  urlLink ESPN.com - Dick Vitale - vcolumn040817TeamUSA-future Oh wait- Vitale has never done that. Granted, I agree that it would be cool to send the NBA champs to the Olympics to represent the USA. But within a millisecond of considering this, a few problems slap you in the face: 1. What if a team with a contributing foreign player wins the title. It wouldn't have mattered much this year, the Pistons had Mehmet Okur from Turkey as their sixth or seventh man and secret weapon Darko Milicic as their cheerleader with dyed hair. But say the Kings, with Peja, ar the Mavericks with Dirk, won the title? Doesn't that kind of put "Team USA" at a considerable disadvantage in the Olympics? 2. Injuries and fatigue. The NBA champions just got finished playing a marathon of over 100 games. They won the title 6 weeks ago. I'm sure several of them have injuries, rehab or off-season surgeries to attend to so they can be ready to defend their title in November. 3. There's no way a NBA champion could repeat in the year following the Olympics. They would be wiped out and have no time to rest and heal.
I don't think any NBA owner would agree to this. 4. The NBA marketing machine wouldn't allow it. They want to sell swag with superstars' faces and numbers on it. They want to put their rising stars on the international stage. Tayshaun Prince wouldn't sell. End of story. So, thanks for your opinion Dickie. But next time give it a little more thought. 
