A New Proposal for The Olympics

[NYC Duke Fan]

Instead of picking a Dream Team or Redeem Team or whatever to represent the US in men's basketball in the Olympics, what about having the team that wins the NBA title represent the US. If that team has a foreign player than another player could be substituted.

Think about it, the US did not blow out Spain with Pau Gasol, and the US having the best players in the world on their team, but the Celtics with Garnett, Pierce ,Allen and other players beat the Lakers with Gasol AND Kobe.

The team that wins the NBA title plays 82 games AS A TEAM.

I understand that it was only one game in the Olympics for a gold medal and it takes the best of 7 to win a title, but I think the proposal has merits.

Any comments

[billybreen]

Instead of picking a Dream Team or Redeem Team or whatever to represent the US in men's basketball in the Olympics, what about having the team that wins the NBA title represent the US. If that team has a foreign player than another player could be substituted.

Think about it, the US did not blow out Spain with Pau Gasol, and the US having the best players in the world on their team, but the Celtics with Garnett, Pierce ,Allen and other players beat the Lakers with Gasol AND Kobe.

The team that wins the NBA title plays 82 games AS A TEAM.

I understand that it was only one game in the Olympics for a gold medal and it takes the best of 7 to win a title, but I think the proposal has merits.

Any comments

I've given that some thought over the last few years, but I think there are too many international players in key roles for that to work. Just look at the Spurs -- if they win the championship and you have to remove Oberto, Parker, and Ginobli, that is a very different team. Sure you can plug in different players, but by then you've already lost the motivation for using this approach -- keeping a successful team together.

[Cali-Duke]

I've thought about this too, but I'm sure many GM's would argue that it isn't fair to send the champions to the Olympics since they lose their off season and run the risk of injuring themselves. This could hurt the team significantly for the next season, which, sadly, I'm sure is much more important to NBA GM's than the Olympics.

The Olympics is an honor that requires sacrifice. It isn't fair to force it on someone, even if it might be more logical.

[hc5duke]

I've given that some thought over the last few years, but I think there are too many international players in key roles for that to work. Just look at the Spurs -- if they win the championship and you have to remove Oberto, Parker, and Ginobli, that is a very different team. Sure you can plug in different players, but by then you've already lost the motivation for using this approach -- keeping a successful team together.

Completely agree with this and I have nothing to add but I wanted to make a post saying so.

Ok, but seriously, the Spurs were exactly who I was going to use. Also, I think I'd much rather have the current Olympic team to represent the U.S. than the Celtics.

[Edouble]

The system wouldn't work because at what point do you start replacing players? You can't tell me that it's wise to send the 12th guy on the Celtics roster (whoever that is) when LeBron James is available.

Plus, the motivation to win gold seems like it might be lowered when you've just won an NBA Title. Guys like Chris Paul and Chris Bosh haven't won NBA Titles or been to a Final Four, so you have to think they're hungrier. Hunger, as evidenced by this year's team, is a huge factor.

After one or two more Olympics, this proposed system will probably be laughable, with the number of impact foreign players coming into the league increasing every year.

[CameronBornAndBred]

This quote comes from the article that Gotham Devil posted in another thread.

"Everybody wants to talk about NBA players being arrogant, being selfish, being individuals," Bryant said after the gold-medal win. "But what you saw here was a team."

I'm perfectly happy and comfortable with our team the way it is if they have that attitude. That will be Coach K's legacy to the Olympic team.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

I've always been a fan of the idea of having a designated "US Olympic team" made up of non-college, non-NBA players. The team would play together all year with international rules and build the cohesive togetherness that no group of all-stars can have. In terms of players, it seems like there are a ton of great talents that just fit better in the international game than in the NBA. Guys like Trajan Langdon come through college, don't find a fit in the NBA, and then go overseas to great success. Why not keep the 15-20 best here in a year-round team, rather than asking NBA guys to sacrifice their health and risk major injury after a grueling season.

I've loved watching K and the best talent in the world over the last couple of weeks, but the toll it takes on players is just so major, even with no specific in-game injury. We may not win every year (OTOH we may if familiarity, chemistry, and "fit" with the international style provide enough of a boost), but I know I'd love to cheer that team on, especially if it can bring players like Trajan with college star power back to the big stage.

Just my 2 cents.

[pfrduke]

Instead of picking a Dream Team or Redeem Team or whatever to represent the US in men's basketball in the Olympics, what about having the team that wins the NBA title represent the US. If that team has a foreign player than another player could be substituted.

Think about it, the US did not blow out Spain with Pau Gasol, and the US having the best players in the world on their team, but the Celtics with Garnett, Pierce ,Allen and other players beat the Lakers with Gasol AND Kobe.

The team that wins the NBA title plays 82 games AS A TEAM.

