Dreaming up a Team: USA 2012 ‘What If’ Squad

The Olympics Basketball Men’s tournament, as previously predicted, has been as much about avoiding the USA, as it has been about getting wins. The American 12-man crew of supremely talented basketball players have together formed a squad so devastating that they are, on paper, incomparable to any of their current challengers – Spain, Argentina, Lithuania, Russia, Brazil – or even the best of their challengers put together. Instead of focusing on who the Americans match up against in 2012, a lot of attention has been diverted towards a more theoretical argument.

Can the 2012 Team USA beat the original Dream Team, the 1992 Team USA.

Though conjecture can be fun, even the most ardent prisoners of the moment will have to concede that the group that featured Jordan, Magic, Barkley, Robinson, PipUSpen, Malone, Ewing, Bird, Stockton, Drexler, Mullin, and Laettner (yup!) would win over the current group of LeBron-Durant-Kobe-Melo-Paul, etc. I even find the argument insulting.

But while the team that represented USA in Barcelona, 1992 was far superior to the team that is currently representing them in London, 2012, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality of American players available was far superior back then, too. At this point, the NBA is enjoying one of its golden stretches, fielding a high-level of talent across the league. Leading up to the London Olympics, several deserving players missed making the final American team because they were injured, not invited, or refused to play.

For as much as a squad featuring superstars like LeBron, Durant, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Deron Williams excites me, it also reminds me of the stars that aren’t. If all the talent was willing and available, USA could’ve fielded one of the greatest basketball squads of all time in 2012.

So I’m going to pretend to be Jerry Colangelo – the director of USA Basketball, and the man responsible for building the team – for a while. I’m going to pretend that every injured player was healthy, every old player willing to sacrifice his body for the team, every young player given a chance, and no other players unfairly ignored. I’m going to reconstruct the team as I see fit, based on talent, and a winning system. I’m going to imagine a team that could be really capable of beating the 1992 Dream Team.

First, let’s take a look at the current squad at the London Olympics: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, James Harden, Andre Iguodala, and Anthony Davis. This group includes two of the world’s current best players – LeBron and Durant – one a reigning regular season and Finals MVP, and the other a Finalist, a scoring champion, and the most dangerous scorer in international-style play. This group includes Kobe, who was the best shooting guard in the NBA last season, Chris Paul, who was the best point guard, Tyson Chandler, who was the defensive player of the year, and Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams, who always thrive in international play. Westbrook , Love, and Iguodala were All Stars last season, Harden was 6th man of the year, and Anthony Davis is the fresh-faced but dangerous number one pick.

A solid cast, for sure.

But let’s now turn to see who isn’t there:

The Injured: 2011 MVP and for many, the NBA’s most dangerous player, Derrick Rose; the league’s second-best shooting guard, and best player from the 2008 USA team, Dwyane Wade; the NBA’s best Center, Dwight Howard; All Star and Team USA veteran, Chris Bosh; solid power forwards, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge; and veteran point guards Chauncey Billups and Eric Gordon.

The Uninvited: Here is a list of All Star level American players who weren’t included in the 20-man shortlist for the 2012 USA squad – Rajon Rondo, Andrew Bynum, Roy Hibbert, Joe Johnson, and Paul Pierce. They may have been excluded because, perhaps, they were simply not good enough, or perhaps they refused to spend the summer break playing competitive basketball, or perhaps their presence wasn’t considered ideal for team chemistry.

A casual glance through the names in these two lists reveals that there is still a lot of talent out there, so much so that the USA could’ve sent a second team to the Olympics, and it would challenge for the basketball gold too. If everyone was available, who would I take, and who would I leave out?

Let’s fill in the biggest hole first: 2012 Team USA suffer from a clear lack of size. Their only true Center is Tyson Chandler, who starts with Paul, Kobe, LeBron, and Durant in the starting five. Chandler is indispensable to the team, but has already been in foul trouble on numerous occasions in the tournament. The only other ‘inside’ players in the squad left are Love and Davis, and Coach K considers neither of them deserving of big minutes. Instead, with Chandler out, the next best solution has been to replace him with Carmelo off the bench, and play a lineup of a point guard, a shooting guard, and three small forwards.

The easy fix here is to take Dwight Howard. He was a lock-in for this squad before this injury, and immediately beefs up the USA frontline. Still, USA would be without a single offensive post threat. Bigs like Andrew Bynum, long-time USA contributor, Chris Bosh, Blake Griffin, and LaMarcus Aldridge could also be considered.

While the rest of the 2012 Team is stellar, I think that several players who didn’t make the team could be a definite upgrade over the current roster. Is a full-strength Dwyane Wade a better scoring threat of the bench than Russell Westbrook or James Harden? Are Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo better point guards than Chris Paul, Deron Williams, or Westbrook? Would you take Bosh, Bynum, Griffin, or Aldridge instead of Love and Anthony Davis?

