USA Basketball: Roy out, Bayless in

From MB's blog:

 

With Roy's history of injuries and his two little ones at home I can understand why he'd be reluctant to give up his only "me" time he's likely to have for the next decade. Good news regarding the rest though; that will only help their game.

 

Great news. All the experience they can get is super. Especially seeing how the top players work.

 

Roy can skip out, no big deal. If he wants a spot on the team, it is his pretty much.
Good to see the rest of the league thinks as highly of Bayless as I do, now if only Nate will just let the damn kid ball out.

 

You'd think team USA would have invited Blake since OBVIOUSLY he is the better player. I mean Nate started him, and Bayless rarely got off the bench.

Really dumb move on team USA's part

 

I think it's fair to say that Oden needs practice more so than Roy.

 

People would react positively either way, to be quite honest.

 

Oden isn't rookie of the year, two times all-star, and second team all-nba -- apples to oranges.

 

Cool, Bayless can play the roll of the guy that's way too intense and is generally talentless and spurs the good players on to greatness. Kind of like how Ruben Patterson motivated Kobe Bryant. Good for him.

 

Are you being serious or sarcastic? I can't see how this is anything but positive for Bayless. Sure, he won't be the best player on the court, but that's how you get better.

 

I actually just laughed reading this! Doesn't happen very often. Well done!

 

Did Patterson make it as a Team USA practice partner? I must have missed that. I mean Roy, Aldridge, Oden those are all budding NBA stars or budding Superstar in Roy's case and two hopefuls in Aldridge and Oden but nobody denies their potential. Bayless has that potential to be a star and he needs all the practice against top talent he can get.

 

I go back and forth on Bayless. Yesterday that was a serious statement. Today I look at his college shooting percentages and say it sarcastically.

 

So let me see, Bayless has 2 invites to USA basketball, and Blake has zero. Hmmmmmm.

 

He'll make a great 4th string shooting guard, just ask MARIS

 

I heard that team USA wanted to invite Sergio - but they are waiting to see if Rubio will be willing to come first...

(That's a joke for the slow-thinkers out there).

 

You do know that Blake is too old to be considered for the Select Team, right?

Select Team is composed of mostly very young players and no prime age players.

Bayless was already on this team last year - so the team is picking Bayless because 1) he is really young and 2) they already know what he is about. His invite has - obviously - nothing to do with his inability to get off the Blazer bench or with Blake - who wouldn't have been on their list of names to consider. They didn't choose Bayless over Blake, but Bayless over another young guard.

I know that ruins your Hate On Nate joke. Tough cookies.

 

Doesn't really ruin it. Blake is too old to make the select team, and too bad to make the real team. Blake in fact never made the select team, and Bayless has made it now twice. So of all the young guards in the league team USA chose Bayless. Out of Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez and Jerry Bayless Nate chose both Blake and Sergio ahead of him.

Although like Bayless, Blake was on the junior team.