is a very likely FIBA goodbye for Lebron, CP3 and Melo, the generation that put Team USA back on top. 1992 will always be a singular moment in time, but this potential squad is so freakin awesome that maybe it's a little bit of, "24 years later, we are going to show that the US is nearly as better at basketball than the rest of the World as we have always been!". Maybe it's the party no one wants to miss?



I was about to say the same thing. I haven't done a complete analysis to see if I think they can both make it, but I can't see Kyrie winning that head-to-head. Westbrook is too much of an overall athletic FREAK. So much of our K-developed Team USA style is "shock and awe", we leverage our insane athletic advantage by pressuring relentlessly on both ends until the opponent wilts. Westbrook is the definition of that kind of style.

Except Kyrie was the MVP of the World Championships. And one who knows the K system. And seems a little more willing to be humble. I can't see him not making the team.

[gurufrisbee]

The official mini-camp list hath been released...

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/15-mnt-camp-participants.aspx

Former Olympic and World Championship participants
Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook

Former World Champions (not Olympians)
DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson

Those trying to make a team for the first time:
LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Chandler Parsons, Kawhi Leonard, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Blake Griffin, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Victor Oladipo

An AWESOME collection of players!

.

I'll go for a prediction too.

Lebron
Durant
A. Davis
Harden
Love
Curry
Irving
Aldridge
Griffin
Leonard
Westbrook
Wall

[luburch]

I don't see how Westbrook, who is a better PG than Irving and has more experience with the national team, doesn't make it. I would also be surprised if we have just 4 guards on the team. On that list, I would say George probably doesn't make it and Westbrook does.

He very well could and maybe it's just personal bias on my part (not a fan of RW at all), but I think Kyrie is a better fit with the rest of the team than Westbrook is. To Kyrie's credit he was the MVP of the 2012 World Cup.

All that being said, I would not be remotely surprised to see Westbrook on the team.

For the post asking about some of the older generation, Dwight and Melo specifically, I debated having them on there or not. I figured Dwight missing the last olympics due to injury would give him a desire to play this time around. I think Carmelo would like to be involved for one more trip, much like LeBron. You do raise a good point about needing to incorporate some youth. Honestly, I put in about five minutes of scanning the roster for the camp to see who I thought would make the team. Didn't take much else into consideration.

[SilkyJ]

I don't see how Westbrook, who is a better PG than Irving and has more experience with the national team, doesn't make it. I would also be surprised if we have just 4 guards on the team. On that list, I would say George probably doesn't make it and Westbrook does.



I was about to say the same thing. I haven't done a complete analysis to see if I think they can both make it, but I can't see Kyrie winning that head-to-head. Westbrook is too much of an overall athletic FREAK. So much of our K-developed Team USA style is "shock and awe", we leverage our insane athletic advantage by pressuring relentlessly on both ends until the opponent wilts. Westbrook is the definition of that kind of style.

I'd agree for the most part and point out that Westbrook was arguably the best player in the league after the all-star break: he averaged an insane 31/10/9 for half a season. That said, his one weakness is shooting, which is something K knows he has to value in int'l ball. Kyrie's main strength is his shooting and in the context of making team USA, I think this could swing the needle a decent amount towards Kyrie, depending on who else is on the team.

Kyrie is a 3pt shooting contest winner and is going to be either the 2nd or 3rd best shooter depending on whether Curry and/or Thompson are on the team (I'm placing him just ahead of Durant). If only one of them is on the team then his value goes up even more, and its not hard to believe they might be fatigued or have an injury to rehab if they make another ~100 game, deep run in the playoffs. Which really holds true for the whole team--I highly doubt that all 4 of Paul, Curry, Kyrie, Westbook are even available next year. Kyrie has proven injury prone, Paul is going to be wrapping up his 11th year and has done this twice, Westbrook plays with such force he can be injury prone...my guess is that our backcourt clog takes care of itself and 2-3 of them make the team easily and 2 of them will likely start (Derrick Rose may have already helped here by opting out early...)

I'm excited to see Dwight Howard back. He was a backbone of our 2008 team and ever since there's been a bit of center by committee, until Anthony-Davis exploded on the scene last year. Dwight sometimes gets a bad rap in the league, but he's still a huge force inside. AD can easily slide to the 4 and that would be a scary twin towers lineup and a nightmare on D.

[BD80]

This Olympics may be very important for Melo - the brand.

Melo the player is perceived as fading, and his team isn't helping his fame. Melo is very image conscious and sees himself on a par with MJ and LeBron.

I would suggest that he will be looking to be very involved in the team, in no small part to boost his image.

Further, he really likes winning and being part of a successful team, something he hasn't experienced very much in the NBA. Remember how valuable he was as a - wait for it - DEFENDER on past teams. Coach K called him a consummate team player.

Melo brings a versatility similar to LeBron, in that he is big a strong enough to guard the 4, and yet has wing skills. If he's healthy - he's in.

[gurufrisbee]

Melo, Paul, Howard - all nice options, but their time has passed. I don't see any of them making it. Too many other options that are just as good or better - and younger and healthier.

[SilkyJ]

Melo, Paul, Howard - all nice options, but their time has passed. I don't see any of them making it. Too many other options that are just as good or better - and younger and healthier.

Paul is an 8 time all-star (in 10 years), 4x 1st team all NBA, including 2012-2014, and was 2nd team last year. That essentially means he was the best PG in the league for 3 straight years, then voted #2 last year. I don't think there's too many options ahead of him. He's also the steady veteran presence K values and a good spot up shooter. If he's healthy and wants to play, he's 100% making the team and would almost certainly be our starting PG, a position he commanded for K the last 2 Olympics in a row.

BTW, in looking up Paul's stats I saw that the entire All-NBA backcourt is at minicamp:

1st team = Curry/Harden
2nd team = Paul/Westbrook
3rd team = Kyrie/Thompson

That is a serious clog in the backcourt! As I said before though, I think the numbers will work themselves out.

[Billy Dat]

Except Kyrie was the MVP of the World Championships. And one who knows the K system. And seems a little more willing to be humble. I can't see him not making the team.

I love Kyrie, but I think, right now, Russell Westbrook is the more accepted overall force on both ends of the court. While Kyrie spent a year at Duke, don't forget that Westbrook has done two FIBA tours with K (2010 & 2012) so he's FIBA experience with K is greater. I also think the idea that his personality would mesh better is a wrong assumption. Westbrook came of the bench in both 2010 and 2012. When has Kyrie ever come off the bench, aside from the 2011 NCAA tournament under strange circumstances? Again, I think there may be room for both of them to make it, but I think, as of today, Westbrook gets the nod in a head-to-head.

