With all the focus on how USA Basketball has been renovated to a more teamlike structure, it'll be interesting to see if the team and its rotation is comprised of balanced units that won't inadvertantly clash while trying to figure out their roles. To help USA re-capture its place at the top of the basketball world, this is how it's team, and rotation should be formed:

Starting Lineup

PG-Jason Kidd: Right now, Kidd is the best point guard on the team. He only scores when he knows he must, and on a team of All-Stars that is a phenomonal trait to have. He sees the floor better than anyone born in the USA (Nash may barely edge him out). He'll push the ball, taking advantage of Team USA's biggest advantage: athleticism.

SG-Kobe Bryant: The designated Alpha Dog of Team USA, no one on the team will wonder who should have the rock in a must-score situation if he's on the floor. Last year Carmelo, Lebron, and D-Wade took turns trying to figure out who should be the day's clutch player and how. With KB24 on board, that question is already answered.

SF-Mike Miller: With Kobe on the other wing, Miller is the perfect compliment that won't need the ball when on the floor. As shown in the scrimmage, he'll literally feast on open looks from the international version of downtown, which is like saying downtown Tuscon, Arizona...it's not that far. In short, Miller is one of the perfect examples of a "role player" that Colangelo set out to put on the team.

PF-Chris Bosh: Bosh will be the first team's scoring option down low so Dwight Howard can worry about doing the dirty work. He may actually find himself hovering at the high post more often than not. Bosh's versatility will enable him to score however is necessary against the various defenses that Team USA will see. Unlike last year's stint on Team USA, Bosh has grown into a more intense and competitive player.

C-Dwight Howard: Howard is of more help on defense and the glass than offensively, so he'll see a lot of time playing with his offensively minded counterparts Bosh and Stoudemire. With Bosh and Kobe on the floor, Howard won't have to worry about being forced to score points, and can expand all his energy on doing what he does best: rebounding, blocking shots, and dunking.

Second Unit

PG-Chauncey Billups: As the designated veterean on the second unit, Team USA won't have to worry when he replaces Kidd as their floor general. Billups isn't shy about shooting when he has to, but will never force the issue. Detroit's clockwork success as a team is a result of Billups' diligence in making sure his squad is on the same page. He should have the same effect for Team USA.

SG-Michael Redd: The second unit's designated bomber, Redd should benefit as much (if not more) than Miller. His quick release will be paramount against the quick-shifting zone defenses that USA will see repeatedly.

SF-Carmelo Anthony: 'Melo should be this squad's numero uno threat on the perimeter. His effectiveness last summer on the team was pleasantly surprising, and he was one of the few who earned respect following Team USA's performance. His combination of a quick shooting touch and drives to the rim will be key in breaking down a stingy defense.

PF-Lebron James: James could see playing time at almost any position, but this makes the most sense for him because 1) he'll be the best secondary passer ever and 2) is big enough to stay with opposing "fours" and quick enough to take advantage of them on offense. James may actually play better when he's not expected to carry the load offensively.

C-Amare Stoudemire: STAT is obviously starting material, but would probably want the ball more than would be efficient with Kidd, Kobe, and Bosh on the floor at the same time. He also might not play with Howard that often, as those two are the only two true big men on the team. On the second squad, he'll be the big dog down low, and will see plenty of touches playing with willing passers James and Billups.

"The Bench Warmers"

Shane Battier: Between his tenaciousness on defense and having played at Duke, he'll probably earn a spot on the team. Battier will be able to come in and lock down an offensive threat from the other team, and is the best at taking charges. He's also more than willing to defer to the star power on the team.

Tyson Chandler: Because Howard and Stoudemire are 1)extremely young and active and 2)not great defenders individually, they may wind up in foul trouble more than Coach K would like. Chandler is the big man insurance on the team in case he has to bench his two superstuds. He's also a great role player who excels at rebounding and blocking shots.

Who Gets Cut and Why

Tayshaun Prince: This guy was the toughest to leave off, because he's such a great defender and role player. He and Billups would probably have great chemistry as well. Honestly, his skinny frame and unorthodox play throw me off. He didn't have a great scrimmage last weekend, with three turnovers and a few lapses on defense as well. Battier's proven himself to the point where Prince would have to blow me away to replace him.

Deron Williams: He and Chris Paul will probably replace Billups and Kidd as USA's point guards of the future. Right now Williams is having a great learning experience, but will be groomed as the first option to fill in for the older men at the guard. Also, Lebron James can be called upon as a 3rd guard if needed right now, and he actually excelled at that in the bronze medal game last year.

Kirk Hinrich: Hinrich is a player every coach wants, but just finds himself behind a few point guards that are even better right now. That's no knock on Hinrich, either. He may very well be back in the rotation once Kidd and Billups are out of the picture, but after Williams' stellar playoff showing and better playmaking, Hinrich may be stuck as the second or third point guard of the future.

Kevin Durant: Like Williams, Durant will probably be the backbone of Team USA's future. He's still very slight of build, and will benefit from a few years of seasoning in the NBA and training with Team USA. He's already a top notch scorer, and should be and integral part of the 2010 World Championships. After all, he'll only be 22 by then...