I understand that it was only one game in the Olympics for a gold medal and it takes the best of 7 to win a title, but I think the proposal has merits.

Any comments

Well, to start, you singled out the Gold medal game to say we didn't blow out Spain with Gasol. In prelims, of course, the US did in fact blow out Spain with Gasol, by 37 (37?). Just like they blew out almost every other team they played. Make no mistake, the US put on a dominating performance in this Olympics. And comparing the Lakers v. Spain for the international game is not as much of a Laker edge as you might think. Sasha Vujacic, Vlad Radmanovic, Luke Walton, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, etc. are essentially a wash for Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro, Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, etc.

Second, one of the values of having a team of 12 all-stars is that it's extremely unlikely that they'll all have an off game at the same time. If my starting PF is struggling, I'd rather go to Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, or Tayshaun Prince than go to Leon Powe, PJ Brown, or (god forbid) Brian Scalabrine. Given that this is a single elimination tournament, I want as much depth and support as I can to ward off injuries, bad shooting, etc.

Third, this team was "A TEAM" and has been for three summers. That's been the entire point of the refocused USA Basketball effort - get everyone together playing with each other as a team. And in case you missed it, they did that extremely well over the past two weeks. Were the defensive rotations perfect? No. Were there some miscommunications? Sure. But this was not 5 guys playing one-on-one. This group played very, very high level team basketball.

Fourth, there are substantial differences between NBA ball and International ball that affect team makeup and strategy. Some things that make NBA teams good may not translate, and vice versa.

Fifth, I will happily spot you the Celtics and take Team USA to win one game, best of three, five, seven, what have you. The Celtics would have a decent chance at winning gold. But they would not be a heavy favorite, and they would be extremely prone to that one bad night that is deathly in a single elimination competition.

[NYC Duke Fan]

This quote comes from the article that Gotham Devil posted in another thread.

"Everybody wants to talk about NBA players being arrogant, being selfish, being individuals," Bryant said after the gold-medal win. "But what you saw here was a team."

I'm perfectly happy and comfortable with our team the way it is if they have that attitude. That will be Coach K's legacy to the Olympic team.

Don't necessarily think it will be Coach K's ," legacy", Other preominent coaches have won the basketball gold medal, and I don't think that it is their legacy to the Olympic team.Coach K and Mike D'Antonio did an excellent job, and both deserve the credit that they are getting,but with that talent they were suppose to win. You might disagree but I think that Jim Calhoun, Bill Self, Rick Pitino, Tom Izzo , Roy Williams among others would have also brought home the gold medal.

[pfrduke]

I've always been a fan of the idea of having a designated "US Olympic team" made up of non-college, non-NBA players. The team would play together all year with international rules and build the cohesive togetherness that no group of all-stars can have. In terms of players, it seems like there are a ton of great talents that just fit better in the international game than in the NBA. Guys like Trajan Langdon come through college, don't find a fit in the NBA, and then go overseas to great success. Why not keep the 15-20 best here in a year-round team, rather than asking NBA guys to sacrifice their health and risk major injury after a grueling season.

I've loved watching K and the best talent in the world over the last couple of weeks, but the toll it takes on players is just so major, even with no specific in-game injury. We may not win every year (OTOH we may if familiarity, chemistry, and "fit" with the international style provide enough of a boost), but I know I'd love to cheer that team on, especially if it can bring players like Trajan with college star power back to the big stage.

Just my 2 cents.

This is, I think, a better idea than sending the NBA champion, but there are practical issues that would keep this from happening. Most significantly, how is USA Basketball going to come up with the budget of an NBA team? To keep a core group of players good enough to win on the international stage together, they'll likely have to be paid at least as much as they could earn in Europe, which is a considerable amount of money (see, e.g., Josh Childress).

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

37 (37?).

Heh. 37. "Hey, hey you, get back here!"

Third, this team was "A TEAM" and has been for three summers. That's been the entire point of the refocused USA Basketball effort - get everyone together playing with each other as a team. And in case you missed it, they did that extremely well over the past two weeks. Were the defensive rotations perfect? No. Were there some miscommunications? Sure. But this was not 5 guys playing one-on-one. This group played very, very high level team basketball.

I do think K, the staff, and the team deserve a tremendous amount of credit for working to become a real "team" in the short amount of time they had available, and I think the jury's still out on whether we can keep that going with a volunteer, part-time "program." So far the continuity looks good with Paul, etc. talking about re-upping for 2012. I will be curious to see if that team spirit (speaking of early 1990s references) continues in the absence of the unique circumstances of these games and K's unparalleled leadership. Even moreso if a high profile player, god forbid, suffers a major injury playing in the summer. I guess time will tell.

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

This is, I think, a better idea than sending the NBA champion, but there are practical issues that would keep this from happening. Most significantly, how is USA Basketball going to come up with the budget of an NBA team? To keep a core group of players good enough to win on the international stage together, they'll likely have to be paid at least as much as they could earn in Europe, which is a considerable amount of money (see, e.g., Josh Childress).