For everyone else saying that some of the old guys time has come and gone (CP3, Melo), K loves having those vet leaders and will sacrifice some youthful zeal for sagacity (right, Grouse?).

[SilkyJ]

My shot at picking the lineup:

My thesis is that while K thinks positionless to an extent on offense, he still thinks of players in 3 main buckets: PGs, wings, and pure posts/centers. Almost every year early on K went with 3 PGs, 3 Centers, and 6 Wings, usually had a large wing like lebron or carmelo playing the 4. Last year was an exception when we played Faried a ton and had 5 pure posts (AD, Faried, Cousins, Plumlee, Drummond) and only 4 wings (Gay, Derozan, Thompson, Harden). 3 PGs = curry, kyrie, and rose. K did play 2 of our PGs a lot together, similar to '08.

K will adapt to what he has available and the list will ween itself, but the team is loaded at guard, so it makes sense to load up on them. And 3 of them (kyrie, curry, and westbrook) are completely capable of sliding to the 2. So I think K might move the mix to back to 4 PGs, 5 wings, 3 centers.

PGs: Paul, Curry, Westbrook, Kyrie
Wings: Lebron, Durant, Harden, Thompson, Leonard
Cs: AD, Howard, Cousins

Probably safe to say at least one guy in each of those buckets can't make it for some reason, and I think next up are Lamarcus Aldridge, Jimmy Butler, and Paul George if he's recovered. (If one of those 4 PGs doesn't make it we only take 3 PGs, but if 2 of them can't play, then Wall probably makes it).

[superdave]

That is a serious clog in the backcourt! As I said before though, I think the numbers will work themselves out.

Injuries and contract negotiations always clear the clogs. There only seems to be 1-2 guys who actually wind up getting cut rather than bowing out or declining (Wall, Lillard).

I would suspect if Paul does not play, he will still be involved the same way Jason Kidd was.

[SilkyJ]

Injuries and contract negotiations always clear the clogs. There only seems to be 1-2 guys who actually wind up getting cut rather than bowing out or declining (Wall, Lillard).

I would suspect if Paul does not play, he will still be involved the same way Jason Kidd was.

Oh I agree, I said so an hour ago :)


Which really holds true for the whole team--I highly doubt that all 4 of Paul, Curry, Kyrie, Westbook are even available next year. Kyrie has proven injury prone, Paul is going to be wrapping up his 11th year and has done this twice, Westbrook plays with such force he can be injury prone...my guess is that our backcourt clog takes care of itself and 2-3 of them make the team easily and 2 of them will likely start (Derrick Rose may have already helped here by opting out early...)

[sagegrouse]

BTW, in looking up Paul's stats I saw that the entire All-NBA backcourt is at minicamp:

1st team = Curry/Harden
2nd team = Paul/Westbrook
3rd team = Kyrie/Thompson

That is a serious clog in the backcourt! As I said before though, I think the numbers will work themselves out.

You mean there is not room for All-World guard D'Angelo Russell, the #2 NBA draft choice. Horrors! What an injustice!

[brevity]

You mean there is not room for All-World guard D'Angelo Russell, the #2 NBA draft choice. Horrors! What an injustice!

Hey, get in line. I'm still grumbling about the egregious snub of J.P. Tokoto.

Just imagine: Curry, Harden, Tokoto, Durant, Davis, with LeBron coming off the bench. Coach K must have left Tokoto off because he wanted the other countries' teams to feel like they have a chance. I expect order to be restored when Colangelo and K are out, and Jordan and Roy take over USA Basketball for the 2020 Olympics cycle.

[devildeac]

Hey, get in line. I'm still grumbling about the egregious snub of J.P. Tokoto.

Just imagine: Curry, Harden, Tokoto, Durant, Davis, with LeBron coming off the bench. Coach K must have left Tokoto off because he wanted the other countries' teams to feel like they have a chance. I expect order to be restored when Colangelo and K are out, and Jordan and Roy take over USA Basketball for the 2020 Olympics cycle.

Whoa, easy on old sage. I think someone needs a timeout here...

Or, you could imagine another scenario, based on his performance in the NBA finals, with brevity, Bob Green, Newton_14, devildeac and LeBron coming off the bench...

[awhom111]

TV coverage next week includes the two and a half hour free Coach K commercial that is practice on NBATV at 3:00pm EDT on Tuesday. The "game" will be on ESPN2 Thursday at 10:30pm EDT.


Hey, get in line. I'm still grumbling about the egregious snub of J.P. Tokoto.

Just imagine: Curry, Harden, Tokoto, Durant, Davis, with LeBron coming off the bench. Coach K must have left Tokoto off because he wanted the other countries' teams to feel like they have a chance. I expect order to be restored when Colangelo and K are out, and Jordan and Roy take over USA Basketball for the 2020 Olympics cycle.

Coach K is generously allowing Tokoto to play for Cameroon of course. Actually on that subject, the Nigerian fan contingent is disappointed that Oladipo has not committed to play for them yet. They are apparently not too high on him developing into a Team USA caliber guard.

[awhom111]

Here we go again, taking advantage of more people with Duke degrees.
http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/leadership-seminar.aspx

[BD80]

Here we go again, taking advantage of more people with Duke degrees.
http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/leadership-seminar.aspx

Surprisingly, General Dempsey seems to have missed Coach K at West Point (arriving after K graduated, and graduating before K came back to coach), and appears to have only spent about a year at Duke getting his Masters while K was coaching.

Having Bilas moderate is clearly a recruiting ploy, or a way of making it an entertaining experience for everyone in attendance.

[Billy Dat]

Kevin Pelton takes a crack at guessing the final roster behind ESPN's paywall ($)
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13407364/nba-chris-paul-james-harden-locks-team-usa-2016-olympics-roster

Without breaking DBR paid content sharing rules, here's the teaser...

1 player that has never played for the USA
4 guys from last summer's World Championship team
Everyone else, including 2 from last summer's team, is from the 2012 or 2008 Olympics

Personally, I think we'll see a little more young blood.

[devildeac]

Kevin Pelton takes a crack at guessing the final roster behind ESPN's paywall ($)
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13407364/nba-chris-paul-james-harden-locks-team-usa-2016-olympics-roster

Without breaking DBR paid content sharing rules, here's the teaser...

1 player that has never played for the USA
4 guys from last summer's World Championship team
Everyone else, including 2 from last summer's team, is from the 2012 or 2008 Olympics

Personally, I think we'll see a little more young blood.

