USA 2012 : Who Makes the cut?

[Sixersfan87]

I know this is a little premature but looking ahead, which young players do you expect to highlight the next men's basketball team. Let's assume a few things:

USA wins the gold this year and continues there program of a tight knit group. This means while rookies from 2011-12 will have a shot at the practice squad (Reddick, Morrison, Durant, Bayless, etc.), they probably won't make the team before they play at least a year in the NBA. This means that aside from an anomaly like a LeBron, Melo, Dwade, Bosh type draft, most of the core players on the 2012 team are in the NBA right now.

All the current guys who will be in their 30's are probably gone (this definitely means you JKidd). I doubt Kobe will return unless we lose this year and his competitive desire keeps him in play. Although they'll still be young, I fully expect at least 2 of the 4 members of Draft 2003 to be gone as well. They'll all be living fat off that illustrious summer of 2010 and I expect at least one of them to have a ring (or another ring) on his hand by the time the Olympics roll around. Look at Team USA as it stands. Only Kobe, Tayshaun, and Dwade have won it all. Do you really think that if LeBron hasn't won a ring by 2012, he's gonna spend an off season beating up his body for another gold (yes I'm confident we'll win this year).

With all of that in mind, here is my version of the 2012 Men's Team:

PG- Chris Paul - Notice the way the game changes when he's on the floor?
SG- Brandon Roy - Perfect compliment to Paul, can guard the bigger Euro guards
SF- Kevin Durant - I expect him to carry the scoring load, could be great on D in a few years too
PF- Michael Beasley - Bigger version of Melo, could be unstoppable if he matures
C- Dwight Howard - Beast.

Bench:
2nd Unit:
Greg Oden - Could be the starter if he dominates over the next 4 yrs
LaMarcus Aldrigde - Fills the Chris Bosh role and has a slightly better frame
Andre Iguodala - Fills the role of defensive stopper on the wing, like Prince w/ better passing
Derrick Rose - Summer League means nothing, although you only ever hear that if someone does well, this guy is unbelievable, no way he's not on the team if he lives up to the hype)
Thaddeus Young - Yes I'm being a homer. He has untapped potential and will be 24 yrs old. He could be the X-factor on this team
Extras:
Kevin Martin - He's the de-facto shooter on this team, not my pick, but he's already in the system
Kevin Love (not a fan just think he will be for character reasons, if i hear "outlet pass" or "plays the right way" one more time I'm going to throw up

There are of course goings to be arguments with this team, remember I was reluctant with some of the picks. Some are on there for continuity's sake, some on raw potential. I picked not just on my own opinion, but what was likely to happen.

What's your team look like?

[roseorbust]

There's a guy in cleveland who still might be alright... maybe as like the 13th man.

[tk76]

There's a guy in cleveland who still might be alright... maybe as like the 13th man.

C'mon- he'll be like 28 and all washed up. Plus he will probably own his own country and live their for tax purposes. The Nation of Lebron national team (located off of the coast of Manhattan) will probably be favored to medal.

[monks]

I think a great idea, if it already hasn't been considered, is to continue having a "select" team to play Team USA year in and year out, trying to play their way onto the team. This year's roster was:

Aldridge, Bayless, Durant, Green, Head, Horford, Iguodala, R. Lopez, Love, Martin, Mayo, Rose, J.R. Smith, Stuckey, Westbrook.

Also, Oden and Roy would likely be added to that team barring injuries. Guys like Thad Young, Beasley and a couple college guys would probably factor into it as well.

By 2012, I think aside from Kidd that Tayshaun Prince and Michael Redd would be expendable. Both might start losing a little bit, and as specialists that's not a good thing. Also, someone in the frontcourt would have to go to open up a spot for someone like Oden, Love or Aldridge.

But why not have that Select team continue to play against the US squad each summer? They'd earn their way onto the team rather than being selected by name value or being a "specialist."

Look at it this way: At the beginning of the summer, Prince was supposed to be the defensive specialist. Over the first three games and the scrimmages, Kobe Bryant more than willingly accepted the role and has so far done well in it.

Brandon Roy for Prince, Greg Oden for Boozer, Derrick Rose for Kidd and Kevin Martin for Redd seem likely. I also think Carmelo's job could be up for grabs if he doesn't improve any other facets of his game soon (and with George Karl as his coach, I consider that unlikely).

