• Luciana Chavez of The News & Observer: "The Americans have been so successful because they talk. 'We're not afraid to get on someone if someone's not playing defense,' U.S. guard Jason Kidd said. 'When you look at all the other teams that have been together for so long, they can talk to each other.'"
• Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News: "Tayshaun Prince is making sure to get the full Olympics experience. He's attended swimming and beach volleyball -- twice. 'It's really a really fun environment and you get caught up in it,' Prince said. 'I think people forget that we're sports fans, too. We're just not only fans of our own game. I've wanted to see as much as I can to take advantage of this opportunity. This is a really different environment than what I usually am in. When you're in the NBA, it's hard to break away during your season to see other things, especially something like swimming or beach volleyball. Being at the Olympics is a chance for me to be a fan and be appreciative of other athletes and sports. This is a great opportunity.'"
• Ryan O'Halloran for The Washington Times: "LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have been the two best U.S. players entering Wednesday's quarterfinal game against Australia. Both players have earned praise for their scoring, defense and leadership as the United States has won its games by an average of 32.1 points. 'They've played so well,' Krzyzewski said. 'I hate to say just two guys have done it because our team has played really well. But those two guys are playing at the highest level right now.'"
• Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News: "'Everything has been better this time,' said Carmelo Anthony, comparing 2008 with the disaster of the Athens Games. 'Everything. On the court and off the court, I'm happy.'"
• Pete Thamel of The New York Times "There are basically three decorated N.B.A. scouts on USA Basketball's staff. Tony Ronzone, the director of international player personnel, combines with Bill Branch and Todd Quinter to form an exponentially more nuanced and detailed-oriented scouting staff than past iterations. 'There will not be a situation here that we're not prepared for,' Jerry Colangelo said. It has sure looked that way so far, as the Americans went 5-0 in pool play and throttled their opponents by an average of 32.2 points. They play Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Quinter and Branch have compiled a 37-page report on the Australians. They obsess over basketball minutiae like how often a player goes to his left, who a team's defensive weak links are and what are the different options on a set play."
• Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News: "Get this: Most days Dwight Howard rides shotgun on their excellent adventures, but occasionally Chris Bosh goes out unchaperoned, which, if you remember stories of NBA players unofficially sequestered at previous Olympics, is like finding Mark McGwire in the line behind you at Wal-Mart. Do the locals know who you are, Chris? 'Chris Bosh-u ... Chris Bosh-u ...,' Bosh says, mimicking the cries. 'Photo please. ... Signature.' Bosh isn't as popular here as Kobe or LeBron, but it's not for a lack of trying."
• Jason Quick of The Oregonian: "Now, keep in mind that Steve Blake is never one to use hyperbole or to blow smoke. Yet, the Blazers point guard is practically drooling for the season to open so he can play with Greg Oden. 'Working out with Greg the last couple of days -- you can't help but get excited,' Blake said. 'You throw a bad pass on a lob and you think it's too high, but he grabs it and gets it. That changes a lot of things.' Blake said he is most impressed by Oden's size and with how Oden knows how to use it. 'His explosiveness with his size is unlike anything I have ever seen,' Blake said."
• Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun: "Ben Gordon is making waves of playing abroad, but his words smack of desperation at a time when the Chicago Bulls refuse to cave into his wishes. Gordon's plight, and one that applies to a smattering of players, brings to light some of the problems associated with the league's salary cap, which is among the most arcane in pro sports. Unless this year's player movement to Europe becomes a trend, the image conscious NBA isn't likely to do anything. In some cases, players, in particular restricted free agents, have left the NBA because the system failed them."
• Fred Kerber of the New York Post: "Nets having a 'voluntary' workout week and everybody except the tall Asian fellow has responded and is taking part. Yi Jianlian is sort of pre-occupied over in his native China. Even if he could break away, the red-eye flights are killers from Beijing. ... Bobby Simmons and Keyon Dooling spoke to an enormous media gathering of three (and those media numbers could fluctuate by one or so the rest of the week). Both said this was great. Both said they like what they see. And both trashed the early power ratings that have the Nets near or at the very bottom of the East (if not the entire league) and ranked sixth in the Ivy League. 'Everybody's going to be surprised,' said Simmons who insisted he is ready, willing and able to be the Nets' full-time starter at small forward."

Being an NBA player ... what does that mean to you?

One of the first words out of almost anybody's mouth would be "money." I mean, you make the NBA, you make money.

(Some rookies would swear it is not true, but nobody believes them.)

But it just keeps happening. Josh Childress, Jannero Pargo, Carlos Arroyo, Carlos Delfino, Earl Boykins, Juan Carlos Navarro, Bostjan Nachbar, Nenad Krstic, Primoz Brezec, Loren Woods ...  they could all be playing in the NBA if they wanted to. Yet they're all going to be playing overseas this season, and the primary reason is money.

Today Gordan Giricek joins the list, having just signed a two-year deal to play for Fenerbahce in Turkey.