Young blood, eh? Is that a hint about Uncle Drew maybe being on the roster?;)

(I'm hoping I'm remembering some of the dialogue from those commercials:o.)

[Billy Dat]

Young blood, eh? Is that a hint about Uncle Drew maybe being on the roster?;)

(I'm hoping I'm remembering some of the dialogue from those commercials:o.)

Ha - I wish I was that clever. I am willing to confirm/deny guesses of Pelton's predictions so predict away.

[Skitzle]

The snubs list for team USA would beat team USA in 4 out of 10 games.

Potential snubs

1 of Westbrook and irving
Jimmy Butler
Kawhii Leonard
Blake Griffin
3 of Demarcus Cousins/Dwight Howard/Andre Drummond/Kevin Love/ Lamarcus Aldridge

[superdave]

The snubs list for team USA would beat team USA in 4 out of 10 games.

Potential snubs

1 of Westbrook and irving
Jimmy Butler
Kawhii Leonard
Blake Griffin
3 of Demarcus Cousins/Dwight Howard/Andre Drummond/Kevin Love/ Lamarcus Aldridge



Team USA
Lebron
Durant
Curry
Davis
Harden
Paul
Cousins
Kyrie


Team Snub
Westbrook
Wall
Butler
Blake
Dwight
Love
Aldridge


I would watch that. I would still bet on Lebron & Co to win 8/10 because of a huge jump-shooting advantage.

[SilkyJ]

Kevin Pelton takes a crack at guessing the final roster behind ESPN's paywall ($)
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13407364/nba-chris-paul-james-harden-locks-team-usa-2016-olympics-roster

Without breaking DBR paid content sharing rules, here's the teaser...

1 player that has never played for the USA
4 guys from last summer's World Championship team
Everyone else, including 2 from last summer's team, is from the 2012 or 2008 Olympics

Personally, I think we'll see a little more young blood.

I think the dude just read my posts and used it as source material, so I think its OK to post some snipits :cool::



Let's take a look at the competition for roster spots and make early projections for the Rio roster. I've grouped players into four positions reflecting more or less how the USA has played under Krzyzewski: Point guards, wings, combo forwards and traditional post players. I've also included ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) and my wins above replacement player (WARP) projections for 2015-16.

By my definition, the U.S. roster included three from each group at the 2012 Olympics in London. Last summer's roster for the FIBA World Cup went heavier on post players (four) at the expense of combo forwards (just two). My early guess is the USA will go back to the more even split, but that could depend on how the available talent shakes out.



My thesis is that while K thinks positionless to an extent on offense, he still thinks of players in 3 main buckets: PGs, wings, and pure posts/centers. Almost every year early on K went with 3 PGs, 3 Centers, and 6 Wings, usually had a large wing like lebron or carmelo playing the 4. Last year was an exception when we played Faried a ton and had 5 pure posts (AD, Faried, Cousins, Plumlee, Drummond) and only 4 wings (Gay, Derozan, Thompson, Harden). 3 PGs = curry, kyrie, and rose. K did play 2 of our PGs a lot together, similar to '08.


While I group Wings and combo forwards into one group ("Wings") he notes what I've noted repeatedly, that K has traditionally gone with 3 PGs, 3 Posts, and 6 wing guards or forwards. He, mistakenly, classifies Faried and Griffin as combo forwards, while classifying Love as a pure post, but other than that I agree with his premise. I also forgot about Blake Griffin. Hard to see him missing the team if he's healthy.

[superdave]

While I group Wings and combo forwards into one group ("Wings") he notes what I've noted repeatedly, that K has traditionally gone with 3 PGs, 3 Posts, and 6 wing guards or forwards. He, mistakenly, classifies Faried and Griffin as combo forwards, while classifying Love as a pure post, but other than that I agree with his premise. I also forgot about Blake Griffin. Hard to see him missing the team if he's healthy.

I dont know about Blake. He does not have a great defensive reputation. He cannot protect the rim if he slides over to 5 in small ball. His main skill is explosive dunking ability. He does not shoot the ball as well other bigs like Aldridge, and shooting is a premium in international play.

I kind of lump Blake and Westbrook in the same bucket. They both have incredibly explosive games but are not necessarily our best options for FIBA play. Wouldnt you rather have Love or Aldridge who could play the 5 on defense and knock down the 15 footer with consistency?

[luburch]

I dont know about Blake. He does not have a great defensive reputation. He cannot protect the rim if he slides over to 5 in small ball. His main skill is explosive dunking ability. He does not shoot the ball as well other bigs like Aldridge, and shooting is a premium in international play.

I kind of lump Blake and Westbrook in the same bucket. They both have incredibly explosive games but are not necessarily our best options for FIBA play. Wouldnt you rather have Love or Aldridge who could play the 5 on defense and knock down the 15 footer with consistency?

Both Love and Aldridge are below average defenders.

[Edouble]

Both Love and Aldridge are below average defenders.

Agree. I'd say that Love will get the nod over Aldridge, Blake, and Drummond (who never played in 2014) due to his abilities to stretch the floor, to rebound, and perhaps, most of all, to start the breaks with his insane outlet passes.

I only question how the international rules without goaltending on offensive putbacks will affect Love's below the rim rebounding game.

[CDu]

Kevin Pelton takes a crack at guessing the final roster behind ESPN's paywall ($)
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13407364/nba-chris-paul-james-harden-locks-team-usa-2016-olympics-roster

Without breaking DBR paid content sharing rules, here's the teaser...

1 player that has never played for the USA
4 guys from last summer's World Championship team
Everyone else, including 2 from last summer's team, is from the 2012 or 2008 Olympics

Personally, I think we'll see a little more young blood.

I don't know. There is still plenty of youth on that roster. All but 4 guys will be 28 or younger by then, and two will be older than 30. It isn't a super-young group, but ever since the pros were allowed to play we haven't had more than one really young player on the Olympic roster. That list seems pretty reasonable to me. The one question mark I have would be at center and at forward, with two guys whose injuries have limited them in recent years. Other than that, it's a very sensible roster to me.

[elvis14]

I dont know about Blake. He does not have a great defensive reputation. He cannot protect the rim if he slides over to 5 in small ball. His main skill is explosive dunking ability. He does not shoot the ball as well other bigs like Aldridge, and shooting is a premium in international play.

I kind of lump Blake and Westbrook in the same bucket. They both have incredibly explosive games but are not necessarily our best options for FIBA play. Wouldnt you rather have Love or Aldridge who could play the 5 on defense and knock down the 15 footer with consistency?

