<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kevin Durant will have to wait to wear the red, white and blue in international play. The Seattle rookie was one of two players cut Monday night as the United States got down to the 12-player limit for the Olympic qualifying tournament that begins Wednesday. SuperSonics teammate Nick Collison also was dropped when the Americans announced their decisions about two hours after practising at the Thomas & Mack Center. The final roster needs to be submitted Tuesday, a day before the U.S. opens the FIBA Americas tournament against Venezuela. As expected, Michael Redd and Mike Miller had nothing to worry about. The Americans have gone too long without a reliable perimeter threat, so they weren't going to send home two of the NBA's best. </div> Source: TSN
If you are old enough to fight for your country you should be old enough to play for your country--if you are good enough. KD is good enough. KD and Nick Collison I imagine have gotten alot out of these workouts but I personally would have liked to see them have an opportunity to make this team. One thing that I will guarantee is that Michael Redd will not be on this roster for the Olympics in 2008. He is a player who has probably benefitted the most from being on a bad team for the majority of his career.
Durant was great today too, he made a real nice move on Shane Battier and he seemed to be all over the place against the other USA squad. Too bad.
<div class="quote_poster">monty001 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Was the scrimmage televised? If so, I missed out.</div> It was on FSN.
that scrimmage was played a while ago though. anyway, i believe that durant should have made the team. he brings shooting, rebounding, athleticism, length, and personal motivation (in that he wants to prove that hes worth the hype and whatnot). he played great in the scrimmage and he was facing up against the nba's elite. if they had put him on the team, he would be an experienced usa ball player by the time the next competition came around. instead, he will have to start from scratch.
Yeah I saw the scrimmage that was a few weeks ago. I was wondering where Shard saw Durant school Battier.
<div class="quote_poster">monty001 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I was wondering where Shard saw Durant school Battier.</div> When Shard starts seeing things that aren't there we all start assuming the worst. Stay away from freight trains, fam.
Who cares, he'll be on the team eventually. Almost everybody who does it is tired when they start the regular season, anyway.
Hypothetical then... Will it be better for Durant to have gone through the process to date and not be involved from now on as opposed to staying in the squad?
<div class="quote_poster">Sir Desmond Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Hypothetical then... Will it be better for Durant to have gone through the process to date and not be involved from now on as opposed to staying in the squad?</div> It would have been better for him to be on the team now. Not just for him but for Team USA as well.
<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> Stay away from freight trains, fam.</div> Ooh...ouch.
<div class="quote_poster">Casual Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Who cares, he'll be on the team eventually. Almost everybody who does it is tired when they start the regular season, anyway.</div> Considering he probably wouldn't have played major minutes I doubt that he would have been burned out before the season. Besides I do remember that LeBron, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudamire, and Elton Brand all played in 2004 Olympics and came back considerably better in the following season. Probably because they were mad that they were treated like bums by Larry Brown. Hell last year 'Melo used the World Championships as the springboard for his career year. You are making it easier and easier to put holes in your argument.
^shiek, i love you. lmfao. anyway, i wouldve had durant make it over tayshaun prince, maybe mike miller, (i might be stretching it, but...) even tyson. okay, maybe not tyson, but you get the idea. he shouldve made this team. usa is missing out on a lot by not having him. i can see him going out there tonight and dropping AT LEAST 15 points, 6 7 boards, a few steals, and some assists. due to his mind-boggiling (sp???) great diversity, in that he can do it all from anywhere on court, he can deliver a lot. im so high on this kid, i just dont undertsand how he doesnt make it. i may be overrating him, but i dont think so.
My fault on claiming I saw the scrimmage earlier that day. There was no "Replay" thing on the screen so I just assumed. FSN are the real people to blame for that slip up.
<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You are making it easier and easier to put holes in your argument.</div> Yeah, the many posts I have in this topic have just been making that hole I'm in deeper and deeper. I can't stop.