Giricek's agent, Marc Fleisher, tells me that European teams are feeling everything has changed:

There is a new sense in Europe that anyone is available. It used to be that they would only go after certain kinds of NBA players. They would make offers to unrestricted free agents or to players who were at the end of their careers. But now they sense that there is an opportunity, thanks to the way the collective bargaining agreement is set up, that they can go after and get NBA players. It's a whole new world.

Fleisher adds that most European teams are wholly distinct from NBA teams in an important way. "They don't care about making money," he explains. "They are all about promoting the sponsor, or civic pride, or in the case of some clubs, national pride." 

That changes the economics somewhat, as deep-pocketed teams could be motivated to spend beyond reason -- if the return is measured in something other than dollars. 

Rod Benson, D-League star and blogger extraordinaire, recently got to hang out with Jerry Tarkanian, among others, at a Pump Brothers fundraiser. (The Pump Brothers are AAU Titans of the West Coast.)

Benson recounts this exchange:

Coach Tark, as I began to feel comfortable calling him, told me a story I'll never forget. He said that he met Wilt Chamberlain a few years back and asked him if the 20,000 women thing was true.

Coach Tark said that Wilt replied: "They short-changed me, coach." 

When Dominique Dawes walks into Team USA's gym.

In the 1996, Dawes became the first African-American woman to win gymnastic gold, at the Atlanta Olympics.

Apparently she made a big impression on Dwight Howard, who was not yet even Super Boy. Back then he was just another starry eyed 10-year-old Atlantan.

What's funny, too, is how Howard puts on his best show of being overwhelmed -- even falling off his chair -- and yet Dawes couldn't do a more effecient job of shrugging it off. She barely even notices him.

Howard is still on the floor, in fact, as Dawes shakes Carlos Boozer's hand, and tells him she is a big Duke fan.

UPDATE: Word from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Howard attended a day of gymnastics in 1996 strictly because of his crush on Dawes.

Chris Bosh e-mails Fanhouse:

I'm so excited to get started it's killing me because I want to win that Gold medal so bad and it's still a few days away. This definitely feels like the playoffs right now, maybe even a little more intense. 

Now, that's borderline NBA blasphemy. As the thinking goes, no puny Euro-geek summer tournament could approach the mighty NBA playoffs in intensity.

But then again, I have watched the Raptors in the playoffs the last couple of years, and Bosh is totally right. This is more intense.

• Cold! Some statistical analysis showing that the Hornets ought to improve merely by getting rid of Jannero Pargo.
• Mike Dougherty of The Journal News: "The part-time movie producer [Elton Brand] is kind of relishing the possibility of playing the bad guy when Philadelphia visits the Clippers on New Year's Eve. ... And what kind of response does he expect? 'Oh, there's no question,' Brand said. 'I know I'm getting booed.'"
  
• Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer on Ben Gordon's dreadful lack of leverage in his negotiations with the Bulls: "I don't blame Ben. He's been told things, and his showing off ('It's safe to say ...') is pretty atypical for him. But he doesn't have a lot of options. Or any, really, save for going international, or sitting out the season and making absolutely no money. Or, he could take the QO, and deal with the same frustrations next year, when even fewer teams have cap flexibility to give him what he thinks he's earned. Or, he could take a six-year, 59 million dollar deal that seems about right. This doesn't mean the Bulls aren't being cheap by not going into luxury tax territory. They are. But in this case, these lucky so-and-sos have made it so the absolute maximum offered under the tax is right in line with what a player like Ben should be making. I'm their biggest critic, but they're right. And Ben? He's just stuck. And flailing."
• Remember Reunion Arena in Dallas? I remember when Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackmon used to own that place. Now you can. Really. You can purchase pieces of it and take them home with you.
  