I've never thought Blake as a great defender but I never thought he was a poor defender either. I think that Blake has actually improved his shooting the last couple of years. being a night owl, I've watched quite a few Clippers games (mostly to watch this guy they call JJ) and the last 2 seasons I thought the Blake shot the ball pretty well. Of course that's still a small sample size and I have to stats to back up my impression so I could wrong about Blakes shooting! I'd still rather have Blake than Love or Aldridge...although it's close with Love because of his ability to knock down the 3.

Note, that's not a knock on Aldridge, either. I think he's a great young player and can't wait to see him play with the Spurs next season. This roster is going to be stacked and I'm we have Coach K (instead of me) making the cuts!

[Billy Dat]

Team USA Practice on NBA TV right now...I am not in front of the TV.

Photos from last night's meeting and greeting:
http://www.usab.com/basketball/media/galleries/2015/08/15-mnt-mc-aug-10.aspx

Lots of people at practice and tweeting:
@ESPNSteinLine
@NBATV
@usabasketball

[Olympic Fan]

The snubs list for team USA would beat team USA in 4 out of 10 games.

Potential snubs

1 of Westbrook and irving
Jimmy Butler
Kawhii Leonard
Blake Griffin
3 of Demarcus Cousins/Dwight Howard/Andre Drummond/Kevin Love/ Lamarcus Aldridge

Not sure where you got this list of snubs, but I'd be willing to bet serious money that -- barring injury -- Leonard is on the roster.

But the list of potential snubs does illustrate the depth of US talent -- top 12 vs. top 12, a couple of other teams have a chance to beat the US in a single-elimination situation (such as the medal round) ... but second 12 vs. second 12, nobody in the world has a chance. And the farther down you go, the greater the US edge becomes.

[CDu]

Not sure where you got this list of snubs, but I'd be willing to bet serious money that -- barring injury -- Leonard is on the roster.

But the list of potential snubs does illustrate the depth of US talent -- top 12 vs. top 12, a couple of other teams have a chance to beat the US in a single-elimination situation (such as the medal round) ... but second 12 vs. second 12, nobody in the world has a chance. And the farther down you go, the greater the US edge becomes.

Yep. I would say that outside of the starting 5, no other country stands a chance against our next comparable group. Heck, I'd say that our second 12 would stand a very good chance of beating any other country's top 12. Possibly even our third 12 could stand a chance. Seriously:

First 12 (guesstimate): James, Durant, Davis, Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Harden, Thompson, Anthony, Leonard, Love, Howard

Second 12 (guesstimate): Irving, Lillard, Wall, Beal, Butler, DeRozan, George, Faried, Aldridge, Griffin, Cousins, Jordan

Third 12 (guesstimate): Conley, Rose, Lowry, Korver, Hayward, Gay, Green, Millsap, Randolph, Drummond, Bosh, Favors

Any of those groups would be the favorites to win the gold so long as the other two weren't competing. And even after those guys, there is Teague, Monroe, Isaiah Thomas, Brook Lopez...

[flyingdutchdevil]

Not sure where you got this list of snubs, but I'd be willing to bet serious money that -- barring injury -- Leonard is on the roster.

But the list of potential snubs does illustrate the depth of US talent -- top 12 vs. top 12, a couple of other teams have a chance to beat the US in a single-elimination situation (such as the medal round) ... but second 12 vs. second 12, nobody in the world has a chance. And the farther down you go, the greater the US edge becomes.

And I'd go so far as to say that the US's first 12 vs anybody's first 12 is almost as likely a guarantee as second 12 vs second 12.

The talent gap between the US and the ROW is pretty funny.

[awhom111]

Interesting idea from Colangelo and Coach K that players may be picked after the NBA season without using a tryout camp.

[CDu]

Interesting idea from Colangelo and Coach K that players may be picked after the NBA season without using a tryout camp.

That is the way they used to do it before Coach K got involved.

[Billy Dat]

Interesting idea from Colangelo and Coach K that players may be picked after the NBA season without using a tryout camp.

Here are the quotes from Day 1:
http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/mnt-minicamp-day-1-quotes.aspx

It seems as if the Olympic timeline (title game 8/21) and the high probability of many guys on the team playing deep into June won't allow for a "tryout camp". It could also be a way to avoid hurt feelings as much as possible. Being cut from the team during tryouts is a potentially different, and lesser, ego hit for these guys then just not being named after an NBA season.

Going back to the Pelton piece, my comment about young blood was aimed primarily at the following two substitutions I would make:

Pelton has Carmelo, I'd take Kawhi
Pelton has Howard, I'd take Boogie

My goal around those placements would be to build a bridge to the post K era. The Leonard for Anthony swap would be the most controversial, especially if Carmelo is all in. I am sure they'd go with Melo, but I'd rather they took the young gun. I also think Howard's absence in the program for the past 8 years speaks for itself - move along Dwight.

[CDu]

Here are the quotes from Day 1:
http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/mnt-minicamp-day-1-quotes.aspx

It seems as if the Olympic timeline (title game 8/21) and the high probability of many guys on the team playing deep into June won't allow for a "tryout camp". It could also be a way to avoid hurt feelings as much as possible. Being cut from the team during tryouts is a potentially different, and lesser, ego hit for these guys then just not being named after an NBA season.

Going back to the Pelton piece, my comment about young blood was aimed primarily at the following two substitutions I would make:

Pelton has Carmelo, I'd take Kawhi
Pelton has Howard, I'd take Boogie

My goal around those placements would be to build a bridge to the post K era. The Leonard for Anthony swap would be the most controversial, especially if Carmelo is all in. I am sure they'd go with Melo, but I'd rather they took the young gun. I also think Howard's absence in the program for the past 8 years speaks for itself - move along Dwight.

I would actually replace George with Leonard rather than booting Anthony. And I agree on Howard. He used to be great but I think injuries have brought him down a few notches.

[Duvall]

Here are the quotes from Day 1:
http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/mnt-minicamp-day-1-quotes.aspx

It seems as if the Olympic timeline (title game 8/21) and the high probability of many guys on the team playing deep into June won't allow for a "tryout camp". It could also be a way to avoid hurt feelings as much as possible. Being cut from the team during tryouts is a potentially different, and lesser, ego hit for these guys then just not being named after an NBA season.

