Chris Sheridan: Good afternoon from New York, where I'm still bleary-eyed after staying up late to watch Kobe hit those three sick jumpers in the final minute against the Cavs. One of my preferred topics today is the U.S. national team, which looks like it will be pretty well stocked for the World Championship in Japan this summer. Check out my story today updating where the top 50 American players stand in the selection process. I've been the main beat writer for U.S. national teams since the 1996 Olympics, bearing witness to the end of American dominance in the sport and the rise of other nations' programs (as well as the downfall of the Serbian national team). I think the U.S. program is on the right track with Jerry Colangelo in charge, but I'm still skeptical about whether the American team, planning a 2-3 week training camp in Las Vegas, will have enough preparation time to become as cohesive as they'll need to be against the better teams, especially Spain and Argentina. Those teams have had the same players on their rosters for years, and they've shown in the last two big international tournaments how important chemistry and familiarity is to winning. Let's go ...

Scott (Columbus, OH): What are the odds that the cavs trade Damon Jones for someone who isn't so one dimensional, Danny Ferry could come back and miss shots for cheaper

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: There were indications earlier this season that Jones' act was already wearing thin in the cavs' locker room, but when I called Danny Ferry to ask about it he assured me there was no problem whatsoever. But that was before the current slump, and this is about as deep as a funk as I've ever seen any shooter in. Damon looked like Desmond Mason when he took a 3 from the corner on his first touch last night. If he doesn't snap out of it on this six-game trip, I think the Cavs will look to get rid of him

Shawn: (Lima, Ohio: What are the odds of the Celtics trading their franchise player Paul Pierce and the chance of getting someone of equal value or will it just be draft picks?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The trading climate in the NBA is never conducive to getting equal value in return for a superstar, and today's climate is even harsher given the packages the Raptors accepted for Vince Carter, the Lakers took for Shaq, the Magic for Mc Grady and so on. Try to remember the last time a star was traded and his former team did well in the deal. I'm with Wyc Grousebeck on this one: Keep Pierce, and build around him.

Anderson, Brooklyn, NY: Mr. Sheridan what is your opinion of the Pacer Management handling of the Ron Artest fiasco? I think that Bird and Co bungle this whole situation.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: I'll reserve judgement until I see what they get for him, but right now I'm of the belief that they should have handled this much differently right from the get-go. If they had shrugged off Artest's trade demand as just another daily dose of Life With Ron-Ron, they could have worked behind the scenes to move him and gotten a better offer.

Brad (Albuq): Chris..I was there for the Gold Medal game in Atlanta..what an experience. Can our country get back to that caliber of winning and will not having Duncan be detrimental?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: That was my first gold medal game, and Yugoslavia kept it close for quite a while before Dream Team II (that was what they were calling them back then) pulled away in the second half. I think it's probably a good thing, in a strange way, that Duncan will not be playing. His complaining to the refs was endless in Athens, even when legitimate calls were made against him, and it created so much ill will between the referees and the Americans that it affected the way calls went against other players. LeBron James got loose a couple times for breakaway highlight-reel dunks that were waved off for bogus traveling calls. Also, Duncan's poor foul shooting was a problem, and teams exploited it and simply fouled him when he caught the ball if they knew they couldn't defend him. And the refs were giving Duncan such a hard time, half the time they wouldn't call the foul when Duncan was getting hacked.

Tad (Ithaca, NY): Wouldn't the Olympic team managers shy away from players who are questionable over the long term physically speaking? I'm thinking of Kidd and VC specifically.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Both players have really excelled for U.S. teams, especially during the Sydney Olympics, and neither one's game has dropped off all that significantly in the five years since then. I think if Kidd plays on the national team, it'll be for the Worlds in 2006 only, not Beijing in 2008. As for Carter, he actually showed some toughness in Sydney in a game against Russia when he stormed after a player after getting clobbered on a drive. Unfortunately, he went after the wrong player.

Kevin (NYC): To me the biggest problems with Team USA is they don't ahve a true PG, a "lights out" shooter and a lock down permiter defender. Can they fill those holes?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Kidd or Chauncey Billups would make an excellent "true" pg, so I think they'll have that problem solved. The two best lights out shooters are Ray Allen and Michael Redd, but I'm not sure Allen would want to play alongside Kobe. That being said, Kobe is a bit of a lights out shooter when he's on, and he's a lock down defender, too. I know Colangelo is giving serious thought to inviting Bruce Bowen to training camp, and I believe he should bring the best on-the-ball backcourt defender he can find, too, so the U.S. can slow opponents from getting the ball upcourt.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Sorry for the delay there. Had an important call.

Mike (Chicago): Instead of assembling an All-star cast of individuals, why not just send a fantastic team like the Pistons? They already know how to work together, and do you really think anyone would beat them?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: It'd be a problem getting American passports for Darko and Delfino.


