Olympic Challenge - pick your own damn 12 man squad

[skipshady]

I don't know if the Olympic forum is more appropriate for this thread, but I figured there were already two hoops threads there, so I'm starting it here. But if you stupidfaces want to move it, please go ahead, my feelings will not be hurt.

So here's my challenge. With all the talk about the much maligned "Dream" Team 2004, I was wondering if we could field a team that could beat the Olympic team under international rules.

So here's my challenge to y'all. Pick 12 American rejects who will play USA's 12 and win, or at least have a chance.
But there are rules:
- No player who has already played in the Olympics is eligible.
- No player who played in last year's qualifier, then dropped out is eligible
- Though Nick Collison is eligible
- No player who declined USA Basketball's invitation is eligible
- Must be an American citizen. So no, you cannot pick Bill Wennington.

Here's my team
G Chauncey Billups - I pick him with reservation. He shoots well enough and plays good defense. He's a shoot-first point guard by nature, but he gets my vote because he became more of a passeer under Larry Brown

G/F Michael Redd - Easiest choice, ever.

G/F Tayshaun Prince - I'm stealing this pick from the Sports Guy. He can cover any perimeter position and sinks 3-pointers when needed.

PF/C Rasheed Wallace - I know it's a controversial choice. But unlike USA Basketball, I don't care about image, just winning. He's surrounded by enough good guys that I don't think he will explode. He's long, he loves to play defense and he can sink a jumper, and play some center too. What's not to love?

C Ben Wallace - I know, he was part of the Debacle in Indy, but he's one of the good guys. He'll be licking at the chops for the chance to redeem himself. International rules will let him be even more aggressive around the basket.

Bench:
G Bobby Jackson - Great energy guy off the bench. Can score in bunches, play tough defense. If he's injured, then I'd put either Troy Hudson or Fred Hoiberg here.

G Brent Barry - Perfect guy off the bench - unselfish, can play 3 positions, shoot and pass.

G/F Ron Artest - Probably doesn't like coming off the bench, but he'll accept the role because he wants to punish USA Basketball for not selecting him. One of the top 3 one-on-one defenders in the league.

G/F Shane Battier - I hate to pick a Dukie, but he's a great role player. Plays tough defense, has a shooting touch, versatile, can play 3 positions

F Antawn Jamison - Reiging NBA 6th Man of the Year. A tweener in the NBA, but a power forward in the international game. Can shoot from the outside or go inside, good rebounder.

C Brad Miller - Another pick stolen from the Sports Guy, but makes perfect sense. He can bang down low and can shoot the mid-range J. He'd rather start, but he knows it's for the good of the team and he'll take it out on the opponents, not his teammates.

G/Asst Coach Avery Johnson - Look, I just like the guy. He's not going to get much playing time, but he commands respect in the locker room.

Also considered: Fred Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell, Kirk Heinrich, Michael Finley, Luke Walton, Stromile Swift, Troy Hudson, Brian Cardinal, Wally Szerbiak, Walter McCarty, Jeff Foster, Sam Cassell

[lurking]

Like your picks, but I wouldnt touch 'sheed with a 10 ft.pole. Just stay far away from the guy, has talent but is just is walking trouble.

[lurking]

My roster, i break your rule by taking some guys from the current team that in my opinion should be there.

Billups
Hinrich
Redd
Barry
Jefferson
Duncan
Miller
Prince
Wallace
Cardinal
Jamison
Snow

The point is Billups, but Hinrich I think can spell him safely. Snow is there to provide stability if Hinrich isnt up to it.

If I want to go athletic, I go Jefferson-Prince at 2-3, if I want to get pure shooters, Its Redd and Barry. Or you can mix and match. All can shoot though, so at no point do I feel like Im going to lack for guys who can break a zone. Redd and Jefferson probably start, but I think all these guys could factor in. I think with this group you can give them clear roles, and manage PT issues by letting them know when they are needed.

In the frontcourt I start Miller and Duncan. Wallace comes in to give me pure toughness. Brian Cardinal is pure hustle and 3 pt. threat, but also a role guy who wont ruffle any feathers. Jamison is the last Guy here I chose, and Im uncertain of it. Hes a scorer, and I think I needed another frontcourt scorer... I just dont know if hes enough of a frontcourt player. Im going to put him on the roster, but this is an area on the team that worries me. I want a bench frontline scorer, a guy who if Duncan is out I can get points from the paint from, but im not sure who can handle being on the bench, yet can score down low.

