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What will Team USA look like in Beijing?
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
Updated: September 2, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- They walked out of the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday with gold medals draped around their necks, and they'll be looking to do the same next summer when the site will be Beijing and the level of competition will be much, much tougher.
But how many members of this version of Team USA will make the long flight to Asia 11 months from now?
And what, if anything, does this team need to add?
Those are the questions team director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski will be pondering over the next several months as they roll into the final year of their three-year commitment to bring the Old World Order back to international basketball.
They were borderline ecstatic with the way this team played while rolling through the Tournament of the Americas, but they know next summer will be a whole different story. The opponents will be bigger, more polished and more experienced than what they faced out here in the desert, and they know they'll need to tweak the roster to go with a true "A" team.
"The basic questions are, 'Do you carry an extra shooter, do you carry an extra point, can you get another big?' " Colangelo said. "I think it's taking a hard look at what happened here and weighing all the pluses, then tearing it down a little bit and say, 'OK, if you could get anything you want, what would you want?' Well, obviously, size. If you can add a big, that's something you'd like to do any time. I don't think there's any team in the world that wouldn't want to take an extra big. But you don't just take a big for the sense of taking a big. It's got to be a guy who can play with these guys."
Colangelo said Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be two of the additions to the roster, as long as they are healthy, and the team almost certainly will stick with the same starting lineup of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. So that's seven spots.
You can guarantee a spot to Michael Redd, too, and Amare Stoudemire probably is locked into a spot, so that's nine.
A second point guard would make 10, and that spot is pretty much up for grabs between Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kirk Hinrich and Chauncey Billups.
That leaves two spots to fill, with a good eight or nine legitimate candidates in the mix. And at least one of those spots has to go to a big man, because Team USA cannot go to China with Howard, Stoudemire and Bosh as its only bigs.
"I know I'll be solicited heavily by people who want their players to play and by players themselves," Colangelo said.
So let's take a look at the bubble guys (we'll go through them alphabetically), and assess their chances of filling out those final two spots on the roster:
Shane Battier: He was a starter a year ago in Japan, the perfect glue guy, and he's a Krzyzewski favorite. He can do a little bit of everything, including guard the best player on the opposing team when Kobe is resting. ODDS: 5-1.
Carlos Boozer: He has not been a member of Team USA under Colangelo's watch, but he would have been in camp this summer had his wife not been due to give birth to twins. He was a member of the 2004 Olympic team, too, so he is experienced in international ball. ODDS: 12-1.
Elton Brand: He was a key member of last summer's team at the world championship, and he would have been here this summer if injuries hadn't forced him out. He has been as close to a stalwart as USA Basketball has had. ODDS: 4-1.
Tyson Chandler: He was the 12th man in Vegas, but he was a shot-blocking and rebounding force in the limited amount of time he was used -- and there is going to come a time next summer against a big opponent when he'll be exactly the type of player the Americans will need. ODDS: 10-1.
Kevin Durant: He was one of the two final cuts for the Tournament of the Americas team, but he's one of the early favorites to be on the 2010 World Championship team and the 2012 Olympics team. Having a guy on those teams who was in Beijing will be desirable, which could work in his favor. ODDS: 20-1.
Joe Johnson: If there was a legitimate argument to be made that the team will need an extra shooter, he might be the guy. But with the way Team USA cured its shooting woes in Vegas, shooting 47 percent on 3s as a team, that argument doesn't hold water. And it's the same argument that can be used to knock Mike Miller out of the picture. ODDS: 15-1.
Shawn Marion: Although he's a Colangelo favorite and a veteran of the 2002 and 2004 U.S. teams, he wasn't able to play this summer or last summer because of injuries. That'll hurt his chances. ODDS: 15-1.
Brad Miller: Last year's 12th man did not participate this summer, which pretty much removes him from the mix, same as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Bruce Bowen. ODDS: 100-1.
Tayshaun Prince: His versatility is his strongest asset, but it's hard to see Coach K giving him the nod over Battier if he's looking for that type of player. ODDS: 20-1.
Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
What will Team USA look like in Beijing?
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
Updated: September 2, 2007
LAS VEGAS -- They walked out of the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday with gold medals draped around their necks, and they'll be looking to do the same next summer when the site will be Beijing and the level of competition will be much, much tougher.
But how many members of this version of Team USA will make the long flight to Asia 11 months from now?
And what, if anything, does this team need to add?
Those are the questions team director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski will be pondering over the next several months as they roll into the final year of their three-year commitment to bring the Old World Order back to international basketball.
They were borderline ecstatic with the way this team played while rolling through the Tournament of the Americas, but they know next summer will be a whole different story. The opponents will be bigger, more polished and more experienced than what they faced out here in the desert, and they know they'll need to tweak the roster to go with a true "A" team.
"The basic questions are, 'Do you carry an extra shooter, do you carry an extra point, can you get another big?' " Colangelo said. "I think it's taking a hard look at what happened here and weighing all the pluses, then tearing it down a little bit and say, 'OK, if you could get anything you want, what would you want?' Well, obviously, size. If you can add a big, that's something you'd like to do any time. I don't think there's any team in the world that wouldn't want to take an extra big. But you don't just take a big for the sense of taking a big. It's got to be a guy who can play with these guys."
Colangelo said Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be two of the additions to the roster, as long as they are healthy, and the team almost certainly will stick with the same starting lineup of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. So that's seven spots.
You can guarantee a spot to Michael Redd, too, and Amare Stoudemire probably is locked into a spot, so that's nine.
A second point guard would make 10, and that spot is pretty much up for grabs between Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kirk Hinrich and Chauncey Billups.
That leaves two spots to fill, with a good eight or nine legitimate candidates in the mix. And at least one of those spots has to go to a big man, because Team USA cannot go to China with Howard, Stoudemire and Bosh as its only bigs.
"I know I'll be solicited heavily by people who want their players to play and by players themselves," Colangelo said.
So let's take a look at the bubble guys (we'll go through them alphabetically), and assess their chances of filling out those final two spots on the roster:
Shane Battier: He was a starter a year ago in Japan, the perfect glue guy, and he's a Krzyzewski favorite. He can do a little bit of everything, including guard the best player on the opposing team when Kobe is resting. ODDS: 5-1.
Carlos Boozer: He has not been a member of Team USA under Colangelo's watch, but he would have been in camp this summer had his wife not been due to give birth to twins. He was a member of the 2004 Olympic team, too, so he is experienced in international ball. ODDS: 12-1.
Elton Brand: He was a key member of last summer's team at the world championship, and he would have been here this summer if injuries hadn't forced him out. He has been as close to a stalwart as USA Basketball has had. ODDS: 4-1.
Tyson Chandler: He was the 12th man in Vegas, but he was a shot-blocking and rebounding force in the limited amount of time he was used -- and there is going to come a time next summer against a big opponent when he'll be exactly the type of player the Americans will need. ODDS: 10-1.
Kevin Durant: He was one of the two final cuts for the Tournament of the Americas team, but he's one of the early favorites to be on the 2010 World Championship team and the 2012 Olympics team. Having a guy on those teams who was in Beijing will be desirable, which could work in his favor. ODDS: 20-1.
Joe Johnson: If there was a legitimate argument to be made that the team will need an extra shooter, he might be the guy. But with the way Team USA cured its shooting woes in Vegas, shooting 47 percent on 3s as a team, that argument doesn't hold water. And it's the same argument that can be used to knock Mike Miller out of the picture. ODDS: 15-1.
Shawn Marion: Although he's a Colangelo favorite and a veteran of the 2002 and 2004 U.S. teams, he wasn't able to play this summer or last summer because of injuries. That'll hurt his chances. ODDS: 15-1.
Brad Miller: Last year's 12th man did not participate this summer, which pretty much removes him from the mix, same as Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Bruce Bowen. ODDS: 100-1.
Tayshaun Prince: His versatility is his strongest asset, but it's hard to see Coach K giving him the nod over Battier if he's looking for that type of player. ODDS: 20-1.
Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