• How cool is Danilo Gallinari's birthday? 8-8-88.
• Joey Litman of StraightBangin does a guest post at FreeDarko, and describes life as a citizen of the NBA (a little PG-13). You should read the whole thing, but here's how it concludes: "Seeing Dwyane Wade throw off-balance alley-oops to Kobe, or watching LeBron conquer a gauntlet of defenders for a layup, or looking on as Chris Paul has made it impossible to put the ball on the floor near him has exclusively appealed to my pride as an NBA citizen. Unlike my national ambivalence, I experience no pangs of loathing or deep resentment when I consider the NBA. Instead, I have affectionately looked on as the only team comprised solely of NBA personnel has dominated by playing the NBA brand of basketball, our brand. For a league that has often endured reputational punishments that exceed the severity of its crimes-with international basketball often serving as a catalyst for the excessive consternation-this has, thus far, been sweet vindication. To be an NBA citizen and watch this team is to share in the swelling joy. Team USA's run has validated a deep-seeded part of my identity, as riding with the NBA again seems cool and worthwhile, just as it would be personally fulfilling for the United States to use its defining characteristics in a manner that bred success. In that regard, having committed to the Lig and having been counted among its citizens for some time, Team USA's success is directly connected to my own happiness and pride. It legitimizes all the hours spent watching the games, defending the Association, championing its code and culture. It has uplifted its citizens."
• Monta Ellis is not sitting around and getting fat after signing his first really big contract.
• Jason Quick of the Oregonian writes about Steve Blake, and several interesting things happen. For one, General Manager Kevin Pritchard sort of inadvertantly talks about the Blazers winning 46-50 games this season. Then we learn that Blake does the regular ball-handling drills, but he does them with his eyes closed. But most interestingly, we learn about the scrappy side of Steve Blake: "He is constantly planning his next workout, whether it be at a high-tech sports complex to work on his vertical leap, or in a blue-collar Southeast Portland gym where he practices Jujitsu with Nate Quarry, an Ultimate Fighting Championship brawler. Blake says the Jujitsu workouts and the UFC-style training -- which sometimes includes strapping on boxing gloves -- are a way to make himself 'tougher,' and it complements his edgy, yet hidden personality. To those who have played with Blake, he is known as a scrapper, once going as far as to engage in fisticuffs with Nene, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound teammate, during a practice when both played for Denver. And in Portland, Blake has kicked so many benches, thrown so many chairs, and tipped over so many baskets of balls, that assistant coach Monty Williams forecasts the storm of Blake by announcing 'Lieutenant Dan' is arriving, playing off the pugnacious character in the movie 'Forrest Gump.'" (Lieutenant Dan video.) UPDATE: Video of Blake dribbling with closed eyes, grappling with some dude on the floor, and running his basketball camp.
• Former player and head of the retired players association, and current attorney Len Elmore talking to SLAM: "... this idea of leaving high school and going to Europe. If we are going to take it to that extreme, if we have forces that are battling my philosophy (the American college route) then I think the NBA and the union would be better served to legislate just three years, period. I think the high school baseball rule as it pertains to basketball is a huge mistake. The reason is because, disproportionately, we are talking about the impact on young kids of color, and I think we need some paternalism because that's what many of them lack. There are so many guys that haven't developed enough skills on a foundational base upon which to build to be successful in the NBA. There are so many guys coming in after a year and they play and then they languish. Yeah, they make some money, there is no denying that. But, have they maximized their potential? And that to me is the operative phrase, 'Maximize your potential.' I believe now that they should just go to three years (minimum) or leave after high school and go to Europe like Sonny Vacarro is beckoning all these kids to do."
• Children named after Pistons.
  
• Ivan Carter of The Washington Post: "At least one Wizard will be sporting a new look when the season begins. Guard DeShawn Stevenson, who played all of last season with a beard, recently shaved it off after winning a bet with former Orlando teammate and good friend Drew Gooden, who now plays for the Chicago Bulls. Last summer, Gooden bet Stevenson that he could go longer without shaving and Stevenson was willing to wait him out. Stevenson, who wore dreadlocks during his first season as a Wizard in 2006-2007, is now wearing a flattop style, which was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. 'I went old school,' said Stevenson, before a recent workout at Verizon Center. 'I even have the part and everything.'"

• Have you noticed that in a lot of sports, the elite athletes from all over the world went to American universities? That's especially true in track and field, it seems. And, it turns out, basketball! This is an amazing piece of news from Michael Lynch in ESPN Research: "In these Olympics, seven players who played Division I basketball at an American college are scoring in double figures. Amazingly, just one of them is playing for Team USA. Scoring at least 10 points per game in Beijing: J.R. Holden of Russia (Bucknell) 17.6, Dwyane Wade of the U.S. (Marquette) 16.2, Andrew Bogut of Australia (Utah) 14.4, Linas Kleiza of Lithuania (Missouri) 13.8, Patrick Mills of Australia (St. Mary's) 13.0, Sarunas Jasikevicius of Lithuania (Maryland) 10.6, Chris Kaman of Germany (Central Michigan) 10.4."
• Germany's coach joins those who think Team USA is unbeatable.
• Four elimination games tomorrow morning. Here are thoughtful previews of each.
• Every sports fan should be forced to read this post by Dave at BlazersEdge about arguing doggedly for your team. When you do so, the simple truth is you may be wrong: "The thing that struck me was that watching live, and even in the replay, it didn't look like Phelps won! You could have sworn he was second until, apparently, they slowed down the replay to frame 1/10000th of a second apart. This got me thinking about what we observe in NBA games. How many times have we sworn we have seen something happen on the court but an official calls it differently? How many times have we looked at the replay as proof? Now granted the officials could also be mistaken in what they observe, but the point is are any of us 100% sure that we perceive reality correctly? In a world where even replays sometimes screw up should we be a tad bit easier on referees, coaches, and analysts who see things differently than we do? They're not perfect, but being specifically trained and focused on the matter at hand on average they're going to see things better, clearer, and more accurately than we do. The second notable moment was televised this past evening when American Nastia Liukin and China's He Kexin tied for first on the uneven bars and Lukin was bumped into silver medal position because of a tiebreaker. First of all the commentators went berserk over the scoring, claiming Liukin's routine was superior. Second of all they slammed the tiebreaker system. The criticism was so pointed that play-by-play man Al Trautwig asked whether He Kexin really thought she was the gold medalist when she took the awards stand. I'll admit right now I don't know enough about the sport to judge whether their critiques were correct. What struck me were the two words that failed to enter the conversation anywhere: Paul Hamm. Hamm was the American gymnast who, in the 2004 Olympics, had a disastrous fall on the vault but later came back to win the all-around gold because of a horrific judging mistake against South Korean gymnast Yang Tae Young. The controversy ran well after the Olympics were finished. I'll admit my memory isn't word-for-word perfect but I do recall the American gymnastics contingent defending that gold medal with teeth and nails bared and I believe the commentators basically followed suit."
• Asked about the Dream Team vs. the Redeem Team, David Stern says he'd pay to watch.

Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News on how future Team USA's will be selected:

"There really is no plan," Jerry Colangelo said. "I wanted so much to just stay focused on this week. There is a whole different set of circumstances if you win or you don't win. To talk about a plan is kind of premature either way. ... If we can finish the job, I can say that we can take it to another level. How we do that might be different than how we've done it the last three years."

Colangelo said players after the Olympics won't be given any immediate instructions on what the next step is. He said nothing is likely to be concrete until next season already has started.

"I don't think it's right," Colangelo said when asked if it would be unfair for the players to told after winning gold that there is a training camp next summer. "We want to win, and we want to enjoy it. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it. I need something to do when this is over so don't rush me ... It will be into (next) season (before a decision is made). The guys need to go home and rest and get ready for (NBA training) camp."

It's not even certain Colangelo will return to his role as team czar. "I haven't made up my mind," he said.

• Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune: "Chris Paul's role for the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team grows with each game. Jason Kidd is the starter at point guard. But Paul is clearly the guard who plays the most minutes and more often than not finishes the game."
• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times on a massive Shaquille O'Neal statue in Beijing: "He's tucked away outside a remote gate of a city park, no markers on a tourist map, no signs on the street. He's surrounded not by incense, but public toilets. He's staring not into the future, but at a parking lot. Those who visit offer him gifts not of gold and myrrh, but projectile spit and empty water bottles. But former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal doesn't seem to mind. Here, nobody can accuse him of not hustling, because he literally is nailed to the ground. Here, nobody can exhort him to work on his wooden hands because, well, the dude actually has wooden hands. And here, finally, nobody can ever dare say that Kobe Bryant is bigger."
• Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News: "Chris Kaman, who hails from Wyoming, Mich., was asked by a Chinese reporter if he intended to stick around Beijing and do some sightseeing. 'No, no, I'm going home,' Kaman said, without hesitation. The Chinese reporter looked horrified. Kaman realized the reaction was bad and tried to fix things. 'It's not a knock on your country or Beijing, but I'm just not used to this,' said Kaman, a former Central Michigan star, who had six points. 'I've been gone so long. I actually like China. It's been a great experience, besides the smog. But once the rain came, it was really nice for three or four days. It's different for me. A different culture.' The Chinese reporter probably walked away thinking Kaman was also from a different culture. After all, he's a born-and-raised American who plays in the NBA and now is playing basketball for Germany in China's Olympics. Try that as a mind-scrambling proposition. And yet, Kaman's grand summer adventure has worked out quite nicely."
• Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond sees what we all have seen in Team USA's play in men's basketball in five games at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. 'I would classify them as a team that is hitting on all cylinders right now,' Hammond said. 'They are playing about as well as they can possibly play. If they continue to play at this level, I think it will be difficult for anyone in Olympic play to beat them.' On Monday, the United States shredded Germany by 49 points to remain unbeaten, and so far unchallenged, in Olympic play. On Wednesday, the U.S. is to play Australia, which features Bucks center Andrew Bogut."
• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: "If the Sixers are overpaying for Iguodala -- and considering he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.09 steals and is only 24 years old, I'm not convinced they are -- it's because they had no other option. If Iguodala had become an unrestricted free agent, it would have negated virtually everything gained from the Brand signing. Inking Brand, a two-time All-Star, shifted the Sixers from rebuilding mode to championship-winning mode. With Iguodala combining with Brand, the Sixers become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, one capable of challenging for a spot in the NBA Finals and possibly championships over the next 5 years."
• Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune: "The Trail Blazers' fate for the upcoming season rests on a pair of knees. Brandon Roy's left one, Greg Oden's right one. Many variables will factor into Portland's success during the 2008-09 campaign, but none are bigger than the health of the franchise's two most important parts."
• Jamie Samuelsen for the Detroit Free Press: "I don't think any athlete I've ever watched or covered has driven me more nuts than 'Sheed. Maybe it's because he can be so good. Maybe it's because some suggest he's talented enough to be one of the greatest players of all time. And maybe it's because his ardent backers are always telling me that I just don't 'understand' him. He's a great teammate they say. He cares about playing the game the right way so much so that it takes away from his individual game. Whatever. I'm almost as sick of the blather surrounding Rasheed as I am of the player himself."
• Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: "Oklahoma City's NBA team on Monday e-mailed every individual that applied for season tickets if they provided an e-mail address. The e-mail included the date fans will get to pick out their seats in the Ford Center. A few people had difficulty opening a link in the e-mail. A few got only a black page. 'Everyone who received the e-mail also will receive a phone call,' said team spokesman Dan Mahoney. 'There were a few cases where it was slow to load. But most people were getting through.'"
• Memphis Business Journal: "As part of the MVP loyalty program the team developed in March, the Memphis Grizzlies are giving one-year NBA League Pass subscriptions to original season ticket holders. The MVP loyalty program rewards fans with additional amenities depending on how many years they have held season tickets."

