FanPost

Olympic Future?

    One thing I took from watching the USA vs. Spain Gold Medal game was that we need to send our best...always.  Sure, the Deron Williams, Carlos Boozers are good enough to get us through a lot of an international tournament but when the bullet hits the bone the world is catching up.  Spain really played an excellent game. Being short Calderon and using a 17 year old PG they still were able to throw a real scare into our team.  To win the gold, we needed Kobe, we needed LeBron and we needed Howard.  Think about it, if Kobe sits out this Olympics or LeBron do we win that game? The best basketball in the world is still played in the USA. The best players still come from the USA but the world has caught up to the point where to compete against these very well coached and very talented national teams we need to always send our best.

    Which brings me to this thought. If the Blazers improve. If in 2-3 years we are that upper echelon team challenging for a N.B.A. championship that will probably go hand in hand with Oden, Brandon and LMA being thought of as "The Best" of the N.B.A..  That means we Blazer fans probably have a stake in what team shows up in 2012. The next Olympic incarnation could have a decidedly Blazer bent.  As I already stated, I think to win the gold we need to send our best. However, to be totally honest I'm a little nervous about the extra load Olympic Play and National Team commitment would put on a Brandon Roy and a Greg Oden.  Which brings me to a simple question would you be excited to see a Brandon Roy, Greg Oden and/or maybe even a LMA Blazer contigent on team USA? I think ultimately I would. I even think having a nucleus as described that has played together on The Blazers could be an advantage to our future national olympic team.

   Alright, I'm looking way ahead, but simply if you really believe The Blazers are going to be N.B.A. champions in the near future then you have to believe our players will be coveted as Olympians.  Rest up guys, the new definition of overall success now includes not only winning an N.B.A. championship but keeping the USA ontop the Olympic podium.  With the growing popularity of Basketball worldwide that means sending, being and staying the best.