[TheSlipperyOne]

Starters:

PG - Chauncey Billups
SG - Michael Redd
SF - Tayshaun Prince
PF - Rasheed Wallace
C - Ben Wallace

Bench:

Kirk Hinrich
Brent Barry
Richard Hamilton
Bobby Jackson
Brad Miller
Antawn Jamison
Ron Artest

[JG]

Didn't Ben Wallace turn down an invitation?

Rashard Lewis--Big guy who can play on the perimeter. Useful when the other team's 6-11 forward starts draining threes--wouldn't have been a bad choice for this team IMO.

Brad Miller--Sports Guy was right on with this pick. Has decent international experience too.

Chris Webber--If he's healthy you've got to consider him.

Erick Dampier--Need at least one true post player and he's the best of a bad lot.

Antawn Jamison--Another versatile forward.

Corey Maggette--Can't expect me to pick a team without at least one athletic-but-can't-shoot small forward. Good in transition, excellent free throw shooter.

Michael Finley--Shooter, can be the big guard. Played okay in Indy.

Sam Cassell--Having a tough time with the point guards--Cassell is not my ideal guy but is coming off an excellent season.

Michael Redd--What everyone else said.

T.J. Ford--Drive-and-dish guys are great in the international game, and he's superb in the open court as well. Can't shoot though.

Doug Christie--Can play a couple positions, experienced and has the ability to be a big point guard.

Trajan Langdon--You laugh, but why not bring a guy who's shot almost 50% on threes in Europe the last couple years?

Last cuts: Paul Pierce (thought he played very well in Indy despite being scapegoated by Karl, but had two straight disappointing NBA seasons), Zach Randolph (a better post scorer than Dampier, but I'm not sold on the effectiveness of undersized inside players in the international game), Jason Richardson (see Maggette), Chauncey Billups (tossup between him and Ford, went with the creator).

[Ian McCracken]

Didn't Ben Wallace turn down an invitation?

Yes, Ben Wallace did turn down an invitation (as did his Pistons teammate Rip Hamilton).

[microbrew]

The hardest part for me was finding the point guards, after Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby, there are no obvious choices. Second hardest part was finding size. I mean, I had to seriously consider Keith Van Horn.

Coach: Larry Brown
Assisant Coaches: Mike D'antoni, Gregg Popovich, Donnie Nelson

Starters:
C Brad Miller - can hit jump shots and play the high post
PF Rasheed Wallace - has total international skill set
SF Ron Artest - perimeter defender
SG Michael Redd - see the current team
PG Sam Cassell - of the PGs left, noone has a better jump shot

Bench:
Rashard Lewis
Tayshaun Prince
Chauncy Billups
TJ Ford
Marcus Camby
Antawn Jamison
Mike Miller

Guys I had to seriously think about:
Keith Van Horn, Gilbert Arenas, Ronald Murray, Jason Williams, Kerry Kittles, Paul Pierce

I really like the idea of bringing successfuly American stars from Europe, but I don't know who they are.

[lurking]

Id love to see Team USA bring in a player on a Euro club.. just to see Stern's head explode the moment he found out.

[metrocorazon]

Im breaking the rules cause I see no point. If we gunna dream we might as well dream well. You dont dream about being with the so-so chick next door do you? You dream about Lindsey Lohan.

PG - J Kidd - Best vision in NBA, hard worker
SG - R Allen - Good vision good shooter
SF - P Pierce - Good All around player, good shooter
PF - Duncan, A versitile big man, complimentary to Shaq
C - Shaq, Simply because of his size, if we need a sure bucket just give it to him in the paint.