If you listen to Suns executives like Steve Kerr and David Griffin tell it, Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic is one hell of a point guard.

The 6-4 Dragic is so good, they say, that they might have taken him with the 15th pick of the first round.

And now, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, Goran Dragic will be in a Suns uniform this season, after lengthy negotiations to free him of his European contract.

While the Suns are not exactly a tight-fisted team -- payrolls have been high -- Phoenix has made several dubious cost-cutting measures in recent years. The team could have had the likes of Luol Deng, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Fernandez, and Sergio Rodriguez but sold or traded away the picks, to the profound frustration of fans in a hurry to see the team win a championship while Steve Nash is still one of the NBA's elite point guards.

But in the case of Dragic, the team has paid and paid and paid.

They reportedly paid a half-million dollars to move up three spots in the second round to head off the Detroit Pistons, who were also said to be interested. Phoenix reportedly paid another half-million dollars to help buy him out of his European contract.

On top of that, speculation is that the Suns may have awarded Dragic one of the longest and richest contracts in the history of second-round picks. And, thanks to the luxury tax, the Suns will pay all of that money twice -- once to Dragic, and again to the NBA.

All of which makes you think: Dragic had better be good.

On that front, the Suns' brass has a lot of conviction. I love that. Identify the players you like and then -- everyone else's views be damned -- go get them.

Did you watch that behind-the-scenes video of the Suns war room on draft night? Griffin and Kerr either did an amazing job acting, or they really went into this draft with eyes for the two players they got: Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic.

He has been touted as Steve Nash's eventual successor.

But what if Steve Kerr and company are simply wrong?

They have more information than anyone. But based on the available evidence, there are some worrying signs.

ESPN's John Hollinger a method of using statistics to project European players' statistics into NBA numbers.

On that front, Dragic does not impress.

"His translated Euroleague stats from last year," says Hollinger, "are terrible."

"It's off a small sample (358 minutes), but it projects to 10.1 points and 5.6 assists per 40 minutes, 44.0% shooting, and a 8.38 PER."

An average NBA player has a PER of 15. In fairness, PER does not capture defense beyond blocks, steals, and rebounds. And defense is Dragic's calling card.

Nevertheless, put it all together, and what is Hollinger's assessment? "Yikes," he says. "Hardly seems worth all that trouble."

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has analyzed Dragic's play on the court, and he too wonders what all the fuss is about. Givony wonders if the money European are offering NBA-level players, and the fear that Dragic might never make it to the U.S., caused the Suns to panic a little. Givony e-mails:

It doesn't make a great deal of sense to me personally. I think Dragic is a solid prospect who could develop into a nice rotation player in two to three years, but the way people are talking, you would think he's going to be making a run for Rookie of the Year honors.

Right now Dragic is pretty much going to help you in one area only: defense. He is great at putting pressure on the ball, getting in the passing lanes, and getting his team extra possessions. He's going to struggle running an offense, though, and unlike a lot of combo guards these days, he's not going to make up for that with his perimeter shooting nor his ability to create his own shot.

I actually think Dragic would have been better suited staying in Europe for another season -- there were a lot of minutes to be had playing with Tau in both the Euroleague and ACB, and he probably needed that bridge between the NBA after the fairly underwhelming season he had with Olimpija last season.

The track record of players coming straight out of the Adriatic League and finding any kind of success in the NBA, especially immediate, is pretty much nil historically. (Nenad Krstic, Sasha Pavlovic, Vladimir Radmanovic are the only three I can think of out of a long line of failures). Now try to think of successful European point guards in the NBA ... outside of Tony Parker and Jose Calderon, it's slim pickings. That's why we're always going to approach these type of prospects with cautious expectations.

But I understand Phoenix's perspective. They've been severely overworking Steve Nash during the regular season in recent years, and considering that he's turning 35 this season, they can't afford to play him 34-35 minutes per game for 82-100+ games at the pace they play at. So they need a good backup. Problem is Dragic isn't ready for that in my mind. I'm not even sure how different he is compared to D.J. Strawberry actually.

The very same D.J. Strawberry, that is, who looked good in summer league as the athletic, tenacious guy who hounds scorers on the perimeter but is offensively challenged. How many of those can one team use?

Which all leads to an interesting question for Suns fans: Where is all this headed?

The team clearly did not click right off the bat with Shaquille O'Neal at the end of last season. Perhaps time together, a chip on the shoulder, and a new coach in Terry Porter will be good for some more wins.

But roster-wise, there haven't been any earth-shattering changes. The newcomers are Matt Barnes (who had fallen out of the rotation in Golden State), Lopez, and Dragic. There ought to be development from Strawberry and Alando Tucker.

The lion's share of the minutes, however, will still be consumed by Nash, O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, Grant Hill, and Boris Diaw. Increasingly, that is seeming like it is not enough to win the tough West.