Going back to the Pelton piece, my comment about young blood was aimed primarily at the following two substitutions I would make:

Pelton has Carmelo, I'd take Kawhi
Pelton has Howard, I'd take Boogie

My goal around those placements would be to build a bridge to the post K era. The Leonard for Anthony swap would be the most controversial, especially if Carmelo is all in. I am sure they'd go with Melo, but I'd rather they took the young gun. I also think Howard's absence in the program for the past 8 years speaks for itself - move along Dwight.

Wasn't Howard injured in 2012?

[Billy Dat]

I would actually replace George with Leonard rather than booting Anthony. And I agree on Howard. He used to be great but I think injuries have brought him down a few notches.

Good call - I didn't think about that. That makes complete sense, however, Colangelo has spoken out pretty strongly about almost "owing" George a spot based on his leg break in the event last year. I feel like he's painting himself into a corner with that, but who knows. I like your suggestion.

[Billy Dat]

Wasn't Howard injured in 2012?

He was, but he hasn't really been around the program since 2008. Many thought he might take the opportunity to be the leader of the young 2010 World Cup squad, and I think K and Colangelo really wanted him to, but he declined. Then he got hurt. There was speculation that he might step up again last summer, but he didn't. He hasn't even been listed in the player pool for some time, until this summer. Obviously, a lot has happened to him since 2008, he's on his third team, had a major injury, fathered a number of children with a number of women (he is giving Shawn Kemp a serious run for his $ in this regard - you can google it) - so his focus has been seriously tested.

All that being said, I'd rather reward Boogie, a guy who has been dedicated to the program going on 4 straight years and was a stud last summer, as K said yesterday,

"When you are looking at the 12 spots for next summer, how do you see the center position?"
We don’t see it right now. We’re just seeing everybody and who is committed and all that. We’ve never picked a team just based on position. We pick the team based on talent, compatibility, quickness, shooting. We went a little bit big last year in August and September thinking that we would need it, and we did against Serbia. We were down 15-5, and (DeMarcus) Cousins comes in the game and he turns the game around. We win by 37 … those four 10-minute periods go by pretty fast, so he changed the game for us. So, that’s what we need to do, is make sure we have guys who might come in and be game-changers, too.

Also, it looks like Iggy is part of the mix and got a special waver:
"For a guy like Gordon Hayward, who is on the fringe of your roster, what can he do over the course of the year?"
We’ll watch all of them. We made a point today with our team to say it hasn’t been like the 12 best. You could all vote for who the 12 best are. It’s how they fit. I gave the example of Tayshuan Prince. In 2008, if he is not on the team, we might not win the gold medal. In the gold medal game, the first half, we were in foul trouble and he did a great job. Andre Iguodala would be here, but he got married on Saturday. He was willing to postpone his honeymoon. We said don’t do that. He was our defensive stopper in Istanbul, and on the 2012 team he didn’t play as much but he was there. Instead of saying someone is on the fringe, someone might fit exactly right when the time comes, because you can’t predict injury, contracts and personal (matters). So, that’s what we’ve tried to cover in that regard.

Also, these little video packages USA Basketball is putting out are pretty cool:

http://www.usab.com/basketball/media/videos/2015/08/mens-national-team-minicamp-arrivals.aspx

(I know I saw Capel on court for this one and pretty sure I saw Nate)
http://www.usab.com/basketball/media/videos/2015/08/phantom-cam-best-of-day-1-mnt-minicamp.aspx

[BD80]

... (I know I saw Capel on court for this one and pretty sure I saw Nate)
http://www.usab.com/basketball/media/videos/2015/08/phantom-cam-best-of-day-1-mnt-minicamp.aspx

Watching the practice, I saw Scheyer acting as Thibideau's assistant. Pretty good experience for our staff. I hope they take the time to share their thoughts of the experience with some of the recruits: "Hey Harry, I was working with KD at the Men's Olympic Basketball minicamp this morning, and it struck me how similar your shooting strokes are. Anyway, KD had me helping him with his jab step and with his first step driving left. I can show you the drills next time you are on campus."

[superdave]

Watching the practice, I saw Scheyer acting as Thibideau's assistant. Pretty good experience for our staff. I hope they take the time to share their thoughts of the experience with some of the recruits: "Hey Harry, I was working with KD at the Men's Olympic Basketball minicamp this morning, and it struck me how similar your shooting strokes are. Anyway, KD had me helping him with his jab step and with his first step driving left. I can show you the drills next time you are on campus."

Or "Harry, KD texted me last night. He caught your game on Espn 2 last night and said he cannot wait for Westbrook to dunk on you in two years."

[duke blue brewcrew]

I would actually replace George with Leonard rather than booting Anthony. And I agree on Howard. He used to be great but I think injuries have brought him down a few notches.

I'm not sure I agree with this. Anthony is a talented player for sure. That said, IMO he's a one trick offensive pony with declining physical tools. He has always struck me as someone out of the Marbury/Iverson mold. Players who think they can win the game all by themselves, and the other guys out there wearing the same color jersey are only there because the rule book says 5 players on the court. I feel as if offensive flow struggles when Carmelo is on the court. His hands are a black-hole for any incoming pass. The ball stays with him and never moves on. George and Leonard are far more well rounded, younger & healthier, team oriented players who fit into what Coach K is typically trying to accomplish on the court. If it were me, (and clearly it's not) making the decision, I would have Anthony hanging w/ Dwight...aka...not on Team USA. Just my two cents.

[cato]

I'm not sure I agree with this. Anthony is a talented player for sure. That said, IMO he's a one trick offensive pony with declining physical tools. He has always struck me as someone out of the Marbury/Iverson mold. Players who think they can win the game all by themselves, and the other guys out there wearing the same color jersey are only there because the rule book says 5 players on the court. I feel as if offensive flow struggles when Carmelo is on the court. His hands are a black-hole for any incoming pass. The ball stays with him and never moves on. George and Leonard are far more well rounded, younger & healthier, team oriented players who fit into what Coach K is typically trying to accomplish on the court. If it were me, (and clearly it's not) making the decision, I would have Anthony hanging w/ Dwight...aka...not on Team USA. Just my two cents.

That does not match at all with my recollection of Anthony's experience on Team USA. He has been a great team player.

[Duvall]

That does not match at all with my recollection of Anthony's experience on Team USA. He has been a great team player.

I mean, it's hard to say that Leonard is more team-oriented than Anthony when Leonard has thus declined to be a part of this particular team.

[duke blue brewcrew]

That does not match at all with my recollection of Anthony's experience on Team USA. He has been a great team player.