J.J. Redick: Redick is probably more of a gamble than USA staff would like to make right now. He wasn't healthy most of last season, and has yet to prove himself on a professional level. If he has a decent year this next season, he could be one of Team USA's rotating outside shooters in the future. Right now, though, he's staring at Redd and Miller's backsides.

In a recent report, Tim Donoghy has received "threatening phone calls" in the wake of his FBI investigation for betting on games he's refereed. Why this made the news, I have no idea. It's kind of a given that when people find out you've been screwing over their teams and their sport, they're going to let you know how they feel. Over half of those phone calls can probably be traced to Phoenix, AZ. For a great take on why, read this article from Foxsports writer Kevin Hench...

After a weekend-long minicamp, Team USA held an intersquad scrimmage yesterday, and KB24 showed why he's a lock on the team, scoring seven points in the final two minutes, including the game winner with just over six seconds left. It's probably a good thing that the U.S. won't have to rely exclusively on Lebron or 'Melo for late heroics if they're needed...

The surprises from the scrimmage? Mike Miller and Kevin Durant. Miller was feasting from the closer-in three-point line, and scored 22 points. Meanwhile, Durant was making his case for making the team this year, showing some deadly shooting and deft post moves. The biggest disappointment? Probably Tayshaun Prince, who had three turnovers and several lapses on defense...

Off-season movement continued last week, highlighted by the Suns' money-motivated move to trade Kurt Thomas to Seattle with two first round unprotected draft picks. That 2010 pick could definetely hurt if Nash is done and Marion is finally dealt elsewhere, as has been rumored since he entered the league in '99. On the flip-side, with Thomas' salary gone Marion will probably stick around (definetely good) and Sean Marks will get lots of playing time (hey, Kerr thinks it will work).

If you play those NBA Live video games where individual player talent determines how good a team is, then you can probably understand why Houston took a trip down memory lane and signed Steve Francis. The Rockets' makeup right now is getting really questionable. New coach Rick Adelman will want to run run run. Yao does not run run run. So in order to run run run, T-Mac will need the ball. But to win win win, Yao should have the ball. And let's not forget that Bonzi Wells wants the ball. And now they sign Steve Francis, who has no other desire than to be the ball's personal chaperone throught the game. That's not to mention the New York-like traffic jam at point guard right now...

Going along with the back to the future theory, the Lake Show signed D-Fish for 3 years and $14 million. Fisher says he hopes his being in L.A. might persuade Kobe to relinquish is already shady trade demand. At this point, I'm not sure even Kobe knows what he last said in reference to staying or not staying in L.A...the Lakers also re-signed Chris Mihm for another three years. Actually, Kobe might just reiterate his trade demand if he notices that the Lakers are just re-signing the exact same squad for a few more years...

Gerald Wallace re-upped with Charlotte for six years and $57 million. With him and J-Rich on the wings, Ray Felton setting them up on the break, and Okafor manning the middle, they look a lot like playoff material in the leastern conference...

Detroit refuses to give up on their tried and once-true veteran core, extending Antonio McDyess' contract for another two years. Will this approach work for the Pistons? What will get them back to the Finals? Their two rookies? A new sense of determination? Season-ending injuries to Lebron and D-Wade at the same time?

With all the refusals to communicate, quotes and mis-quotes and still no progress being made, the situation between Yi Jianlian and the Bucks has turned into a veritable Cold War. This whole situation isn't exactly helping David Stern promote the NBA in China...

The Bucks were not only able to speak to, but sign guard/forward Desmond Mason. That's a solid move, as he'll be able to either back up both Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd, or start for Simmons and let him take on the sixth man role. Mason should also be able to provide a few new highlights and posters. If the whole Yi thing does work out, then Milwaukee would be another team on the rise in the East...

And finally, with my weekly edition of Bits and Pieces (B&P), I'm starting to include an Idiocy of the Week. We'll stick with the Bucks theme, as this week's honor goes to Jake Voskuhl's agent Mark Bartelstein. After Voskuhl signed a contract with the Bucks this past week, Bartelstein said, "He's one of the top backup centers in the league." I guess averaging 4.4ppg, 3.5rpg, and 0.33bpg for a lottery team qualifies him as a "top backup center."

If anyone garnered respect and admiration for stepping up during the playoffs, it was Kurt Thomas of the Phoenix Suns. Against San Antonio, he went face-to-chest with the much-taller Tim Duncan, and made him work for every methodical point he scored. KT bodied him up, boxed him out, and probably bugged the crap out of him (we'll never know, due to Duncan's inability to have facial expression).

Thomas was equally Messianic on the offensive end, giving the Spurs an added problem with his rediscovered midrange jumper. Literally, it seemed that every time Thomas would roll away from setting a pick, and was open, the jumper was all net. It probably revitalized him to play such an important part in such an important series. Suns fans were thanking their lucky stars.

When Stoudemire was shut down by the league, the Suns were unable to keep up with the Spurs due to lack of fire power, but no one faulted Thomas. He had risen above and beyond any expectations that anyone had for him except for maybe Nash and coach D'Antoni.

