Jerry Colangelo is pretty pumped up about being the man in charge of Olympic
basketball, but not everyone thinks it's going to be that easy. Take
Gary Peterson, for example.
On the other hand, though, you could put together a pretty good team with
some stars and some complimentary players, as long as you chose well. And
the incentive? Well, there's not much of a reward for the stars,
necessarily, other than winning. But for the other guys, there's
potentially a huge payoff.
We're not discounting playing for one's country, mind you. That is - or
should be - a powerful lure. But if that fails, then the endorsements
possible after a successful Olympic run could be considerable.
For a few guys who might get consideration as role players, think of Shane
Battier (defense, rebounding, three point shooting and leadership), Wally
Szczerbiak, Antwan Jamison, and maybe by then, Luke Walton.
Could they compete in the NBA? Probably not. But they wouldn't be playing NBA teams, they'd be playing in the Olympics, and a team with guys like that, with some time together, could play well.