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http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/02/10/stou ... -team-usa/

Andrew Bynum and Rajon Rondo turned down invitations. But that was no problem since USA Basketball had plenty of eager replacements...As for Bynum, the Los Angeles Lakers' center, and Rondo, the Boston Celtics' point guard, both were wanted for Team USA. Colangelo said Bynum bowed out at the "last minute," saying he didn't want to make the commitment, and Rondo ignored overtures.

"Rondo was not responsive to inquiries regarding his interest," said Colangelo, who said about three or four players other than Bynum and Rondo declined or didn't respond to invitations. "We just assumed that was the case."

Others named to the list include Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, a lock for the final roster, Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo of Memphis, the Clippers' Eric Gordon, Indiana's Danny Granger, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson and Kevin Love of Minnesota, New York's David Lee, New Jersey's Brook Lopez, the Lakers' Lamar Odom, Boston's Kendrick Perkins and Charlotte's Gerald Wallace.

http://twitter.com/LakersReporter

Odom on being part of the Team USA pool: "Hopefully I can play well enough at the right time to make it."

Bynum said he turned down Team USA's request to be apart of the player pool simply because he needs the summer to rest his body.

http://twitter.com/KevinDing

I asked Bynum abt declining invite for USA Basketball. He said it was easy decision bc of past body breakdowns. "Rest, man."

lame excuse drew.

Lame excuse? WTF? He hasn't even made it through an entire season yet, man, his track record can't commit to something like that. No. Better to step aside and give the spot to someone else.

I don't mind that at all. The less wear he puts on his body, the better. Frankly, I think it's pretty unselfish on his part.

Happy Drew declined. He's putting the Lakers and his NBA career ahead of the Olympics, which isn't a bad thing.

I'm also Canadian though, so I'm probably biased. Although, I wish I was an American.

No problem, better for the franchise although there isn't much demand for a big center in international basketball.

hmm looking to it deeper. is this bynum admitting hes injury prone?

if we're assuming bynum is indeed injury prone...then yea this a good move for him

hes freakin 22 years old and hes talking about resting. USA camp would be good for bynum imo. especially for young players like him who entered the league straight from HS.

The experience would probably be good for Bynum, but he has had a lot of injury problems so I would rather him feel comfortable in his own body before making the commitment... He will have other opportunities

That Nicka wrote:The experience would probably be good for Bynum.

Banging bodies with Howard would bring him great experience indeed. But i would rather have him fresh and healthy for the NBA season.

training camp is like one week. i don't think thats too much of lost rest time.

You guys also have to remember he's 23 years old. He'll be 25 when the London Olympics roll around.. he'll be 29/30 when the Olympics after THAT rolls around. If it's something that itches in him that he wants to do, he'll do it then.

Glad drew declined to make sure he's all well for the following season.

KObe and LO have no business being there. I can understand LO but Kobe's already won the World champs and a gold medal.

Eff you for saying its a lame excuse. It's not some sort of obligation and there are plenty of players who bailed out for the same reason if not worse.

Looking at Pau Gasol who in interviews even admitted of fatigue of too much basketball for the past two years.

Bynum signed a deal already and improved this year. He's committed to the franchise that pays him and wants to take care of his body. There's nothing wrong with that.

I would hate to see Bynum have any more injuries ala Greg Ogden.

That's not a bad comparison. This is the thing to remember: According to the reports after Andrew's most recent knee injury, his body isn't conducive to playing basketball. His natural physiology is always going to make him prone to injuries -- I can't remember the details, but something about the alignment of his knees.

As such, even one extra summer of basketball could be too much. Because we're not just talking about a one-week training camp. What if he actually got selected? Good for him, but that's three summers -- a Worlds, a tune-up Americas tournament, then the Olympics, all with their own exhibition games and training camps. Not exactly a full 82-game schedule, but still more than enough to be a concern with somebody who has a history of injuries.

And I agree wholeheartedly about Kobe. As much as I like seeing him play at the international level, it's probably time to pass the torch. Of course, he's way too competitive to ever willingly back away from something he holds in such high esteem, especially when USA hoops considers him the unofficial team captain. But I wouldn't be upset if he begged off, too.

I find it sad, seeing as Kobe was obviously worn out last year (along with his injuries now) can't see the writing on the wall. As Barkely said yesterday on Rome: you only have so many jumps in you.

Kobe is already a high mileage car. I don't want him to put unnecessary strain during the time of year most are resting.

Either Kobe is going down as the biggest exception to the aging rule we've seen or he's going to decline much faster than we'd like... (and considering we'll hopefully be extending him for another 3 seasons at what? nearly half of the cap?...I hope it's the former).

crazyeights wrote:Kobe is already a high mileage car. I don't want him to put unnecessary strain during the time of year most are resting.

True, but he takes care of himself so he's going to get more mileage than the average 14 year veteran.

As an example, my Jetta is about to crack 200k miles and it runs great for the simple fact that I've used synthetic oil since day one and changed the oil every 4k miles. Never missed an oil change. Now the electrical system, that's a different story.

Kobe is definitely slowing down (and injuries heal slower the older you get), but he's going to get the absolute maximum out of his body because he's prepared for it.

That said, I hope that Kobe plays a very small part in this. Extended post-season runs in addition to Team USA is not good for our plans to be a dynasty.

Good post, but the only thing I'd argue is that Kobe has been missing oil changes the past few years. Both with injuries and playing from the 2008 season an finals, through the 2008 Olympics, then through the 2009 season and finals.

He finally rested his body this summer and then he played on a lot of injuries (back, ankle, finger)...

Now Rondo is saying he wants in

That mean Bynum is the only person who said no to the invite