Rudy cut from U.S. roster

[champs99and04]

Final team:
Paul
Williams
Westbrook
Bryant
Harden
Anthony
James
Durant
Iguodala
Griffin
Love
Chandler

Sorry to hear about this news...Rudy is obviously one of my favorite players in the league. I don't think he did himself any good with his (mostly) subpar performance in the playoffs this season, but if he stays in Memphis, he should get plenty of other opportunities. I give him a lot of credit for trying out for this team. Getting cut from the best team in the world is obviously nothing to be ashamed of. If he becomes a better defender and three point shooter I'm sure he'll have a shot to make the 2016 team as he's still young.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Final team:
Paul
Williams
Westbrook
Bryant
Harden
Anthony
James
Durant
Iguodala
Griffin
Love
Chandler

Sorry to hear about this news...Rudy is obviously one of my favorite players in the league. I don't think he did himself any good with his (mostly) subpar performance in the playoffs this season, but if he stays in Memphis, he should get plenty of other opportunities. I give him a lot of credit for trying out for this team. Getting cut from the best team in the world is obviously nothing to be ashamed of. If he becomes a better defender and three point shooter I'm sure he'll have a shot to make the 2016 team as he's still young.

So many locks had to pull out for health reasons, and that's still a damn fine team. Too bad no Huskies on Team USA, though.

 

[jfuchs91]

That team is crazy good, but it's too bad that some of the superstars had to sit out for medical reasons. I thought that if this team was at full strength they'd rival the Dream Team.

This team would be unbelievable to watch:

PG: Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook/Deron Williams
SG: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade
SF: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony
PF: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
C: Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum

Just imagine the sheer athleticism on the floor if the USA put out Westbrook, Wade, Durant, LeBron, and Howard.

 

[UConnSwag11]

iggy over rudy?

 

[Hi-Low]

I knew Coach K would show no love to Gay.....

Seriously, I 'm sure US will win with or without Rudy but team way too guard/sf heavy....Rudy can play big or on wing so don't really get Harden or Igoudala over him.

 

[auror]

Rudy's skills were a bit redundant with Wade, Lebron, Kobe, and Melo. Iggy plays a bit better defense and gives some more energy.

 

[Huskies4ever]

I knew Coach K would show no love to Gay.....


Seriously, I 'm sure US will win with or without Rudy but team way too guard/sf heavy....Rudy can play big or on wing so don't really get Harden or Igoudala over him.

With all those hugs (and what Scot-e says) I thought K loved Gay.

 

[aceboon]

anybody questioning Iggy over Rudy must not have watched the World Championships in '10, Iggy played much better in the international game and is light years ahead of Rudy defensively

 

[johnhuskies95]

And Ben decided not to show up to the English team's training camp, so he won't be in the Olympics.

 

[HeGotGame]

That team is crazy good, but it's too bad that some of the superstars had to sit out for medical reasons. I thought that if this team was at full strength they'd rival the Dream Team.

This team would be unbelievable to watch:

PG: Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook/Deron Williams
SG: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade
SF: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony
PF: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
C: Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum

Just imagine the sheer athleticism on the floor if the USA put out Westbrook, Wade, Durant, LeBron, and Howard.

This team doesn't come close to the dream team. Dream team had 11 hall of farmers. They would beat this team by 15+

Kevin love wouldn't make the dream team and he starts on this team.

The big men on the dream are miles ahead of that team. John Stockton is a much much better pg the rose and he could barely get in the games.

Comparing that team to the dream team is an insult to the dream team

 

[Hi-Low]

anybody questioning Iggy over Rudy must not have watched the World Championships in '10, Iggy played much better in the international game and is light years ahead of Rudy defensively

Main questioning is 9 guards/sf & only 3 pf/c on team....iggy is fine over gay but harden seems like a stretch considering all the other guards....not the end of the world just think gay is better overall than harden and can play big.....just seems very odd to take harden over gay....and do we really need 3 okc thunder players on team, did durant win a bet and make the final pick.

 

[Adios]

According to David Stern, the first "Dream Team" is the only Dream Team. I tend to agree with that.

 

[jfuchs91]

This team doesn't come close to the dream team. Dream team had 11 hall of farmers. They would beat this team by 15+

Kevin love wouldn't make the dream team and he starts on this team.

The big men on the dream are miles ahead of that team. John Stockton is a much much better pg the rose and he could barely get in the games.

