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The end of the Dream Team? David Stern comments on Olympic Basketball Dream Team

Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
LAS VEGAS — It was a peculiar time for David Stern to open such a dialogue, but the time and place signified his seriousness.

This might be it for the Dream Team concept in the Olympics.

The NBA Finals were 45 minutes from tip-off last month when the league commissioner said it himself — cognizant that NBA owners fretted every four years about players being injured with the extra month of activity . . . that the players themselves began to question whether they should be paid to play for Team USA . . . and, finally, that the NBA wasn't making an abundance of money by lending its assets to the national cause of thumping (take your pick) Angola, Tunisia, etc.

In other words, enjoy the London Olympics. Who knows if such a collection of basketball players will ever suit up for the Games again?

"I think we got a lot out of the Olympics," Stern said ominously last month. "We helped grow the game. The result has been extraordinary. But I think it's appropriate to step back and take stock of where we're going."

Then he did something completely wild. He sided with longtime sparring partner Mark Cuban, a sign that a basketball apocalypse was beginning . . . and NBA participation in the Olympics could be ending.

Cuban, after all, had said the league's quadrennial gift to the Olympics was "the biggest mistake the NBA makes."

"If you look up 'stupid' in the dictionary, you see a picture of the USA Dream Team playing for free for corporate America so the U.S. Olympic Committee can make billions of dollars," Cuban told reporters in April. "And it has nothing to do with patriotism and it's all about money. You don't see the [International] Olympic Committee in Switzerland saying, 'Oh, we made so much money, let's give it to people.' How many jets do they have?"

The Dream Team launched in legendary fashion in 1992 in Barcelona with Magic, Michael and Larry. Stern said the NBA was televised in 80 countries back then. It is now shown in 215. There were only a handful of international players in the NBA 20 years ago. Now there are 80.

Stern hopes to make the Olympics a 23-and-under event, basically retuning it to the college kids and NBA players with only a few years of pro experience.

Then the NBA plans to create a World Cup of Basketball, akin to the one in soccer, two years after every Olympics, with no age limit and plenty of ways to maximize financial gain for the league.

If the Dream Team concept ends this year in London, it will have a similarly stacked roster, with stars from the newer generation: Kobe, LeBron and Kevin Durant.

But USA Basketball, which selects the U.S. Olympic team every four years, isn't quite ready to roll over.

"I don't want to change anything, because I like what we have," USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo said Sunday. "We take care of our players and I think we do the right things.

"You need a lot of things to fall into place in order for all of this [age restriction] to happen. You need the cooperation and the votes and support of a lot of people. So when I hear something like this, I say it may happen. The real question is when. Is it '16, is it 2020? Don't know at this point. It's a long way from the finish line."

One prominent U.S. player says he likes the Olympics the way they are now.

"I hope it continues to go that way, because it's good for the game," Bryant said. "You put your best players in that stage and you want to see the best players go against each other. That's what it's all about."

Bryant shrugged off the vision of hand-wringing NBA owners who invested millions upon millions in the players on the court in an Olympic game. The combined NBA salaries of the 12 Team USA players is $185 million next season.

"I think that's the wrong way to look at things," Bryant said Sunday, halfway through Team USA's training camp. "If I'm an owner, I would want my player to play [internationally] because I understand that they're going to be playing anyway, going to be playing pickup basketball in the summertime, and I'm not going to be able to know where they are. They could be playing against a bunch of bums — no, really — guys that feel like they have something to prove and all of a sudden, a [star player] goes to the rim and a guy takes them out and now he's hurt.

"Here you're playing against the best guys, you have treatment around the clock, your [NBA] coaching staff can always come sit in the stands and view practice. To me, playing on an Olympic basketball team is actually better if you're an owner."

Maybe Colangelo and Bryant will get their way. USA Basketball and the U.S. Olympic Committee are powerful entities.

But so is the NBA.

To be continued after the London Olympics, perhaps the last one ever for a U.S. Dream Team.
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I'm still reading, thoughts later.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-usa-oly-basketball-20120709,0,5116457.story
 
I think it would be a mistake to change it. Teh bottom line is all about greed. it would hurt the NBA if they do that.
 
I like it. while it's cool seeing a super team go for the Olympic gold, it's not very practical. I like having the young players represent the country.
 
Red Storm said:
I like it. while it's cool seeing a super team go for the Olympic gold, it's not very practical. I like having the young players represent the country.
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I like having the USA destroy everyone. I mean that's what the olympics are all about right?
 
Ns1 said:
I like having the USA destroy everyone.
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Until a superstar gets a season/career ending injury and then it just sucks.

I like the new suggested model, it matches soccer. Have the young guys play in the Olympics, and the stars can still play in the World Championships.
 
Red Storm said:
Until a superstar gets a season/career ending injury and then it just sucks.
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I'll just c/p Bryant's comments here:

If I'm an owner, I would want my player to play [internationally] because I understand that they're going to be playing anyway, going to be playing pickup basketball in the summertime, and I'm not going to be able to know where they are. They could be playing against a bunch of bums — no, really — guys that feel like they have something to prove and all of a sudden, a [star player] goes to the rim and a guy takes them out and now he's hurt.
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Players are going to get hurt in any number of ways off the court. Ask Tony Parker about his eye. Ask Monte Ellis about his ankle. Ask Plaxico Burress about his leg. Ask Suggs about his achilles. Ask Brandon Marshall about his stab wound. How about players doing 100MPH in cars (hi Suh!)

And so on.

If they get hurt playing the Olympics at least it's in a manner remotely related to their profession and possibly building a stronger international recognition.
 