Ammer ,Toronto: Right now, Mike James is on fire, he is lightening it up for the raptors, what do you think you will Rob Babcock do with him, will he trade him or will resign him in the off-season and what is his market value?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: I don't have a great take on how Mike is enjoying life in Toronto, but I know he was livid when he got traded there. With the way he's playing, he's going to make a lot of money as a free agent next summer. It'll be risky, but I think the Raptors will keep him through this season and then try to move him in a sign-and-trade.

Jake (Sacramento, CA): How does a USA team get the chemistry that other teams have? Is it possible with all these superstars or should they be picking more "role" players?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Colangelo is hoping that at least half the players who comprise the 2006 team will still be on the roster for the 2008 Olympics, and he wants to have a group of younger players serving as a scout team that would be comprised of future members of the national team, players such as Greg Oden, Channing Frye, Chris Paul, etc., so that the U.S. players can spend each summer developing some of that chemistry they've so sorely lacked.

Rob, MN: Delayed by an important call, eh??...Please tell me it Kevin Mchale telling you he finally was able to deal McCant and Kandi Man for Artest.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: It was an important call concerning Artest and what might happen now that the Maggette deal is dead. I think the Pacers are no closer to doing anything with the Nuggets, Warriors or Timberwolves than they were 2 weeks ago, but I'm hearing that the Rockets _ who don't have anything outside of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady that interests the Pacers _ are trying to find a player that Indiana does like. The end result would be a three- or four-way trade that would bring Artest to Houston.

Kelly (San Antonio, TX): Though the Spurs have the best record in the West, they've been manhandled upfront by the Pistons - TWICE. Are they looking to move either Rasho or Nazr and get another bigman who can bang with the Wallaces?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Spurs never get too exceited or too concerned about anything that happens before April. They're looking to tinker a little, perhaps by trading someone like Beno Udrih, but Nazr doesn't have much trade value in the final year of his contract and they're probably going to end up keeping him.

Kevin, Kansas City, MO: Any chances that a player like Kirk Hinrich could play for team USA? With the Bulls switching him to point guard, I see him emerging as an all-star at the position.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: He is one of the players who has sat down with Jerry Colangelo to speak about playing for the national team, so obviously there's some interest there from the US federation. At this point, though, he's well behind Kidd, Billups and even Baron Davis in the point guard pecking order, at least the way I see it.

Mario (Bell Gardens, CA): Chris, if Maggette comes back healthier than ever, will the Pacers kick themselves for not pulling the trigger on a trade, or did they make the right call here?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Jamaal Tinsley had a foot injury similar to Maggette's, so the Pacers know that type of injury can take an awful long time to heal. I've always liked Maggette's game, and I think that would have been a nice trade if the Pacers were certain Maggette could play this season. But they apparently weren't convinced of that fact, and they still want to move Artest for someone who can help them win in the postseason THIS year.

Richard (Toronto): Why is Arvydas Macijauskas, one of the world's deadliest deep shooters coming off screens (and nobody is like that nowadays save for Redd, Allen and Rip) rotting in Byron Scott's doghouse? Why don't they just trade him? There are about 25 other teams that can use the Euroleague's top scorer/gunner from two seasons ago.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Hornets are looking for size in return, and GMs are always fearful of trading big for small _ especially for small and slow.

Mike (Pasadena, CA): Chris, so... where will Artest end up?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Somewhere in the West. There are no East teams in the mix whatsoever at this point, according to my sources.

Sam (NY): Come on Chris, talk about the Knickerbockers! Is this resurgence for real? They've beaten some good teams and finally look like their coming together. What's your take?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: It's really quite stunning how they've turned things around. They're playing with so much more confidence now, and Stephon is playing as well as he has in two years. Maybe the whole team, but especially Marbury, needed to scrape rock bottom to know what it felt like. Things could still take a turn for the worse for them, but the victories over Phoenix and Dallas were not flukes, and a road win in Cleveland is not easy.

Breno (Brasil): Will Boozer ever play again for Utah? Can Nets get him?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: The Jazz are open to trading Boozer, but not now while he's still sidelined and his value is down. So he'll wear a Utah uniform again, it's just a matter of for how long.

Luke(Dallas, TX(: Are there any mavs players in the mix for the US team. Such as Josh Howard or Devin Harris, maybe even JET Terry? Also are the Mavs talking to anyone about trading to upgrade their team?

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: Josh Howard would like to be in the mix, and he's asked his new agent to place a call to Colangelo to see if he can get in the mix. Jason Terry is not on USA Basketball's radar, nor is Harris.

SportsNation Chris Sheridan: That's a wrap for today, folks. We'll do this again in a week.