Comparing that team to the dream team is an insult to the dream team

If you look at the team that could have happened this year, most or all of those players are at least on a hall of fame career path. Plus, if this roster actually happened, it'd probably be LeBron starting at PF, not Kevin Love. (On a quick side note, don't discount Kevin Love. He's just 23 years old and in the past two season has averaged 23/14, including 26/13.3 last season. Malone never averaged more than 12.0 RPG and didn't hit 26 PPG until age 24. In 16 NBA season, Barkley topped Love's 26 PPG just twice and 13.3 RPG twice. He never in his career matched Love's 15.2 RPG he put up last year at age 22.)

For the most part, this team is so young that their legacies haven't been sorted out yet and when their careers are over, many of them are going to be considered all-time greats. Some of them are already superstars and haven't even hit their prime yet. Once players are out of the league for awhile, they have a certain aura about them where they're often seen untouchable. I'm not saying they would beat them, but this young crop of players is the best the NBA has seen since those Dream Team days.

 

[Adios]

Main questioning is 9 guards/sf & only 3 pf/c on team....iggy is fine over gay but harden seems like a stretch considering all the other guards....not the end of the world just think gay is better overall than harden and can play big.

Rudy Gay IS better than Harden. Harden was exposed in the Finals. This is a Coach K WTF moment.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Rudy Gay IS better than Harden. Harden was exposed in the Finals. This is a Coach K WTF moment.

Eh...Debatable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kitaman]

I still wonder what Blake Griffin offers other than dunking. I know Anthony Davis is a rookie with one year removed from high school but he would have been a good choice for a tall, mobile big. Also keeps a quasi amateur component on the Olympic team (old school).

Iguodala must be the most interesting last name ever on an American team.

Kevin Love is a good choice for certain reasons which I have no problem with.

As for Rudy its unfortunate that his position has so much potent star power already.

 

[Fishy]

Kevin Love is a good choice for reasons like he gets a double-double before breakfast every morning.

I didn't like the Davis invitation to tryouts - the team needed an NBA center and whatever the kid did at Kentucky doesn't change that. They needed to think less about star power and more about getting someone with some size, some D and some toughness.

Iguodala over Rudy should not be a surprise. Ig is a defensive upgrade - Rudy gets his chance in four years.

 

[Huskies4ever]

This team doesn't come close to the dream team. Dream team had 11 hall of farmers. They would beat this team by 15+

Kevin love wouldn't make the dream team and he starts on this team.

The big men on the dream are miles ahead of that team. John Stockton is a much much better pg the rose and he could barely get in the games.

+1. The Dream Team will be the best team ever assembled. Nobody will ever equal them, let alone rival them.

Comparing that team to the dream team is an insult to the dream team

 

[Huskies4ever]

If you look at the team that could have happened this year, most or all of those players are at least on a hall of fame career path. Plus, if this roster actually happened, it'd probably be LeBron starting at PF, not Kevin Love. (On a quick side note, don't discount Kevin Love. He's just 23 years old and in the past two season has averaged 23/14, including 26/13.3 last season. Malone never averaged more than 12.0 RPG and didn't hit 26 PPG until age 24. In 16 NBA season, Barkley topped Love's 26 PPG just twice and 13.3 RPG twice. He never in his career matched Love's 15.2 RPG he put up last year at age 22.)

No disrespect to Love, who is a tremendous player, but when you play on crappy teams with less talent around you, it is easier to put up bigger numbers. Malone and Barkley played on better teams with Hall of Famers. You can admire what Love has done without diminishing what two of the best power forwards over the last 25+ years have done.

 

[jfuchs91]

No disrespect to Love, who is a tremendous player, but when you play on crappy teams with less talent around you, it is easier to put up bigger numbers. Malone and Barkley played on better teams with Hall of Famers. You can admire what Love has done without diminishing what two of the best power forwards over the last 25+ years have done.

I don't think that comparing their statistics to Love is "diminishing" them by any means. Merely, I was showing how Love statistically matched up to them and he's still so young. Two seasons ago Love even had a 31 point, 31 rebound game! He was the first player to do that since Moses Malone in 1982, and Love did it at age 22. Just because he may not look the part doesn't mean he isn't supremely talented. I'm pro-Love, not anti-Malone or Barkley.

 

[Huskies4ever]

I don't think that comparing their statistics to Love is "diminishing" them by any means. Merely, I was showing how Love statistically matched up to them and he's still so young. Just because he may not look the part doesn't mean he isn't

I don't think that comparing their statistics to Love is "diminishing" them by any means. Merely, I was showing how Love statistically matched up to them and he's still so young. Just because he may not look the part doesn't mean he isn't supremely talented. I'm pro-Love, not anti-Malone or Barkley.

I love Love. My point when comparing players, sometimes there are other factors in greatness. Like who you play with. Love has never played alongside a Dr. J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks, or a John Stockton. When you play with greats, it can drop your statistics. Love is the number one option on his team and he is amazing, putting up big numbers on a team where he gets little help.