On the other hand, with lofty expectations for Dragic, the puzzling trade for O'Neal, and a new style of play under Porter, the Suns may have succeeded in doing the impossible: Somehow they got more interesting over the summer when they lost Mike D'Antoni, who coaches the most entertaining style of play in the NBA.

(Photo: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images)

Luke O'Brien of The New York Times:

The Americans now lug around a record of 95-7 since the pros started playing, in 1992. The horror of it. But before you revoke your citizenship, consider that three of those losses came in Athens under Larry Brown, who browbeat an inexperienced, patchwork squad and got a fitting result.

This handful of defeats has become an indictment of American basketball. Not of the muddled system of player selection or the lackluster scouting or the paltry amount of preparation time, all of which have improved under U.S.A. Basketball's new director, Jerry Colangelo, who requires a three-year commitment to the team. No, it's about the athletes and their style of play. The notion of them as pass-last prima donnas has circumnavigated the globe as widely as Kobe Bryant's jerseys. And it is utterly unfounded. Look no further than the press conference after the 101-70 win over China on Sunday. The most memorable question for Coach Mike Krzyzewski came from an Asian journalist. A translation: "What did you do to kill their own superegos?" Anyone who watched the game and saw LeBron James and Chris Bosh playing team basketball like they do in the N.B.A. -- just because it happens above the rim doesn't make it selfish -- could only marvel at how deeply this mistaken stereotype of the American cager has taken root.

Which brings us back to redemption. If there is any to be had, it won't be covered in gold. It will be about perception. For the first time in a long while, the Americans have had a chance to become a team. Not a Dream Team or a Redeem Team. Just a really good team. The world will be forced to notice.

One other thought about Larry Brown's team in Athens: Intentional or not, Coach Brown could not have prepared Team USA's current stars better than that.

Humiliated by sitting on the bench, humiliated by coming home with a measly bronze ... is there anything in this world that could more efficiently motivate Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony?

These are very proud players who, thanks to the Athens debacle, have a willingness to climb mountains every day. They are on a shared mission. In the long term, sometimes bad things can end up having good results. Whether Larry Brown deserves credit or blame for that will probably never be settled, but he absolutely played a major role.

• Channing Frye tells Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star about blogging: "I do it all the time. Whenever I get on a plane or something funny happens. Life happens all the time, and I figure everybody goes through the same situations. The best thing about it is humanizing us for people who think we're celebrities. We go through the same situations everybody else does. We have to sit on planes for hours, we get hair in our food and (stuff) like that, just like everybody else. We just happen to be a big deal all the time."
• You ever feel a little uneasy about Las Vegas? So does Benjamin Golliver. 
• Jannero Pargo will be missed in New Orleans. 
• Sactown Royalty's Tom Ziller on Reggie Theus in Sacramento: "Far from being united behind Theus, it seems most who matter have at least at one point publicly disagreed with or feuded with the coach. That's not a good situation. If the Kings decide to wait out the season to see if he adjusts to fit in, it's a smart move. And if they switch paths next summer, it's not the end of the world." 
• One of the top recruits in the nation has decided she will not play college basketball at all, citing personal reasons. 
• A new name in online sports. 
• New Timberwolves uniforms. Seems a little busy around the neck for my tastes. And in person at the rookie photo shoot, I found the blue a little tepid compared to most other uniforms. But nice enough. 
• Word, from an anonymous source talking to the Boston Globe's Marc J. Spears, that Stephon Marbury won't play another game as a Knick.
• Hey look, there's Michael Jordan playing in Converse. 
• The Suns' second-round pick is not only a professional point guard. He is also, reportedly, a professional tobacconist. Seriously.
• Former Hawks Coach Lon Kruger advocates 80% positivity to 20% negativity in coaching. 