Fair enough, Carmelo has changed his mentality when it comes to Team USA play. He's even tried to take on a leadership role at times from what I've read in the past. I was referring more to his NBA career, which is where I tend to pigeon hole him.

[CDu]

I'm not sure I agree with this. Anthony is a talented player for sure. That said, IMO he's a one trick offensive pony with declining physical tools. He has always struck me as someone out of the Marbury/Iverson mold. Players who think they can win the game all by themselves, and the other guys out there wearing the same color jersey are only there because the rule book says 5 players on the court. I feel as if offensive flow struggles when Carmelo is on the court. His hands are a black-hole for any incoming pass. The ball stays with him and never moves on. George and Leonard are far more well rounded, younger & healthier, team oriented players who fit into what Coach K is typically trying to accomplish on the court. If it were me, (and clearly it's not) making the decision, I would have Anthony hanging w/ Dwight...aka...not on Team USA. Just my two cents.


That does not match at all with my recollection of Anthony's experience on Team USA. He has been a great team player.

The response by cato (above) is exactly what I'd say too. The NBA version of Anthony absolutely corresponds with what you describe. But the FIBA version of Carmelo Anthony is totally different. He has been a fantastic player in FIBA - much moreso than he is in the NBA. I'm not exactly sure why he is so much more a fit in FIBA than in the NBA, but he is.


I mean, it's hard to say that Leonard is more team-oriented than Anthony when Leonard has thus declined to be a part of this particular team.

This is an excellent point, and it is the one reason why Leonard might not make the team. Both George and (especially) Anthony have been very faithful to Team USA, and Colangelo and Coach K definitely value that loyalty. Leonard has spurned Team USA in the past, and that could work against him. It's not like Anthony and George (assuming he returns to form, which is still questionable) are terrible options, after all. And they've paid their dues whereas Leonard has not.

Beyond that, Leonard's lack of familiarity with the FIBA game might work against him too. Whereas Anthony and (to a lesser degree) George are very familiar with the FIBA game, I don't think Leonard has ever participated in a FIBA competition. The differences in rules and style of play may be a bit of a culture shock for him, which may keep him off the squad.

[duke blue brewcrew]

The response by cato (above) is exactly what I'd say too. The NBA version of Anthony absolutely corresponds with what you describe. But the FIBA version of Carmelo Anthony is totally different. He has been a fantastic player in FIBA - much moreso than he is in the NBA. I'm not exactly sure why he is so much more a fit in FIBA than in the NBA, but he is.



This is an excellent point, and it is the one reason why Leonard might not make the team. Both George and (especially) Anthony have been very faithful to Team USA, and Colangelo and Coach K definitely value that loyalty. Leonard has spurned Team USA in the past, and that could work against him. It's not like Anthony and George (assuming he returns to form, which is still questionable) are terrible options, after all. And they've paid their dues whereas Leonard has not.

Beyond that, Leonard's lack of familiarity with the FIBA game might work against him too. Whereas Anthony and (to a lesser degree) George are very familiar with the FIBA game, I don't think Leonard has ever participated in a FIBA competition. The differences in rules and style of play may be a bit of a culture shock for him, which may keep him off the squad.

Great assessment. I tried to spork you, but apparently I need to be more promiscuous on here.

[gep]

The response by cato (above) is exactly what I'd say too. The NBA version of Anthony absolutely corresponds with what you describe. But the FIBA version of Carmelo Anthony is totally different. He has been a fantastic player in FIBA - much moreso than he is in the NBA. I'm not exactly sure why he is so much more a fit in FIBA than in the NBA, but he is.



This is an excellent point, and it is the one reason why Leonard might not make the team. Both George and (especially) Anthony have been very faithful to Team USA, and Colangelo and Coach K definitely value that loyalty. Leonard has spurned Team USA in the past, and that could work against him. It's not like Anthony and George (assuming he returns to form, which is still questionable) are terrible options, after all. And they've paid their dues whereas Leonard has not.

Beyond that, Leonard's lack of familiarity with the FIBA game might work against him too. Whereas Anthony and (to a lesser degree) George are very familiar with the FIBA game, I don't think Leonard has ever participated in a FIBA competition. The differences in rules and style of play may be a bit of a culture shock for him, which may keep him off the squad.

First bolded point: Coach K, maybe?

Second bolded point: same with Cousins... he kept trying to make the team, and finally did, and did fantastic. That's loyalty.:cool:

[flyingdutchdevil]

First bolded point: Coach K, maybe?

Second bolded point: same with Cousins... he kept trying to make the team, and finally did, and did fantastic. That's loyalty.:cool:

If it's a coach, then Boeheim is a much likelier reason than Coach K.

Melo's best trait is as a scorer and rebounder for both Team USA and his respective NBA team. He can be a competent defender, but the other historical line-up (Paul, Lebron, Howard, Kobe, Wade) are all studs defensively (Wade can absolutely be a stud defensively) so Melo's potential defensive flaws could have been well hid.

[Trey21]

One of the best things about Coach K's work with Team USA is that you see guys who struggle in the NBA become really integral to the team's success. Team USA provides an opportunity for players to break stupid media narratives like that Melo is loser and allows them to showcase another side of their game. I'm by no means a Me7o fan, but I love watching Melo in the world games. Of course he has better teammates, but its just sad that people tend to forget that he is a legit top 5 offensive weapon in the NBA. Its really cool to see how not only the best NBA players fit together but how well each player's game translates to the world game.

Cousins is another example. He played outstanding last year in the final FIBA game. He has a rep for being a mediocre defender but the guy came up huge on both ends in that last game. Not to mention people always seem to mention is poor attitude. Props for him for sticking it out and making the team. Dude wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't really surrounded by the best professional franchise in the game. Commend guys like Curry for sticking it out, and all the guys for buying in. Even though Curry somewhat struggled in the FIBA games last year, I feel that it really kick started his successful year. Same could be said about Klay, AD, and Harden.

[Billy Dat]

Blue/White game tonight to close out Team USA minicamp. They just announced the rosters:

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/usa-showcase-teams.aspx

With most of the biggest names not playing, check the comment section of the announcement, people feel they were sold a bill of goods.

Of course, anyone paying attention knew that most of the guys were not going to play. They've brought in some additional players, guys outside the pool, to fill the gaps:

Elfrid Payton, Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo, Terrence Jones, CJ Watson.

[tbyers11]

Blue/White game tonight to close out Team USA minicamp. They just announced the rosters:

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/usa-showcase-teams.aspx

With most of the biggest names not playing, check the comment section of the announcement, people feel they were sold a bill of goods.

