That's SMART!!!! I worry about Aldridge's health though. Last thing we need is him being injured in 2012/13 because of the Olympics. But it's a great honor regardless!
Props to Aldridge if true. I personally would prefer him to not play and rest and not risk getting injured.
Yeah I'm down with letting him go over. First of all he is probably a long shot to make the 12 man roster, he'd probably just be in the training camp which would be a great developmental experience. Even if he did somehow make the final roster I bet his minutes would be quite limited, under 20, so the chance of injury is fairly low. Guys play pickup in the summer anyways, you can get injured at anytime so no point in being a scared chicken little.
It's a great honor for LA to be selected. I really hope he doesn't get injured if he does get to go, but he will play limited minutes, so I'm not too worried. BTW, Nic tweeted this pic of the French national team. Nic --> #5 TP--> #9 Noah--> #4 Diaw--> #13 I'd love to see LA and Nic matchup against each other.
Sheridan reports it's a done deal: http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/01/10/exclusive-team-usas-preliminary-roster/
So looks like there are two or so spots for Aldridge, Love, Griffin and Chandler to battle for. I think Griffin is a shoe-in, given he's the Next Big Thing. So do you go for points/rebounding (Love), defense/intl experience (Chandler), or points/defense (Aldridge).
Also, maybe I'm just being a homer, but if it were me I'd pick Gerald Wallace for the "swingman defender who also scores" role over Iguadala.
Love has better stats so he probably makes it. The only chance Aldridge really has is that Nate is part of the coaching staff, so that could actually give him a legit shot of making it but people just love Love regardless of if his play actually leading to team wins.
When is the selection? Will it be before the season ends? Will it be after the playoffs? If so, I think Aldridge can really make a case. Doesn't look like Love will make the playoffs and even Griffin may not have any post season success. Who knows, maybe Aldridge either.
You may be right. I don't know. I think Aldridge has a lot of the same cred that Sheed used to have. Sheed never put up other-worldly numbers, but you always got the feeling that other coaches really respected his game a lot more than guys like Shareef Abdur-Rahim who put up better stats. Actually, the Shareef/Love vs Wallace/Aldridge analogy works quite well (aside from the fairly important issue that Sheed was insane). Anyway, is this a coach's decision, or up to some kind of fan vote?
Aldridge is the only one that can play both the 4 and the 5 against both big teams and small teams. I think that since it will be a coaches decision - he will be in. They either go with a PF and Chandler to back Dwight or they go with Aldridge and another PF - and Aldridge can also back Dwight.