Just posturing to get a piece of the pie most likely. USOC will will get bent over the barrel by the NBA but won't lose the star players in the olympics. If anything the reverse of what Stern said is more likely to happen, with a world championship of basketball for the younger players.

NBA would make a lot more money sharing the merchandising/tv revenue money for star NBA players with the USOC than having the stars in a world championship and playing rookies/college kids in the olympics.
 
Look I personally do think it's great that the stars want to play in the Olympics and being a Laker fan, I'll definitely be rooting for Kobe and co., but you can't compare pickup basketball to the Olympics. One is a couple of games against random dudes, while the Olympics are many practice sessions and scrimmages plus flying half way around the world to partake in a major international tournament against much tougher competition.

I have no problem with Stern's goal because that's how soccer already does it. In soccer the World Cup is the game's biggest tournament, not the Olympics. That's what they're trying to go for here, have the World Championships be the big event while the Olympics are for the younger players.
 
Red Storm said:
Look I personally do think it's great that the stars want to play in the Olympics and being a Laker fan, I'll definitely be rooting for Kobe and co., but you can't compare pickup basketball to the Olympics. One is a couple of games against random dudes, while the Olympics are many practice sessions and scrimmages plus flying half way around the world to partake in a major international tournament against much tougher competition.

I have no problem with Stern's goal because that's how soccer already does it. In soccer the World Cup is the game's biggest tournament, not the Olympics. That's what they're trying to go for here, have the World Championships be the big event while the Olympics are for the younger players.
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so what Kobe himself is not enough? 🙄

i think Kobe can compare the two..
 
Ns1 said:
I like having the USA destroy everyone. I mean that's what the olympics are all about right?
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Keep in mind that other countries had their pro basketball players competing in the Olympics well before the NBA players were allowed in. I was in high school when it was announced that NBA players were going to be playing in the 92 Olympics, and IIRC, the Soviets completely shit their pants. It was comedy gold and too bad that a Dream Team never got the chance to bludgeon the shit out of a Soviet team. Kind of like how it was sad that the 84 Olympic team didn't get their chance, either.

Oh, and David Stern can go screw himself. He's done more damage to pro basketball than any single person.
 
In the 2010 World Championship the USA essentially won with an under 23 team. I felt more national pride with that team winning than when they won the Gold in 2008. Previously, college players placed no less than a bronze. One year they sent CBA and US euro pro players (1998) players and they still medaled. I think this is a good idea. Get college and young pros to play in the Olympics and World Championships. There would always be that buffer in case we lose that we didnt send our best. :biggrin: It is much worse when the pros lose, like in 02 (6th place..wtf???), 04 and 06.
 
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Nobody is forcing any of these players to play Olympic basketball, they are agreeing to play it so why should we put restrictions that they cannot?
 
Red Storm said:
Look I personally do think it's great that the stars want to play in the Olympics and being a Laker fan, I'll definitely be rooting for Kobe and co., but you can't compare pickup basketball to the Olympics. One is a couple of games against random dudes, while the Olympics are many practice sessions and scrimmages plus flying half way around the world to partake in a major international tournament against much tougher competition.

I have no problem with Stern's goal because that's how soccer already does it. In soccer the World Cup is the game's biggest tournament, not the Olympics. That's what they're trying to go for here, have the World Championships be the big event while the Olympics are for the younger players.
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the NBA is going to have to start its own competition to FIBA, then.
 
Does anyone actually care about the Basketball at the Olympics. There are like 3 countries that don't completely suck. US, Argentina, and Spain.
 
Red Storm said:
Look I personally do think it's great that the stars want to play in the Olympics and being a Laker fan, I'll definitely be rooting for Kobe and co., but you can't compare pickup basketball to the Olympics. One is a couple of games against random dudes, while the Olympics are many practice sessions and scrimmages plus flying half way around the world to partake in a major international tournament against much tougher competition.
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Aer you serious? Much easier to get hurt in a pickup game. Guy looking for a moment of glory against an established star, tangles you up in the air, and boom.

I have no problem with Stern's goal because that's how soccer already does it. In soccer the World Cup is the game's biggest tournament, not the Olympics. That's what they're trying to go for here, have the World Championships be the big event while the Olympics are for the younger players.
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Hockey does that too and no one give a fuck about the World Cup of Hockey. Have you even heard of it? Most haven't. No one would care about a World Cup of Basketball because the United States would be such prohibitive favorites. Soccer has Brazil, but Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. have a realistic chance. No one has a realistic chance against the U.S. in basketball.
 
Blackjack200 said:
Aer you serious? Much easier to get hurt in a pickup game. Guy looking for a moment of glory against an established star, tangles you up in the air, and boom.



Hockey does that too and no one give a fuck about the World Cup of Hockey. Have you even heard of it? Most haven't. No one would care about a World Cup of Basketball because the United States would be such prohibitive favorites. Soccer has Brazil, but Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc. have a realistic chance. No one has a realistic chance against the U.S. in basketball.
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Pretty much this, the USA needs the olympics for their sport to be relevant in world competition.
 
TBH the olympics should go back to excluding professionals from basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball
 
Anubis said:
TBH the olympics should go back to excluding professionals from basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball
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If it was practical to do this, I would agree. There were problems in the past of de facto professional athletes competing in the Olympics while their home contries insisted they were amateurs. Even the U.S. has problems with this. Are NCAA basketball players really amateur when they are receiving tens of thousands of dollars worth of education and housing?
 
Anubis said:
TBH the olympics should go back to excluding professionals from basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball
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the problem is that there are "National Teams" that the Olympics have never considered pros. That is what the old USSR used.
 
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