• Here is the full game of the U.S. vs. Germany. Another day, another double digit win. Germany did not get it together this tournament, which must be disappointing for Dirk Nowitzki who had been so excited to qualify. This may well have been his Olympic swan song.
• ESPN's Chris Sheridan on Team USA's next opponent: "I've been at the gym since this morning, when I saw Team USA's Wednesday opponent, Australia, destroy previously unbeaten Lithuania by 31, and I've been covering international basketball tournaments long enough to know that you never declare anything over until you see who's standing atop the medal podium at the end. 'The tournament is decided by easy baskets, and with America it's hard to get a shot off, and it's hard to get the ball past the half-court line, and they beat you down the floor and get layups,' said Australian coach Brian Goorjian. 'But if you can get your defense set, you've got a chance. No one I've seen has been able to do that, and that's our challenge.' Goorjian is the only coach who has been able to keep his team close to Team USA through 10 games this summer -- the five warm-ups the Americans played in Las Vegas, Macau and Shanghai, and the five they've played here at Wukesong Arena. Two weeks ago in Shanghai, the Aussies took the floor without their best player, Andrew Bogut, and were within striking distance -- just seven points down -- with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. They spread the floor, made 3-point shots, avoided turnovers and even had a player who was faster than Chris Paul that he twice left Paul in his wake on open-court penetrations all the way to the rim."
• Britt Robson of the Rake: "The performance that is likely to affect rotations in the near future was the play of Tayshaun Prince, who got some non-garbage time and drained three of four treys in addition to stolid defense. Not only does this push Michael Redd further into the background, it gives Coach K more length without backsliding on the team's most significant virtue: the ability to extend crushing man-to-man defense out to the perimeter and still guard both the paint and the wings. For most of the tournament, LeBron has been the best inside-outside defensive guy, capable of both filling passing lanes and blocking shots attempted off the dribble. Prince brings a similar dynamic, and if he can also load up the three opponents are going to have yet another matchup nightmare and yet another tough decision about how to defend this collection of superstars."
• Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "Los Angeles Clippers forward Chris Kaman, an American who received German citizenship last July, was asked after the game what it would take to beat the U.S. Kaman, who finished with six points for Germany, rolled his eyes and said, 'No one's going to beat them.'"
• Who's crazier? The sauced, chanting Danish handball fans, or their fans, who take turns jumping in for stalker photos?
• Remember how China would allow only registered protests? So far of the 77 applications to protest, 77 have reportedly been denied.
• A wicked combination of schmoozing, power-brokering, and politeness lead to empty seats at a lot of sold out events in China, including many Olympic events.
• This video includes a nice look at Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, in the stands, reacting to the American men winning gold in the 4 x 100 swimming medley.
• Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald on Dwyane Wade and some street vendors by the Great Wall: "Wade's celebrity gets him no special treatment down here, where people make a living pleading for fair prices from tourists. Not even from an older woman trying to sell him a bottle of Gatorade with his own likeness on the bottle. 'Hey, that's me,' he says, sounding very much like his fans on the Wall when they first saw him. Then his tone changes when the woman quotes him a price: 10 yuan. `For a Gatorade? This is me on this. I can get this.' He can also afford it. So 10 yuan it is (about $1.53)."
• According to one report -- could it really be true? -- the nation of Mali has just one basketball court. And their women's team somehow made the Olympics?
• NBA Superfan Jimmy Goldstein has juice. Juice enough, as it happens, to even get into everything at the security-crazy Beijing stdium.
• A big roundup of Ricky Rubio stories.
• SLAM's Lang Whitaker, trying to stay awake as the U.S. killed Germany: "For all the talk about Team USA needing a zone buster and depth on the interior, turns out we didn't need it. At least not yet."
• Yao Ming refuses to talk to reporters, frustrated after seeing short minutes in a blowout loss to Greece. China faces tough Lithuania next, and a loss would end the dream of gold.
• American athletes have tattoos in Chinese. Now a Chinese athlete with a tattoo in English.

Pretty much from the beginning of this Olympic ride, I have been hardcore in the camp of those who believe the U.S. would require top effort, and perhaps a dash of luck, to win gold.

I had no real doubts about the players on Team USA's roster.

Having seen the results every major international tournament since 2002, however, I had a deep-seated feeling that the rest of the world was extremely competent. And in single-elimination settings, with closely matched teams, no one gets to waltz to any titles. Instead, it's more like the NCAA tournament, where there are a handful of contenders, and there's no real way to predict how things will shake out.

Along those lines, I spent all kinds of time getting to know about the Spanish team, a top contender to knock off Team USA. I have also waxed poetic about how this team does itself a disservice by thinking of itself as a new version of 1992's Dream Team.

Have you been watching, though? After five games of pool play, the U.S. has delivered constant and extraordinary effort. It has been largely selfless and a joy to watch.

Even against strong competition like Greece and Spain, it has not looked difficult.

It could still all be different in the medal round. Any basketball team can lose any game. Yet, I find myself switching camps entirely, from "the U.S. better be careful" to "how is anyone going to beat this team?"

One of the biggest factors I have noticed is almost the exact opposite of what everyone was saying before the tournament.

The U.S. is big. Really big.

No, they don't have more enormous players than other teams. In fact, much was made of the fact that plenty of teams have more and bigger 7-footers.

But among the elite wing players who handle the ball so much in the kind of up-tempo game the U.S. has been forcing, the Americans are not only fast, but also quite a bit bigger and stronger.

Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James have the ball a ton of the time, and their weights are listed as 205, 216, and 250 respectively.

The Spanish team has three biggish players who can play on the wing, Berni Rodriguez (6-5, 220), Alex Mumbru (6-7, 220) and Carlos Jimenez (6-9, 225). But with a lot of zone, substitutions, and fast-breaking, the USA's powerful wings also find themselves being checked by 185-pound Rudy Fernandez, 170-pound Juan Carlos Navarro, or 180-pound Ricky Rubio.

When you see a 180-pound guy trying to keep LeBron James from the hoop, things start to look a little unfair in favor of the United States.

It's a problem that just about every team will have against Team USA, which has a ton (or close) of highly talented muscle on the perimeter. At every level of play, the bigger, stronger, and faster athletes tend to have the advantage.

Having seen the astonishing efficacy of these wing players at both ends of the floor, it is easy to imagine that opposing teams might have a new concern in building their rosters. Against this Team USA roster, you might be able to sneak an undersized guard or two onto the floor, but a steady diet of 180-pound perimeter players guarding shooting guards and small forwards seems like a recipe to be overwhelmed.

