Team USA-Iverson not Invited

[erpowers]

What do people think about the USA basketball Olympic teams roster? Does anyone agree with the decision to leave Allen Iverson off the list of picked players and those that were invited? People like Shaq and Tim Duncan still have standing open invitations even though they have already said they do not want to be on the team, while Iverson who wants to play on the team will not even be allowed to try out for the team.

I do not agree with the to not let Iverson at least try out for the team and I do not believe USA basketballs reason for leaving Iverson off the team. The manager of Team USA claimed that Iverson was left off the team in that they wanted someone who would distribute the ball to people. I watched Iverson play today for a short while and he seemed to distribute the ball well and a rather large amount in my opinion. Also, in the game a few days ago where Iverson scored 47 points he also had 12 assists and today he had at least 31 point with at least 9 assists. I do not hate Kobe, but how many of Kobe 30+ and 40+ games has he had double digit assists. I know that Kobe is a shooting guard and Iverson is mainly a point guard, but in my opinion if Kobe can be on the team than Iverson can be on the team. Also, Iverson is normally tagged as a bad guy; however, some of you may remember that a few years ago when Jordan was left off the ALL-STAR game starting list it was Iverson, not McGrady, who was first to offer his spot to Jordan although people ignored Iverson gesture, but greatly and gleefully reported about McGrady being willing to give up his spot in favor of Jordan.

Another question I have is this: Is the problem with USA basketball really that NBA basketball players do not play on the Olympic team or is it just that other teams just have more heart and want to win Olympic gold more than the American team? If you look at Argentina I think Manu Ginobili, at the time of the Athens Olympics, was the only NBA basketball player on the team and that team still won gold. On the other hand the US had multiple NBA players and they were only able to win the bronze. It seems that things might be a little better this time around because the players on the roster want to be on the team, but I just do not completely accept the idea that the problem is the lack of NBA basketball players on the team.

[underpants]

1. Say what you want about AI but never say he slacks

or doesn't give everyone their monies worth. My brother was a longtime NBA NONfan but he watches it starting basically this season. I asked him and he agreed Iverson lays it all out every game.

Passing, spacing, general non one-on-one play is what damned Team USA in the 2004 olympics so if this is why they did it I could see that. I would still want him on my team-now if his body can handle not having an off season is another matter. You know he could have asked not to be put on so he could have some time off without it appearing that he didn't show up. I'm just saying.

[fishwax]

3. i agree. And in '04 he was the most motivated and inspired member of the

team. He was the only one that consistently gave the impression that he gave a damn. I wasn't really rooting for the Dream Team (I never really do), but in my opinion keeping AI off the team is the biggest misstep they've made since they brought in the hired guns to begin with.

[DrGonzoLives]

2. The problem with Team USA is that it's not a team

It's an assemblage of all-stars, whereas other countries actually have a national team that plays together regularly (if not all the time). Herb Brooks won in hockey in 1980 because he said to hell with All-Stars, I want a team. Sooner or later, with basketball becoming the worldwide sport that it is, the US is going to figure this out as well.

[jakefrep]

4. Of course not...

You're not going to have much of a team concept when you slap a team together a few weeks before the Olympics. In the past, that wasn't as much of an issue because we had so much more talent than the rest of the world. We could get away with handing out roster spots like some sort of NBA "lifetime achievement award".

Not any more.

The management of the team needs to be that of a team just like every other country, and not a marketing arm of the NBA.