Bench:
PF - Kenyon Martin, simply because hes an enforcer and if you need someone to kick ass he will do it. Also alley-oop combos with Kidd will be fun to watch.
C - Ben Wallace, perfect mesh of size and athletism.
SF- Chris Weber, Hard worker good talent
PF - Kevin Garnett - Tall, athletic can do anything
G - Mike Bibby, just in case we need someone else to run the point
G - Sam Casell - Good shooter

[scudley]

Since I am from Syracuse, I feel I should point out that Gerry McNamara should be on the team :)

http://web.syr.edu/~jateska/images/GMAC2.jpg

[Ted Cikowski]

according to your rules, Tim Duncan is still eligible, right? And everyone keeps putting Ben Wallace but he declined which is against the rules laid out here.

here is my team, the team that would have never lost to anyone.


C Brad Miller
PF Tim Duncan
SF Brent Barry
Sg Michael Redd
pg Sam Cassell


bench: Lebron James, Tayshaun Prince, Mike Miller, John Barry, Emeka Okafor (sp), Shane Battier, Elton Brand*

*Did Brand get invited? He didn't play in the olympics did he?

[skipshady]

Im breaking the rules cause I see no point. If we gunna dream we might as well dream well. You dont dream about being with the so-so chick next door do you? You dream about Lindsey Lohan.

PG - J Kidd - Best vision in NBA, hard worker
SG - R Allen - Good vision good shooter
SF - P Pierce - Good All around player, good shooter
PF - Duncan, A versitile big man, complimentary to Shaq
C - Shaq, Simply because of his size, if we need a sure bucket just give it to him in the paint.

Bench:
PF - Kenyon Martin, simply because hes an enforcer and if you need someone to kick ass he will do it. Also alley-oop combos with Kidd will be fun to watch.
C - Ben Wallace, perfect mesh of size and athletism.
SF- Chris Weber, Hard worker good talent
PF - Kevin Garnett - Tall, athletic can do anything
G - Mike Bibby, just in case we need someone else to run the point
G - Sam Casell - Good shooter
Well, there is a point to the rules - the point of the thread was to see how easy it is for any one of us to create a team that could beat USA Basketball's 12 under real life conditions - top players declining invitations, international rules etc.
It's not so much the Dream Team as it is the Realistic Team if you will. That's why I eliminated players who have already played in the Olympics (Shaq needs to rest his wheels anyway), declined invitations (Kobe's a little busy, as is KG), or are already on the team (as great as Duncan is, he can only be in one place at one time).

So I forgot Ben Wallace declined an invitation. That's fine. Just start Brad Miller next to Rasheed and get Chris Bosh on the team.

[JG]

Chad Ford on ESPN Insider proposes six Americans playing in Europe that could help the team:

Tyus Edney
Scoonie Penn
Marcus Brown
Anthony Parker
Trajan Langdon
Joe Blair

[TOTC]

Yeah, whatever happened to those guys? Langdon was supposed to be The Next Big Duke Player.

[skipshady]

Yeah, whatever happened to those guys? Langdon was supposed to be The Next Big Duke Player.
I don't think too many people outside of Cleveland and Duke campus considered him to be a good NBA prospect. He was a good shooter but otherwise, he was too small and couldn't handle the ball well enough to be an NBA shooting guard.

4 Duke players were drafted that year - Brand, Maggette, Avery and Langdon. Brand was the biggest name of all. Maggette wasn't too far behind, as he had the NBA body if not the seasoning. Avery would have been a half decent pro had he stayed a couple more years. Out of the 4, I thought Langdon had the smallest chance of making it as an everyday NBA player.

Edney and Penn were in the same boat - good college players who were missing a tool or two to be everyday NBA players.

[FCDarkness]

PG - J Kidd - Best vision in NBA, hard worker
SG - R Allen - Good vision good shooter
SF - P Pierce - Good All around player, good shooter
PF - Duncan, A versitile big man, complimentary to Shaq
C - Shaq, Simply because of his size, if we need a sure bucket just give it to him in the paint.



If you're picking a team of the best 12 American players, with no limits, Paul Pierce shouldn't be within a short plane ride of the roster let alone in the starting 5.

[FCDarkness]

I was all ready to rip on anyone who suggested Steve Francis or Baron Davis but nobody has. Smart crowd.



Cap Al Jefferson.

[Newman]

Sadly, Wisconsin Badger senior Clayton Hanson (In Europe with a Big 10 travelling team) could have helped this team more than some of the guys they brought-and he's been a walk-on till this upcoming season. He can shoot the damn ball.