That's a fair point. I tend to think of the NBA as having basically limitless financial resources, especially in tandem with the Nike's of the world, who I expect would love to sponsor something like this, but I know that's not completely the case. A few years ago I would have argued that you could put together a team for much less than an NBA team but I agree that Childress indicates a real change in the market. I do think the NBA + endorsements + the US government could put together a good bit of money for a team. Whether it would be enough for the top-flight international talent, I can't say.

[phaedrus]

Third, this team was "A TEAM" and has been for three summers. That's been the entire point of the refocused USA Basketball effort - get everyone together playing with each other as a team. And in case you missed it, they did that extremely well over the past two weeks. Were the defensive rotations perfect? No. Were there some miscommunications? Sure. But this was not 5 guys playing one-on-one. This group played very, very high level team basketball.

Here's the real question though: is the effort sustainable? Many of these guys committed three entire summers to USA Basketball, and they were happy to do it. But will they do it again? Does Wade really want to put the extra mileage on his injury-prone body when he could be refreshing after a long season? Does Lebron want to spend the rest of his summers learn how to gell in practice with Chris Paul and Kobe when he should be jacking up 500 jumpers a day in an empty Cleveland gym? Summer for the average NBAer is an opportunity for some R+R and a chance to focus on improving some specific skill or facet of conditioning. For how many years will these guys neglect that?

[Bluedog]

Plus, Garnett said he didn't want to play on Team USA from the onset even though the program was interested in him. http://www.boston.com/sports/basketb..._up_for_games/ So, using this strategy only works if 1.) there aren't any key international players on the championship team; 2.) all the American players want to participate; 3.) the team plays more of an international style.

Hard for all the variables to fall in place...

[gep]

What about a "true" international team... that plays in European league(s)... full-time. Many of the college players after graduation can play on the team, in addition to NBA players who don't make the team. Right now, they play for an assortment of European teams... can't they all get together in a "single" team? Maybe underwritten by USA Basketball... with sponsors/owners/etc...

[billybreen]

Heh. 37. "Hey, hey you, get back here!"

Nice!

[billybreen]

That's a fair point. I tend to think of the NBA as having basically limitless financial resources, especially in tandem with the Nike's of the world, who I expect would love to sponsor something like this, but I know that's not completely the case. A few years ago I would have argued that you could put together a team for much less than an NBA team but I agree that Childress indicates a real change in the market. I do think the NBA + endorsements + the US government could put together a good bit of money for a team. Whether it would be enough for the top-flight international talent, I can't say.

I think this team would get rocked by a Spain or Argentina. Those teams have solid contributors who are NBA role players, but they also have one or two bona fide NBA stars. Without that, I don't think our dedicated team would be able to compete at the very highest levels.

[hc5duke]

I think this team would get rocked by a Spain or Argentina. Those teams have solid contributors who are NBA role players, but they also have one or two bona fide NBA stars. Without that, I don't think our dedicated team would be able to compete at the very highest levels.

Yeah, it sounds like we'd almost be sending the bronze-winning 1998 team again.

Trajan Langdon, Michael Hawkins, Wendell Alexis, Brad Miller, Bill Edwards, Kiwane Garris, Ashraf Amaya, Jason Sasser, Jimmy Oliver, Jimmy King, Gerard King, David Wood (Coach: Rudy Tomjanovich)

[Jumbo]

Instead of picking a Dream Team or Redeem Team or whatever to represent the US in men's basketball in the Olympics, what about having the team that wins the NBA title represent the US. If that team has a foreign player than another player could be substituted.

Think about it, the US did not blow out Spain with Pau Gasol, and the US having the best players in the world on their team, but the Celtics with Garnett, Pierce ,Allen and other players beat the Lakers with Gasol AND Kobe.

The team that wins the NBA title plays 82 games AS A TEAM.

I understand that it was only one game in the Olympics for a gold medal and it takes the best of 7 to win a title, but I think the proposal has merits.

Any comments

Did you watch any of the Olympic games?

[Bluedevilsfanforever]

I don't like that idea. You will also have players that does not want to play. I heard Bill Walton say something today and he was right. After the dream team you got players that thought playing in the Olympics as a job. They really did not want to be there or playing in the Olympics.

Like the 2004 team, that team was bad and you had players that did not want to be there. The 2008 Olympic team you had players that wanted to be there like a Kobe, or a James and so on. It really showed in the 2008 team that they wanted to win Gold for the USA and they wanted to play, they played their hearts out today. They were having fun at the Olympics and they were taking it all in, and they were watching and cheering Phelps on. With this new idea that they are thinking its a bad idea. Because you will have the players that does not want to be there.