Better Things

I know you’ve got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone it’s all been said.
So here’s to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things.
- The Kinks

So now that Lebron has won Le Bronze, It's time to look ahead. Here's a quick look at what the Basketball Gods of America can do to fix our competitive dilemma. The only guideline used is that nothing can be proposed to seriously interfere with NBA profits, because it will never happen. OK, here we go.

1. Adopt international rules in their entirety, across all levels of play. It's time we start playing the same game as the rest of the world. American players always look confused and tentative in these events, and everyone always attributes it to a lack of desire, or the lack of familiarity with each other, without noting the differences in the game itself. I think this one change would make a dramatic difference. Can you imagine a team as physically gifted as the USA squad taking full advantage of the rule that allows you to touch rebounds over the cylinder?

2. Eliminate most of the exhibition schedule, and start the season earlier. This will cut two weeks off of the very long season, and allow you to begin practices for Team USA two weeks earlier.

3. Allow Olympic players to report to their NBA teams on December 1. The NBA grind is a whole lot worse than the Olympic experience, so this would probably entice more of the best NBA players to enlist. Also, Team USA members, having played all summer, would have less of a need for training camps. Finally, a December 1st return date would not greatly affect the playoff races, or attendance, and would allow for things like special recognition for Olympians. Can you imagine the applause for a returning conquering hero?

Notice that none of these suggestions has anything to do with roster selection. While Team USA cetainly has to get away from the Star Factor in selecting players, some of our problems are more systemic, and need to be addressed. Will it happen? I doubt it, but you need to have big ideas if you want to build a Dream Team.