All these points about other players in the olympics not being paid....anyone ever thought to consider that Ray Allen said the NBA players should be paid through the merchandising that the NBA players create....I dont think other countries produce much merchandising so thats a pretty big difference.....
People make it sound like their beliefs are above all others. Just because YOU think that the Olympics are the biggest event in the world, and that players should murder people just to get a small taste of what they are all about, doesn't mean that every player should agree with you. It might sound silly, but some players actually enjoy the money they make playing in the NBA, or perhaps even want to win an NBA title. All Ray Ray's saying is: don't bitch and whine about 'the best' players not wanting to play in the games, and he suggests that monetary compensation may make it more attractive to them. If they are going to risk injury and possibly damper their next season's performance, then at least they've come out of it with something positive.
Ray Allen is right on target, logically at least. NBA players provide a service, which is entertainment. They do things that the normal human being cannot do. Just because they are doing it overseas doesn't mean that they should feel obligated to do it for free. I don't see why people should be obligated to be patriots. It seems like since 9/11 people are being considered "idiots" if they question sacrifices being made for the country. If I worked 8 months of the year away from fam and friends, and then someone asked me to keep working for a few extra weeks why should I do it for free? Especially if I was an NBA player, and playing for the USA would get in the way of improving my game during the summer.
Ray Allen scored 45 the other day. Pictures of Ray with goats could surface and he'd still be a god in Seattle. Re: the Olympics, let's face it, they don't mean a whole lot to today's NBA player. For other athletes they train for 4yrs for their one chance in the spotlight, to compete against the world's best. NBA players do that on a nightly basis during the NBA season. What's the point of them going overseas to play against Grenada? Certainly not patriotism.