Of course, anyone paying attention knew that most of the guys were not going to play. They've brought in some additional players, guys outside the pool, to fill the gaps:

Elfrid Payton, Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo, Terrence Jones, CJ Watson.

The comments section is funny but 5 of the 8 comments are from the same guy. I don't know how USAB marketed this game, but anyone with half a basketball brain should have realized that none of the big name players would be participating.

[elvis14]

Blue/White game tonight to close out Team USA minicamp. They just announced the rosters:

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/usa-showcase-teams.aspx

With most of the biggest names not playing, check the comment section of the announcement, people feel they were sold a bill of goods.

Of course, anyone paying attention knew that most of the guys were not going to play. They've brought in some additional players, guys outside the pool, to fill the gaps:

Elfrid Payton, Amir Johnson, Aaron Afflalo, Terrence Jones, CJ Watson.

If I had bought tickets to that game (and/or made travel arrangements) I'd be pretty upset too. Considering the amazing depth of talent on the tryout list, these rosters are pretty lame.

[gurufrisbee]

You just know those five non roster guys are going to have the five best games

[luburch]

Anyone actually watch the game? I caught the box score and saw Mason put up some good numbers. I also saw Oladipo had some pretty nice dunks as well.

[Billy Dat]

Anyone actually watch the game? I caught the box score and saw Mason put up some good numbers. I also saw Oladipo had some pretty nice dunks as well.

I watched it. It was really boring, an All-Star game atmosphere of dunks and no defense. Mason was really hustling so he got a lot of garbage buckets. It was fine, no one was looking to get hurt. It was so inconsequential that I spent most of my time trying to get excited about Aaron Afflalo, one of the Knicks off-season free agent signings, who was a last minute inclusion to ensure that they had enough players to play. It was so loosey goosey that Boogie and Faried each shot at least four 3s. There were also a ton of missed dunks. Blake Griffin failed to flush several, and apparently he returned to the bench after one, Thibs fixed him with a smirk and simply said, 'Summer", which broke up the whole bench.

Whenever they had a guest speaking with the two commentators (Mark Jones and PJ Carlesimo), they would occasionally put that group on camera and Mrs. K and Lindy were sitting right behind them. There was a good looking young woman sitting one the other side of Mrs. K who I did not recognize and I am wondering if she was the wife or girlfriend of Capel, Nate or Scheyer? Based on her age, I'd say Scheyer.

Again, if this is what I was focused on, there wasn't much to see.

In the post-game interview, K was positively giddy. He seemed overjoyed at everyone who showed up, was probably simply happy that no one got hurt, and kept deflecting the praise being heaped on he and Colangelo back onto the players. "We've got nothing without these great players", he kept saying, and it was the right note to hit.

Colangelo verified that they aren't going to have a camp next year, they will just name the team after the NBA season, partly because of timing and partly to avoid embarrassing anyone via "cuts". He also said you can be sure that the Select Team will be full of young guns - so I bet some of our recent players (Jabari, Jah, Justise, Tyus) will get a shot to participate depending on how they play next season.

The whole mini-camp, the one word they kept using was "culture". That is the legacy of Colangelo and K. As I said up-thread, they never built a culture from 1992-2002 and the result was a bunch of guys who didn't want to be at the World Cup and took 5th or 6th. This time around, 35 of the greatest in the world showed up for a 3 day mini-camp a year removed from the next tournament, and the U16-U19 teams are stocked with the best talent in the country. That is a radical change in culture.

[BD80]

I watched it. It was really boring, an All-Star game atmosphere of dunks and no defense. Mason was really hustling so he got a lot of garbage buckets. It was fine, no one was looking to get hurt. It was so inconsequential that I spent most of my time trying to get excited about Aaron Afflalo, one of the Knicks off-season free agent signings, who was a last minute inclusion to ensure that they had enough players to play. It was so loosey goosey that Boogie and Faried each shot at least four 3s. There were also a ton of missed dunks. Blake Griffin failed to flush several, and apparently he returned to the bench after one, Thibs fixed him with a smirk and simply said, 'Summer", which broke up the whole bench.

Whenever they had a guest speaking with the two commentators (Mark Jones and PJ Carlesimo), they would occasionally put that group on camera and Mrs. K and Lindy were sitting right behind them. There was a good looking young woman sitting one the other side of Mrs. K who I did not recognize and I am wondering if she was the wife or girlfriend of Capel, Nate or Scheyer? Based on her age, I'd say Scheyer.

Again, if this is what I was focused on, there wasn't much to see.

In the post-game interview, K was positively giddy. He seemed overjoyed at everyone who showed up, was probably simply happy that no one got hurt, and kept deflecting the praise being heaped on he and Colangelo back onto the players. "We've got nothing without these great players", he kept saying, and it was the right note to hit.

Colangelo verified that they aren't going to have a camp next year, they will just name the team after the NBA season, partly because of timing and partly to avoid embarrassing anyone via "cuts". He also said you can be sure that the Select Team will be full of young guns - so I bet some of our recent players (Jabari, Jah, Justise, Tyus) will get a shot to participate depending on how they play next season.

The whole mini-camp, the one word they kept using was "culture". That is the legacy of Colangelo and K. As I said up-thread, they never built a culture from 1992-2002 and the result was a bunch of guys who didn't want to be at the World Cup and took 5th or 6th. This time around, 35 of the greatest in the world showed up for a 3 day mini-camp a year removed from the next tournament, and the U16-U19 teams are stocked with the best talent in the country. That is a radical change in culture.

Seems clear from the game that Mason will make the Olympic team over Blake Griffin.

[Billy Dat]

Lots of good info in this post game press conference quotes page

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/08/usab-showcase-additional-quotes.aspx

[Billy Dat]

Oh Austin...that confidence is both your shield and your Achilles heel:

Austin Rivers ‏@AustinRivers25 32m32 minutes ago
Straight up better than a lot of those dudes playing last night.....
Have to prove that this year. M.o.a.M
MIP.....why not

----------------------

I can't even post most of the responses he received, but here is the gist:

Freeband Bartholomew ‏@PrideOfLR 10m10 minutes ago
@AustinRivers25 link me to ya weed man bruh.

In fairness, a lot of guys also supported his moxie.

[Billy Dat]

Media feedback to Austin's tweet:

Gary Parrish ‏@GaryParrishCBS 55m55 minutes ago
Austin Rivers' mentions are pretty great right now ...

