Touch of gray needed on Dream Team
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Sean Deveney /
Posted: 9 hours ago
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2671850

Blame whomever you want for the failure of the American Olympic basketball team. There is no shortage of accountable candidates. Want to blame the Team USA selection committee?

They chose this bunch, after all, and showed little regard for the lessons that should have been learned about the United States' place in international basketball after the sixth-place finish at the World Championship in 2002.

Want to blame coach Larry Brown? He has failed to inspire these players, and some of his playing-time decisions have been questionable (why not more Carmelo Anthony, who is one of the few who has given a full-throttle effort every time on the floor?) Want to blame society? Our culture has produced a me-first style of basketball, where one-on-one showmanship has replaced teamwork. It's also produced players like Kevin Garnett, Kenyon Martin and Shaquille O'Neal, who turned down the opportunity to represent their country for selfish reasons.

But, looking ahead, blame is of little use. What USA Basketball needs is a solution, and the ones out there right now are pretty unsatisfying. The current system is not the way, because collecting the best available players — and forcing NBA guys to choose between representing the U.S. and being healthy for the upcoming season — has yielded no results. A return to collegiate players is an honorable possibility, but they'd be slaughtered by international teams. We could have a permanent national team made up of sub-NBA players, but again, how good could such a team be?

To me, in its rush to accumulate the best young players in the NBA, USA Basketball has overlooked a potentially rich resource: The guys who are not so young. If Team USA wants to get back to international prominence, then the red, white and blue needs to add a little gray.

Team USA should make up half its team of veteran players who are either recently retired or at the end of their careers. The problem with the current edition of American team is that, for all its youth and athleticism, it lacks smarts and versatility. It has no players willing to play a five-man offense, players willing to set proper picks, move without the ball and work for a good shot. That's international basketball. It's loaded with aging centers and wily scorers who get by simply by being smarter than you.

The NBA is a modified one-on-one game, and by selecting the NBA's best, we wind up with the best one-on-one players. When the top players refuse invitations, we go to the next level of players, meaning we wind up with the second-best one-on-one players. That's useless once you get to international tournaments.

We need smart players. We need experienced players. We need players who don't rely on being more athletic than the other guy. We need old guys.


David Robinson could provide some much-needed veteran wisdom to the new Dream Team. (Mike Powell / GettyImages)

We could pick a point guard from a pool of John Stockton, Mark Jackson, Darrell Armstrong or Avery Johnson. Who do you want at shooting guard, Dell Curry, Steve Kerr or Steve Smith? Cliff Robinson, Danny Ferry or Kendall Gill at small forward? Scott Williams, Karl Malone or Horace Grant at power forward? How about David Robinson, Kevin Willis or Sean Rooks at center?

Sound like a team of has-beens who will need FIBA's permission to take their walkers onto the court? Good. That's what it is supposed to be.

You see, something happens as NBA players get older. They become smarter. When the physical gifts players have in their 20s decline, they come to rely on their mental gifts, and the players who are still effective into their 30s are doing it as much on brains and experience as on ability.

There are significant advantages to having veterans. Except for those still in the playoffs, the team could get together and start practicing in April, three months ahead of when the current American team began its practices. The players on the team would be much better schooled in fundamentals and, thus, would work together better. Everyone can pass. Everyone can hit a jumper. Everyone can box out, set picks, understand team defense. That is how you win in international tournaments, not with jaw-dropping athletes who don't use their brains.

Cliff Robinson is perfectly suited to international ball — a good passer, a smart defender, shooting range out to the 3-point line. Kerr would be deadly against the zone defenses international teams play. A front line of Karl Malone and David Robinson matches well with the international style, which calls for big men to be shooters, pick-setters and passers. John Stockton as the set-up man? Perfect.

Players at the end of their careers, too, have accomplished all they will in the NBA, and will play for pride, without ego. They don't have to worry about damaging their reputations by playing poorly, which sometimes seems to be an obsession with the players on this American Olympic team. These guys will practice hard, and they will play hard.

That's just where USA Basketball should start. Crafty veterans should make up half the team, six roster spots.

Team USA should also tap into another resource that has gone ignored — the American players who have gone on to become star players in Europe. These are players who, for a variety of reasons, did not make it in the NBA. But their abilities have proven to be well-suited to European basketball. Their knowledge of international players, international style, international referees and rules could be put to very good use on the court.

Former NCAA stars Scoonie Penn and Tyus Edney are two of the most celebrated point guards in Europe. Shooting guard Anthony Parker recently won the MVP award for the Euroleague Final Four. Big guys like former Boise State center Tanoka Beard and Michigan forward Maceo Baston couldn't make it in the NBA, but have found success in Europe.

Don't scoff at these players as NBA rejects — these guys have achieved very heady company with their European teams, and in case you have not noticed, the Olympics are dominated by the European style of play. Besides, since employing so-called NBA stars doesn't seem to work for Team USA, what's wrong with exploring some of the league's rejects who have gone on to success elsewhere?

Let's have a tryout and reserve two or three roster spots for American players abroad.

The remaining three spots can be offered to NBA players, as long as those players are chosen carefully. They must want to play. They must be fundamentally sound, with versatility on both ends of the court. They must be willing to earn their spot in the rotation, and accept a seat on the bench. Tim Duncan, Richard Jefferson, Shawn Marion and Dwyane Wade might be the only current Team USA members who would warrant an invitation.

Now, step back and realize the suggestion here is that Team USA would be better off with Baston or Scott Williams, instead of Carlos Boozer or Amare Stoudemire. Scoonie instead of Stephon. Cliff instead of Carmelo. Sound ridiculous? No, what's ridiculous is that Team USA has these assets all around it, and has chosen not to use them.


Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. Email him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com.

A blend of old and young is ideal, he is right. But he is talking about guys who are retired... Stockton? I am sure he could pass in his sleep but he didn't play this entire year. Scoonie Penn? Scott Williams? Some of the names are absurd. Better to have included some shooters such as Fred Hoiberg, Michael Redd, Brett Barry, or while you're at it, why not drag Steve Kerr or even John Paxson out of retirement!