can I have a million dollars?

And players are now supposed to go to tryout camps? I can really see Kobe/Shaq doing that. Why bother playing for your country anyway? If you lose, you are a public figure for blame and hatred, it’ll cost sponsorship deals. If you win, nothing, it was expected of you.

I don’t blame the NBA guys, they go through months of travel and physical punishment, they deserve a break. I can’t say I’d be inclined to go play for my country if there was no financial incentive in it for me, call it selfish all you like but you have to lookout for yourself first and foremost.

When he’s open, it’s going down 95% of the time. In this environment, he wouldn’t even have to force them like he does sometimes at Duke. Plus, most teams probably have never heard of him and if they have they have they6 still don’t realize what a great pure shooter he is. They can have all these athletic guys penetrate and kick it out. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ledthe team in scoring either. He’s one of those guys who will not be a good NBA player, but his game would be a defininte plus to the Olympic team

Running the program like this would probably solve another problem too. Ego. I really think a few (very few) players over the past couple USA teams walk in thinking “I’m an NBA star, this will be a gimmie.”

Then they get a wake up call.

The current NBA game is different from the International leagues in a couple of very significant ways:
1. The international 3-pt shot. The 19-21ft shot is rarely taken in the NBA. The international players playing in the Euro leagues are specialists at this distance. If you think the longer NBA 3pt shot is an advantage for NBA shooters you are mistaken. The feel and mindset is much different. I think that US Basketball ought to seriously consider inviting a couple of the best college 3-pt shooters to play. They are used to the distance (international line is only slightly longer) and would need to make less of an adjustment to their game.
2. Fouls. The international rules are far more like NCAA rules than NBA rules. Contact is called more often. This has been very evident in some of the soft fouls Boozer and Duncan have got throughout these games. Referees also look to allow the defense to take charges. The NBA almost always gives the benefit of the doubt to the offense resulting in very few charges being called.
3. General Philosophy. The NBA is all about the biggest and strongest being allowed to out-muscle the opponent. Even at the guard position, there is no room in the NBA for lightweights as they will just be bumped off the ball. Finese and skill are rewarded in the international game. As I mentioned taking a charge in the NBA is almost never called.
4. Team. Perhaps due to the lack of phenom athletes the euro players need their team mates to be successful. NBA rules allow for the emergence of the great athletes to take over the game. But even the greatest athlete would have problems beating all five players on the floor. The international rules allow zones to shut down the great athletes unless they have help from their team mates.

The international game is a more pure form of basketball as it was originally intended. The NBA spends too much time worrying about the entertainment value. As a result the NBA game looks very different than the game played overseas. And that’s why the NBA players have a tougher time adjusting.