[Sixersfan87]

Obviously LeBron could show up with one sneaker and a hangover and still make the team at 28 years old. I wasn't implying he'd be washed up but let's be real. He said he wants to be a global icon. At first glance, you would think "Hey what better stage to that than the Olympics right?". Consider this. Who is the player getting rock star love in Beijing right now? Kobe. How many Olympics did he appear in previous to this in order to achieve that other-worldly status. None. Global success comes from shining on the biggest and brighest stage, the NBA. Kobe is loved because they've been following him since his glory years with Shaq and last year's MVP season, which only helped his cause. The NBA is what people use to gauge a player's value. Think Sprite and Vitamin Water are gonna cough up the big bucks if Brons schoolin no namers over in Greece. No-frickin-way. As much money as they could make in pure salary in a Euro league, guys like LeBron & D-Wade will never leave because the won't get half the money from endorsement they do in the US from beverage and shoe companies. Coming full circle, if he really wants to be a global icon, he needs to win an NBA Championship (or two, or three, or six). I'm sure he's committed to playing USA Basketball as long as they need him, but I think if he feels the team is good enough without him to win the gold, he'll focus on his NBA career as he creeps closer to 30.

[dprodigy19]

I'm gonna make mine what I want the team to be, rather than a prediction.

(As a note, I'm not including the Melo/LBJ/Kobe contingent, since I don't see them wanting to spend another few summers for 2012. Plus, I like the young guys getting some time.)

PG: Chris Paul. Of course.
SG: Brandon Roy. Will be a phenominal international player with time. Has the right game for this.
SF: Kevin Durant- Nasty, nasty international SF as he grows into his game
PF: Kevin Love- Perfect for Olympic play. Smart, excellent passer, hard rebounder, and can shoot from midrange.
C: Greg Oden- Has the defensive instincts, but isn't the black hole that D. Howard is, which makes him better as the starter.

6th Man: Andre Iguodala- Perimeter stopper, transition killer, and underrated scorer
7th Man: Dwight Hoard- He and Oden would dominate the C minutes
8th Man: Deron Williams- The two-headed PG monster gets to run the show for an Olympics, four year later than they should have gotten the keys
9th Man: Michael Beasley- While I'm not sold on his rebounding at the NBA level, he would do well with this lineup
10th Man: Jrue Holliday- Combo guard to provide depth for both the PG slot and SG. Brings it every game and would be valuable in both practice and the games. James Harden would work here too, but he doesn't have the PG abilities that Jrue does.
11th Man: Kyle Singler- One of the most underrated players in college today. Excellent passer for his size/position and a decent stroke which he will keep improving.
12th Man: Blake Griffin- Not necessarily the greatest shot in the world, but his back to the basket game and rebounding would make for a great addition to the big man core already assembled


Put another way:
PG: CP3 / Deron / Jrue Holliday
SG: Brandon Roy / Iggy / Jrue Holliday
SF: Kevin Durant / Iggy / Kyle Singler
PF: Kevin Love / Michael Beasley / Blake Griffin
C: Greg Oden / Dwight Howard / Blake Griffin

Others who warrant consideration: Kevin Martin, Lamarcus Aldridge, Stephen Curry, Rodney Stuckey, Spencer Hawes, James Harden.

[joshman]

where is lebron james. he is going to be and already is twice as better than kevin durant. how come he is not on the list?

[dprodigy19]

where is lebron james. he is going to be and already is twice as better than kevin durant. how come he is not on the list?

(As a note, I'm not including the Melo/LBJ/Kobe contingent, since I don't see them wanting to spend another few summers for 2012. Plus, I like the young guys getting some time.)

I just can't see LBJ wanting to go after another gold, taking away his summers. If he does, of course he's the starting SF, playing some PF minutes.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

Did I just see someone call Iguodala a scorer, an "under rated" one no less? Iguodala may be one of the most over rated from the 04 draft class. And I'm not hating, I'm stating facts.

Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordan may never be franchise players, but their impact on the basketball court speaks for itself. Think those Chicago teams make it to the playoffs without Big Ben's scoring? How about Emeka Okafor? In his Rookie yr, he broke Shaq's record for double doubles. A Big man that can score, rebound and defend is a commodity that every NBA team wishes it had. And Josh Smith with his shotblocking and speed is a `1 man fastbreak machine. If he puts together his half court game, he could be what AK47 was before falling off the map. Andre Iguodala is a good basketball player. But not great at any one thing, not even his calling card=defense. He didn't deserve to make 80 million, unless you refer to stats.

[76ciology]

There are a lot of good defensive wingman similar with Iggy who are pretty good jump shooters or scorers like Granger or Gay, who are better choices than Iguodala.

Yeah, he'd be a good fit for the USA team in 2012. But there are currently better choices at the SG/SF position than Iguodala. And we're not yet considering the talent pool in the upcoming drafts.

[phiphan]

By 2012 we will be able to clone numerous Thaddeus Youngs, so I expect the depth chart will look something like this:

PG: Thaddeus Young
SG: Thaddeus Young
SF: Thaddeus Young
PF: Thaddeus Young
C: Thaddeus Young

6th Man: Thaddeus Young
7th Man: Thaddeus Young
8th Man: Thaddeus Young
9th Man: Thaddeus Young
10th Man: Thaddeus Young
11th Man: Thaddeus Young
12th Man: Thaddeus Young