How opponents address that in the medal round remains to be seen. But after many years of U.S. head scratching, trying to figure out how to tailor the American team to suit the international game, now that equation seems be shifting. The big question now: What will international teams do to adjust to Team USA?

(Photo by Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

• Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: "John Amaechi is at the Olympics, serving as a basketball analyst for his homeland Great Britain's BBC. His appearance has caught some in the NBA establishment by surprise. 'It's been tense to say the least,' Amaechi said when I ran into him in a lunch line about what it's been like being seeing some Team USA players and coaches. Amaechi said players have turned away from him, and there remains a 'lot of tension.' He mentioned seeing Lakers star Kobe Bryant. 'I ran into Kobe, and he was surprised to see me,' Amaechi said. 'It didn't go well.'"
• Luciana Chavez of The News & Observer: "In China, Kobe Bryant is a shut-in. Well, at least for the duration of the USA men's basketball team's run at the Beijing Olympics, he is. 'The military won't let me go out,' Bryant said, talking about the crowds that congregate wherever he goes. ... No other USA player attracts more people, more cheers -- 'Kobe-a!' the Chinese call him -- or more love than the Los Angeles Lakers star and 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player. 'It's a little weird when people walk past you and they scream and start crying,' Bryant said. 'That freaks you out.'"
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "The same people who rolled their eyes at the Americans' bad manners for years say this team is different. 'I think they've been outstanding, the way they've conducted themselves, [although] they may be coming from a fairly low base from some of their predecessors in the way they've gone about it,' former Australia star Andrew Gaze says, laughing. 'I think also off the floor, seeing the guys, the way they interact with the public, the reporters -- you look at Kobe Bryant, every photo they want taken, he's been obliging.'"
• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: "Here's a prediction: Within 10 years, there will be an NBA franchise in either Beijing or the country's biggest city, Shanghai. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see the NBA expand and create and international division, with teams in Barcelona, Athens, Istanbul and elsewhere. In January, several top investors began NBA China, which will handle all of the league's growing business in the country. These are mega-heavy hitters, including ESPN. Pacers owner Herb Simon is on the board of directors. The businessmen see business gold here, and they should. It's not just the sheer number of people, but with a growing moneyed class, the Chinese are looking at the NBA product as a way to spend their increasing reserves of disposable income."
• Scott Taylor of the Deseret News: "Following the United States' 119-82 rout of Spain late Saturday night, Carlos Boozer was extolling the virtues of U.S. basketball teammate Dwyane Wade and his penchant for defensive quickness and transition-game talents. 'He's like Flash,' said Boozer. 'We've got him, we've got Superman (Howard), we've got 'King' James. 'I mean, we've got a comic book over here.'"
• K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune: "Andres Nocioni hasn't changed. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and his pride on his chest. That's where the hyperactive forward pointed after being asked if he could describe the difference between playing for the Bulls and playing for the Argentine national team, the defending Olympic champion. 'I love to play for the Chicago Bulls because I'm the kind of guy that when I play somewhere for more than two years, it becomes my team to me emotionally,' Nocioni said. 'But with the national team, you are representing your home country. So I feel it in my heart, I feel it in my chest, I feel it in my national colors.'"
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "Croatia has become one of the surprises of the men's Olympic basketball tournament, returning to the Games for the first time since 1992 and led by a group of young stars ready to get the country back to international prominence. It has qualified for the quarter-finals and could have a shot at playing for a medal -- it'll likely avoid the powerful United States in its quarter-final game -- and the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium is abuzz about the resurgence."
• Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "So, to review: He's big, with a soft touch. Anything else you lads want to say? Yes? Kobe? Go ahead, fire away. 'In hindsight, we probably didn't have to give him up to get Pau,' Bryant said. 'We should have kept Marc, too.' How's that for the ultimate endorsement? Bryant would like to have Marc Gasol back."
• Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: "Tonight, Chris Kaman and the struggling Germans (1-3) will play against the undefeated US (4-0) during the final Group B preliminary game at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. And while Kaman has been called a traitor and his own father said he won't root for him tonight, the American has no regrets about suiting up for Deutschland. 'That's how life is. Not everybody can make the Dream Team. Not everybody makes Team USA,' Kaman said. 'Not everybody can play in the [NBA] All-Star Game. You can still get better in basketball, and that's why I wanted to do this. I wanted to get better in basketball.'"
• Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Starting today and continuing for two weeks, the Timberwolves will have nine of their top players -- including Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Kevin Love, Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard and Mike Miller -- working out every day at Target Center. They will be around until Labor Day, take 10 days off, then resume workouts out until training camp opens."
• Patrick McManamon of the Akron Beacon-Journal: "The more you ponder the Cavs' acquisition of point guard Mo Williams, the better it seems. On several levels. The first reaction was to lament losing a pro like Joe Smith. He was a valuable addition, a good guy and a solid contributor in the playoffs last season. But he's also 33, and Williams is 25. Decisions aren't made on sentimentality; they're made on what helps the Cavs win. And when LeBron James weighs in that the addition of Williams was an 'A' ... well ... who are we to refute it?"