<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Ray Allen said Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo, who was selected to oversee the U.S. men's national basketball team through the 2008 Olympics, should abandon the idea of tryouts and consider paying players. "Why would you need anyone of these guys in the NBA to try out?" Allen said. "You know what everybody does. You know who your shooters are. You know [who] can't dribble. You know who your post-up players are. You have all of the tape in the world. "When we did that when we were in college, you don't really know who can play. You're playing in a system. ... A lot of guys have proven what they can do. You mean to tell me you're going to make Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal] try out. I don't think so." Allen won a gold medal with the U.S. team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and, two years ago, he played on the U.S men's team that went to Puerto Rico and qualified for last year's Athens Olympics. "I'm by no means saying I need to get paid, but you're talking about some of these young players who are some of the best players in the world and why would they want to play in the summer?" Allen said. "Most athletes, they hunger for the Olympics every four years. They spend their lives wanting to get there and that's what they want to do. "But we're different. We just finished an 82-game season and we want to chill out. People put so much pressure on NBA players, that you should be playing for your country, but you don't realize that many of us just want to do nothing in the summer." </div> Source
Just because these millionares plays 82 games during the regular season doesent make them any different from anyone else that gets chosen to the olympics. They should be honored to get to play for their country in an event like the olympics. If they just want to relax during the summer, money shouldnt make a difference because they already have alot of it. If you do get invited, you can always say no, but I think that if the reason to say no is because you dont want to do anything during the off-season, that is disrespectfull to your country. The olympics only takes place once every 4 years, so choosing not to go is pretty dumb if you ask me. Look what happened last year, they sent away a team with alot of rookies and a few veterans, and they lost. The US, home of the NBA, is supposed to have the best players in the world. They dont, they just have the most arrogant and selfish players* <font size="1">*this does not apply to every player, but most of them</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bahir:</div><div class="quote_post">Just because these millionares plays 82 games during the regular season doesent make them any different from anyone else that gets chosen to the olympics. </div> Doesn't it? Ray is right on with this one - the summer is when players have the chance to rest up. It is their only chance to have a break. Not everyone has to feel the Olympics is the ultimate; they don't have to choose that particular stance to show loyalty to their country. 82 games, plus playoffs, is a LOT of basketball. Ray isn't saying they should get paid either, he's saying that when a player plays that much basketball, the lure of representing one's country probably isn't nearly as enticing when you've just finished such a long season. Besides, nothing stops a player from putting his hand up and saying he wants to represent his country. He is spot on, but watch people try to make more out of it than there really is. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Article:</div><div class="quote_post">But Allen insists he isn't suggesting players deserve to be paid for representing their country, it's just that paying them might entice the most talented ones to participate in the '08 Games.</div> He is NOT saying players should be paid, the title of the article is misleading. He's merely saying there needs to be a bigger incentive than just national pride to entice some of these guys to play. Not because they don't have national pride, but because they've just finished a very long season of basketball and want time to rest. Harmless article.
