FIBA World title in hand, USA has questions ahead
Winning the gold medal at the FIBA World Championships has given Team USA a nice reward.
The Americans earned an automatic berth in the 2012 London Olympics, which means they won't have to bother with a qualifying tournament next summer, when the NBA could be in the midst of a player lockout.
USA Basketball is still facing some tough questions, though. Will Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and the players who earned that free spot in the Olympics get a chance to represent the U.S. in London?
Or will LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and other big-name stars from the 2008 Olympic team jump back onto the international stage? No one from the '08 Olympic team played for the U.S. in Turkey.
Winning the world championships may not seem to be a big deal until being reminded that until Sunday, the U.S. hadn't won this event since 1994, the first time NBA players were used for this event.
Without help from any of those '08 Olympians, the U.S. rolled past Lithuania and Turkey in the final two rounds without much drama. The U.S. beat host Turkey 81-64 in Istanbul behind 28 points by Durant, while Lamar Odom added 15 and Russell Westbrook had 13.
Rose finished with 8 points, 6 assists and 2 turnovers, hitting 4 of 11 shots from the field. Rose's main goal was to push the tempo and help create plenty of easy baskets, since the U.S. squad did not have team chemistry on its side.
Durant is going to be on the 2012 team, no question. He probably made himself the leader for 2011 NBA MVP with his dominant performance in Turkey. But Rose could conceivably be replaced by Deron Williams or Chris Paul.
It's easy to imagine a scenario where Wade, James and Bosh put down their pina coladas in Miami, pat members of this national team on the head and say, "Thanks for making things easy on us. We'll take it from here."
Sure, the '08 players got the job done in Beijing. But a team featuring Wade, James, Bosh, Howard, Anthony, Paul and Joe Johnson took bronze at the '06 World Championships in Japan.
Kobe Bryant, one of the '08 Olympians, will turn 34 in August, 2012, so it's easy to see him retiring from Team USA. Everyone else on the last two national teams figures to be a candidate for London.
USA Basketball will surely have marketing and TV ratings in mind, which makes it unlikely to turn away James, Wade, Bosh and Howard.
But didn't Rose, Westbrook, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, Stephen Curry or Kevin Love earn a spot on the Olympic team?
Clippers guard Eric Gordon was the team's fourth-leading scorer. Odom might have been the second most valuable player on this squad. Tyson Chandler may seem like an afterthought, but he was an asset to the world championship team because of his positive attitude and willingness to play his role.
After several stumbles, the U.S. has finally proven it doesn't need the biggest NBA stars to win an international event. USA Basketball has some interesting choices ahead.
Pinckney joins Bulls: Former Villanova center Ed Pinckney was officially added to the Bulls coaching staff on Monday. He's expected to work with the team's big men.
Best known for his role on Villanova's NCAA title team, Pinckney played for seven NBA teams during a 12-year career. Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach in Philadelphia while Pinckney played for the Sixers during the 1995-96 season.
In recent years, Pinckney worked as an assistant with Villanova and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was on the 76ers broadcast team last season.
Another Reinsdorf in power: The Bulls also announced Monday that Michael Reinsdorf has been named to the newly created role of president and chief operating officer. He'll oversee business operations for the team, while general manager Gar Forman and all basketball operations will continue to report to Michael's father, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
Michael Reinsdorf has been involved in NBA league matters on behalf of the Bulls since 2001. He is a founding partner for the International Facilities Group, a consulting company specializing in the development of sports and entertainment facilities. He's also a former owner of the Stockton Thunder minor-league hockey team.