 

[jfuchs91]

I love Love. My point when comparing players, sometimes there are other factors in greatness. Like who you play with. Love has never played alongside a Dr. J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks, or a John Stockton. When you play with greats, it can drop your statistics. Love is the number one option on his team and he is amazing, putting up big numbers on a team where he gets little help.

And I understand that. I never said Love is or will be better than either of those guys. Just being mentioned with them is compliment enough. My main point was that it's hard to compare teams cross-generationally because we view them differently. Many guys on the current team are just beginning their careers and haven't even reached their peak years yet. By the time their careers are over, we may see them in the same light as some of the greats on the Dream Team. Maybe some of their careers will fizzle. There's no way of knowing. But when you think of the players on the Dream Team, you tend to think of them in all their greatness, because you know how their full careers panned out.

Only 5 of the 12 guys (Kobe, LeBron, DWade, Howard, Carmelo) I listed have played at least 8 seasons in the NBA, which would likely be about half of their careers, and only Kobe is really reaching the end of his (and even he is still going strong). All of those guys, with maybe an exception to Carmelo, are going to be Hall of Famers. By comparison, to give more of an idea of how young the players are, 5 of the 12 that I listed (Durant, Rose, Love, Westbrook, Griffin) have played in 5 or fewer NBA seasons, and most of them seem as though they're currently on a Hall of Fame track in their young careers. None of them have even turned 24 yet.

It's a moot point because the team I listed won't be the 2012 Olympic team, but it's still always fun to compare. As for the players today, let's see how they stack up against the greats once their careers have concluded. It'll be extremely tough to match the accolades of the players from the Dream Team, but many of the players today have certainly gotten off to tremendous starts.

 

[aceboon]

Main questioning is 9 guards/sf & only 3 pf/c on team....iggy is fine over gay but harden seems like a stretch considering all the other guards....not the end of the world just think gay is better overall than harden and can play big.....just seems very odd to take harden over gay....and do we really need 3 okc thunder players on team, did durant win a bet and make the final pick.

Melo, Bron, and Durant are pretty much all PF's in the intl game, so it's not really just 3 PF/C's. I'd imagine we'll see combo's with 2 of the 3 on the floor so naturally one will play SF, and it wouldn't be a shock at all to see Bron or Melo play some C, but they have alot of flexibility with the players they have. Melo has excelled there at taking big guys out of the paint and draining jumpers, the way he played at PF once Amare went out this year is basically what he did during the 06 WC and '08 Olympics.

 

[Husk-E]

Anyone who thinks that an overrated guy with an ugly beard is better than Rudy should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[Huskies4ever]

And I understand that. I never said Love is or will be better than either of those guys. Just being mentioned with them is compliment enough. My main point was that it's hard to compare teams cross-generationally because we view them differently. Many guys on the current team are just beginning their careers and haven't even reached their peak years yet. By the time their careers are over, we may see them in the same light as some of the greats on the Dream Team. Maybe some of their careers will fizzle. There's no way of knowing. But when you think of the players on the Dream Team, you tend to think of them in all their greatness, because you know how their full careers panned out.

Only 5 of the 12 guys (Kobe, LeBron, DWade, Howard, Carmelo) I listed have played at least 8 seasons in the NBA, which would likely be about half of their careers, and only Kobe is really reaching the end of his (and even he is still going strong). All of those guys, with maybe an exception to Carmelo, are going to be Hall of Famers. By comparison, to give more of an idea of how young the players are, 5 of the 12 that I listed (Durant, Rose, Love, Westbrook, Griffin) have played in 5 or fewer NBA seasons, and most of them seem as though they're currently on a Hall of Fame track in their young careers. None of them have even turned 24 yet.

It's a moot point because the team I listed won't be the 2012 Olympic team, but it's still always fun to compare. As for the players today, let's see how they stack up against the greats once their careers have concluded. It'll be extremely tough to match the accolades of the players from the Dream Team, but many of the players today have certainly gotten off to tremendous starts.

I agree with much of what you've said, and it can sometimes be fun to compare. The current guys are young, and by comparison to most of the guys on the original Dream Team, are up-and-comers. Most of the guys on the Dream Team were at their prime or approaching it ( late twenties - early thirties), with two (Magic, Bird) well past (Bird was expired). With the way the current team would be constructed as was pointed out in the op, I'd say only three (James, Kobe, Durant) reach the level that the Original Dream Team (Jordan, Magic, Bird, Malone, Hakeem, Ewing, Barkley, Pippen, Stockton, Robinson) was at with two (DWade, Love) having a chance.