It's selfish and doomed to fail. FIBA will just win the Olympics every 4 years, and the NBA will hold its own event in between, I guess. Why not just do this at the Goodwill Games. Wade said he won't play because he should be paid. Cuban practically forces his players not to play and blogs that he would free them if he were reimbursed. We're going back to the days of no gold medal at the Olympics.
I agree completely with this idea. The NBA would do it better than some random governmental organization.
Seems unfair to the Heat to have their entire team play the entire playoffs, then play all summer as a team.
If Stern were smart he would have college kids do it to gain some much needed experience since they come out after their freshmen year.
But how do you stop other countries from sending their best? I understand owners like Cuban's objections to the olympics. Sending college kids won't help him, when Dirk is playing in it, though. Or us with Batum, etc.
NBA owners want to privatize the basketball part of the Olympics, to find a new profit source. But the rest of the world will refuse to participate in the sideshow. National teams are busy in Olympic summers, and as I posted, timing it in between years won't work either because of Goodwill Games. The selfish owners want yet another repeating event and to cut FIBA out. Europeans aren't stupid and Stern is dreaming.
Low TV ratings for Olympic basketball, and a lack of global exposure for NBA stars, won't be, though. I find it funny that Dwyane Wade, who has made a living playing for titles with much better players, would be whining about being paid to give up his summer. The 2012 US Olympic team doesn't need him at all.