Michael DeCourcy ‏@tsnmike 48m48 minutes ago Indiana, USA
@GaryParrishCBS My personal favorite: "He buggin"

Gary Parrish ‏@GaryParrishCBS 47m47 minutes ago
@tsnmike He is 100 percent buggin. And trippin.

Myron Medcalf ‏@MedcalfByESPN 45m45 minutes ago
Myron Medcalf retweeted Gary Parrish
Wildin', too.

Doug Gottlieb ‏@GottliebShow 59m59 minutes ago
I get it, great motivation- but if coach K doesn't invite u, tells u all u need to know about their relationship

And the first article I have seen, amazing how fast click bait articles can be written based on tweets:
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2015/08/14/tweet-of-the-day-austin-rivers-believes-hes-better-than-a-lot-of-players-on-usa-basketball-showcase-roster/

[luburch]

In all fairness he might actually have been better than a few of the players they pulled in for the scrimmage. It's just times like these he's better off keeping his mouth shut.

[gurufrisbee]

I watched about 2/3 of it. Absolutely all star feel. It was funny that with about 20 seconds left in the 2nd half there was a timeout and out of it Mason started playing defense - went to double a PG at half court and then raced back and got a block from behind. Everyone else seemed relatively stunned.

[CDu]

In all fairness he might actually have been better than a few of the players they pulled in for the scrimmage. It's just times like these he's better off keeping his mouth shut.

Yeah, probably better than 3 or 4 of the 5 last-minute additions (Watson, Johnson, Payton). Possibly better than Afflalo and Jones, too, but he hasn't proven it yet. And he probably thinks he is better than Mason (based on their year together at Duke). And maybe he thinks he is better than Cart-er-Williams and Oladipo too. Definitely not a wise tweet on his regard though. That is the type of thing you keep in your mind and use as motivation; not broadcast that you are using it as motivation.

Hopefully he proves to be better than a few more guys this year. He had a few really nice playoff games, but he still has a long way to go to shake off the stench of those first couple of years.

[BD80]

Kobe wants in

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25269758/jerry-colangelo-kobe-wants-to-play-for-team-usa-in-2016-olympics

You can't say no to Kobe. You shouldn't say no to Kobe, he has the greatest will to win since MJ. He'll defend anyone on the opposing team, and won't demand to start.

The team is going to be like the original DreamTeam with Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul and Melo.

Add KD, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Westbrook, Kevin Love and Harden and all the Olympians are rewarded for past service. And unbeatable.

Lets throw in Boogie and Kyrie.

I see this turning into a Dream Cruise for Coach K.

[luburch]

Kobe wants in

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25269758/jerry-colangelo-kobe-wants-to-play-for-team-usa-in-2016-olympics

You can't say no to Kobe. You shouldn't say no to Kobe, he has the greatest will to win since MJ. He'll defend anyone on the opposing team, and won't demand to start.

The team is going to be like the original DreamTeam with Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul and Melo.

Add KD, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Westbrook, Kevin Love and Harden and all the Olympians are rewarded for past service. And unbeatable.

Lets throw in Boogie and Kyrie.

I see this turning into a Dream Cruise for Coach K.

I would say no to Kobe in a heartbeat.

[CDu]

I would say no to Kobe in a heartbeat.

I, too, would say no to Kobe. He just isn't very good anymore. Two or three years ago? Absolutely he should be on the team. But he has suffered some pretty bad injuries to come back from in his mid/late 30s. And the numbers he has put up in the 41 games he has played over the past two years are, well, not good. If he somehow returns to close to his 2013 form? Sure, he deserves a spot. But I have trouble seeing him come close to that player again.

[gurufrisbee]

Wasn't Kobe the token old guy coming off the bench LAST OLYMPICS?

[SilkyJ]

I dont know about Blake. He does not have a great defensive reputation. He cannot protect the rim if he slides over to 5 in small ball. His main skill is explosive dunking ability. He does not shoot the ball as well other bigs like Aldridge, and shooting is a premium in international play.

I kind of lump Blake and Westbrook in the same bucket. They both have incredibly explosive games but are not necessarily our best options for FIBA play. Wouldnt you rather have Love or Aldridge who could play the 5 on defense and knock down the 15 footer with consistency?

I agree with your logic, but we said the exact same things about Faried last year. He ended up starting every game, was our 3rd leading scorer and played more minutes than anthony davis! Blake >>> Faried and if he wants on the team he's going to make it.

Don't know if you watch a lot of NBA, but both Aldridge and Love start at the 4 for their teams and spend most of their time at PF. Love has also lost a good bit of weight and would be a small ball 5 at best. I like both of their offensive games, but neither is known for their defense. I think Blake's explosiveness makes him hard to leave off. You can't teach that, and K can channel that into making Blake a rebounding and dunking machine. Between Curry, Kyrie, Durant, Thompson, Paul, Lebron, Carmelo there will be plenty of shooters out there.


Wasn't Kobe the token old guy coming off the bench LAST OLYMPICS?

Boom roasted. He actually started every game, but I tend to agree. Kobe is well over the hill...I'd be OK cutting him, but I understand if they want to keep him on for sentimental & leadership reasons. We basically did that with Jason Kidd in 2008, though he was still effective running the team. I don't really see Kobe being effective at all, even on defense.

[Billy Dat]

Wasn't Kobe the token old guy coming off the bench LAST OLYMPICS?

To be fair, it was 2008, and when Spain made a serious run in the last 5 minutes of the gold medal game and everyone else on the team was collectively soiling themselves, Kobe completely took over and carried us home. That is no exaggeration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhpVE5Yfvhc

[JasonEvans]

To be fair, it was 2008, and when Spain made a serious run in the last 5 minutes of the gold medal game and everyone else on the team was collectively soiling themselves, Kobe completely took over and carried us home. That is no exaggeration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhpVE5Yfvhc

Anthony Davis was 14 when that happened. Kyrie was 15. Westbrook was 17. Jahlil Okafor was 11. Lebron James was yet to win an MVP award.

Boston Legal, 1 vs 100, and Las Vegas were still on network TV. Mama Mia, Hancock, and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull were some of the top movies that year. In short, 2008 was a long time ago.

Yes, it is great that Kobe willed us to victory in 2008 again a very game Spain team. But that was 7 years ago (8 years ago when the 2016 Olympics start). Kobe only makes the team if his skills show he can contribute to victory. Until we see him play a few dozen games this season, I'm far from convinced that we should gift him a spot on the 2016 team.

-Jason "Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince were on the 2008 team... you could win nice money in a bar bet asking if Redd and Prince ever won a gold medal for the US Olympic team" Evans