The third issue: while USA seem to be teeming with physical talent, I can’t help but worry that there are few players in the team with the mental strength to get going when the going gets tough. Are the Americans a little too nice? In my opinion, there is only one player in this team who wouldn’t budge through any mind games of Argentina, Lithuania, or Spain. That player is Kobe, who would instead answer intimidation with brilliance. The world’s best team needs some more toughness. Cold-blooded players like Rose, Rondo, and Wade could be the answer.

And finally, here is my last concern for this squad: do they have enough leadership? Mind you, USA has been blowing away opponents like confetti in the Olympics so far, so I agree that doubting their current leadership is entirely unfair on my part. But I envision seeing a squad built not just to win this tournament, but a squad that is the best sum of the parts potentially available today. Every great team has veteran leaders: could guys like Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, or Tim Duncan be useful in this lineup?

I have gone over the possible pros and cons for all the situations considered, and have finally settled for my ideal 2012 USA squad. This is the team that I would construct if every possible player was available: Andrew Bynum, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Kevil Love, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Rajon Rondo.

This lineup, I believe, gives the perfect balance of inside and outside, back to the basket and front of the basket, talent and resilience, and toughness and finesse. I sacrificed youth – the likes of Davis or Griffin – for experience.

Points Guards: Rondo, Rose and Williams. In my opinion, Rondo is the NBA’s best-passing point guard, and has proven to thrive in a team full of other great offensive options. He is sure to be a crucial cog in Team USA, and sure to be one of the most fearless players in the world. Derrick Rose, before his injury, was considered by many to having become a top three player in the league, and in my team, he would clearly be the guy – and not Kobe – whom I would entrust most with the ball in his hands in the tougher stretches of the game. I realise that it may be considered blasphemy by many that I left Chris Paul – in the eyes of many the NBA’s best PG – out of this team, but I believe that Deron Williams, who is stronger, and a slightly better shooter, has had a better track record than Paul in international play. Westbrook is another PG I left out, because 1) he’s more of an SG than a PG and 2) I’m taking Rose and Wade to do roughly what he does.

Shooting Guards: Kobe and Wade. The two best shooting guards in the NBA, and the way they balanced their roles in 2008 Olympics was impressive. If healthy, this duo would continue to be a handful in 2012. Both of them can score in bunches, and neither is afraid of taking the big shot. Easy to leave Harden out with talent like this.

Small Forwards: LeBron, Durant, and Anthony. The easiest category to pick from. The NBA’s three best small forwards are healthy, playing great basketball, and all of them are already in the squad. You know what they do and why they’re there. With so many other scoring options, LeBron can focus on being the best perimeter defender in the tournament, and do all-round damage. Andre Iguodala won’t be missed.

Power Forwards: Kevin Love and Kevin Garnett. First up: I’m expecting neither of them to start. Love is the only true PF in the current squad. But the duo of Durant and LeBron start in the forward positions, and Love gets rare playing time. I don’t expect this to change in my team, but I would like to add to my bench the 36-years-young supercharged forced called Kevin Garnett. If you paid attention in the last playoffs, you saw how much of a difference even a limited KG made for the Celtics. He was the best big man in the 2012 playoffs, and he will bring hunger, intensity, discipline, passion, incredible interior defending, pick-and-pop jump shots, and a whole lotta leadership to this team. He is my pick as this squad’s wily old veteran. Sorry Anthony Davis, I’m sure you’re going to make a good pro, but 0 NBA games doesn’t make for a Dream Team type resume.

Centers: Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum. The best Center and the second-best Center. Both are of course, mercurial personalities, and come with their own set of on or off court drama. But in the right system with the right mindset, these two would cover both ends of the floor – Dwight on the defense and Bynum on the offense – whenever needed. When my older brother thought that it wouldn’t be smart to take both the ‘knuckleheads’ in the same team, I answered by saying that I expect it to work, simply because I also have Kevin Garnett to keep the ‘knuckleheads’ in check. I’m not happy leaving Tyson Chandler behind, but I wouldn’t want to take him over Dwight, and wouldn’t want to take him with Dwight, because both are defensively-inclined.

My starting lineup (if I could influence the coach too, that is), would be: Rondo, Kobe, LeBron, Durant, and Howard. Dwight because he’s the best at his position; I expect the Rondo decision to be contentious, but I believe that he will be unstoppable leading a break with superstars on the wing, and he happens to be in some of the best form of his life. Rose, Wade, and Anthony will score in bunches off the bench, especially if points seem hard to come by. Bynum and Love will beef up the post, Garnett will strike fear in the hearts of the opponents, and confidence in the minds of his teammates, and Deron Williams will be the most ‘conventional’ point guard, blessed with size, strength, vision, and a great jump-shot.

This team would be a definite upgrade over the current batch in London. But can they take a sniff at the legends of ’92?