I expect there to be a line outside of Head of USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo?s office, home or basically anywhere he can be found.
I?m not just talking about a line of so-so players looking for their shot to make a name for themselves. I?m talking about a line out the door of players the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Deron Williams and a ton more of their friends.
So many NBA superstars will be vying to play for the USA Olympic basketball team that Colangelo will probably have to start turning big names way.
I?m talking about the practice squad being packed with the likes of Chris Paul, Amar?e Stoudemire, Blake Griffin and company.
The practice squad could be a NBA contending team in itself, let alone the bench players or the starters.
Some have suggested that the NBA lockout would hinder Team USA?s chances of getting star players to sign up with them, but conversely I believe that will be the only team that the big names want to play for.
David Aldridge of NBA.com reports more on how the lockout may potentially affect the Olympic team:
We are self-sustaining," he repeated. "The NBA gives us people when we need people for events."
Still, the 2012 roster will be comprised solely of NBA players. Kobe Bryant is a yes whatever happens, according to a source close to the 34-year-old; Bryant badly wants a second gold medal to go with the one he won in '08. Kevin Durant, who led Team USA to the gold medal at the 2010 World Championships in Turkey, would probably go if selected even if the lockout were still in place, a source close to him said Sunday. The source added, though, that circumstances could change in the next year. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have yet to have discussions about what they would do in case the lockout is ongoing, according to a source; ditto for LeBron James, according to another source with knowledge of James' thinking.
Colangelo said he doesn't have a specific plan for what to do about the USA roster if the lockout consumes all of the 2011-12 season and is still going when USAB has to submit a roster to FIFA next June. (There wasn't much he could say, anyway; Colangelo is still, technically, a minority partner with the Suns, though he sold the team to Robert Sarver in 2004 for $401 million, and thus can't talk specifically about the lockout or many ancillary issues.) But he has enough information to believe he can put a team together from members of the '08 Olympic gold medal team and the '10 world championship squad.
Even though it may be a concern I don?t really see a lack of stars being a problem for the Olympic team, especially if the lockout goes on as long as some are expecting it to.
There is no greater honor than to play basketball to represent your country, especially if there is no other notable outlet where these big names can do so.
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