The result of his sweat and effort willingly given in time of need? Sarver's executive decision to trade him away to the rebuilding Seattle Supersonics. This is like being on-call for work, and being called in because a couple co-workers couldn't make it due to company infractions. After working your tail off and being the only reason the place doesn't go up in smoke, you're told, "Sorry, you cost us a little more than we would like, so good luck finding your way in the world..."

Sarver needs to stop doing a 90's impression of Donald Sterling. As much as it hurts to say it, the Spurs have the right mind about shaping thier roster. They only spend big bucks on the truly and vitaly important stars, and even then they don't bust out the bank. Parker ($11 mil/year) and Ginobili (under $9 mil/year) are bargains, period. After those two and Duncan, the Spurs wisely bring in talented but humble free agents for less money. They draft potential studs that are cheap, such as Parker, Ginobili, Luis Scola, and Tiago Splitter (who honestly didn't know the Spurs would take Splitter when he was still on the board when the Spurs pick came up?).

Sarver finds himself needing to shave payroll so desperately because he didn't bother to look ahead, like the Spurs do. Now he finds himself pinned down by enormous contracts to Nash, Marion, and Stoudemire. He's probably still trying to justify giving Diaw $9 million a year after a sub-par performance last season. He overpaid to sign Marcus Banks, and apparently couldn't even get a "conditional second round pick" for him like they did for Thomas (What does it mean to have a "conditional second round pick"???).

That brings up another point that Suns fans will find particularly annoying. Sarver traded a tried-and-true veteran like Thomas who had a revelation of sorts in the playoffs, and not one, but two first round draft-picks. What did the Suns get in return? A "conditional second round pick" (seriously, what in the world is that?), and a whopping trade exception that Sarver will not use.

The Sonics just robbed the Suns. Period. This is due to two reasons: 1) Sarver has no foresight to see that his club will be in future financial trouble. All the expensive contracts putting the Suns over the cap have been signed in the last two/three years, when Sarver himself was calling the shots. 2) Even though this lack of foresight is the cause of this financial "crisis", Sarver is unwilling to pay (literally) for his mistakes.

It's unfair to not only to Thomas, but to his teammates like Nash, who knew they could depend on the veteran big man. It's unfair to Stoudemire and Diaw, who probably appreciated Thomas' efforts more than anyone, as he was battling for his fallen (or, imprisoned) comerades. It's unfair to D'Antoni, who's probably wondering, "Ok...now who's going to guard Duncan?" It's unfair to the fans, who saw what fans love to see: a player giving everything he has to win the game.

Unless Sarver has some franchise-lifting super-move in the works, this trade shows he cares(and thinks) less about his team, and more about his wallet.

Yi Jianlian's reps struck a huge blow to Milwaukee's hopes that Yi would play for them this year, if ever. Interestingly, the supposed "reason" is not because Milwaukee offers a small Asian population, but because the team is "not good for his development." They're saying that with fellow bigs such as Charlie Villanueva and Andrew Bogut, Yi wouldn't get the playing time his reps would like him to see. Other than those two, what other bigs would Yi be competing with for playing time? Brian Skinner? Please...

According to both Kevin Garnett and T-Wolves owner Glen Taylor, the Big Ticket isn't going anywhere. KG may find that things won't be so bad in Minny with Randy Foye, Ricky Davis, and rookie Corey Brewer to help him out for a whole season. Taylor mentioned that if any trades are pursued that they will exclude Kevin Garnett. So which T-Wolf will be next on the rumor mill? Marco Jaric, Trenton Hassell, and Rashad McCants may all be dangled to lure any semblance of a center. Their current best option at that position is Mark Blount...

Chucky Atkins left Memphis to sign with Denver this week. Atkins arrives to fill in the pass-first point guard void left by Steve Blake, who signed with Portland earlier. There are a lot of domino-effects involved, which are: 1) will J.R. Smith, who started last season on fire with a starter's role, continue to lose time due to the duo of 'Melo and A.I. needing a point guard on the floor? 2) The Grizzlies loosen up their logjam at point guard, with Mike Conley Jr., Kyle Lowry and Damon Stoudamire still on board and 3) Portland, Denver, and Memphis will all be less of the push-over type in the Western Conference.

Speaking of being less of a pushover, a few teams in particular have done well for themselves this summer while powerhouses San Antonio, Dallas, and Cleveland have all been standing pat.

With the playoffs and the Draft buzz dying down, the focus now shifts to Team USA basketball. Several newcomers to the program, as well as those who were unavailable last year, will try and get Team USA out of its current funk. Kobe figures to be the main guy, while Deron Williams, Michael Redd, and Amare Stoudemire should definetely make their marks on this squad. The most likely to be cut? Probably J.J. Redick, Tyson Chandler, and maybe Kevin Durant.

The Heat's roster is slowly being tweaked this summer. While Alonzo Mourning is coming back for another go-around, Zo says that his buddy Gary Payton probably won't be coming back. His replacement? Possibly Steve Francis. Considering D-Wade's game is pretty similar to Francis' stomping-ground days, it would make for an interesting backcourt. Oh yeah, and Shaq will be 36 next season. They'll regret trading Jason Smith to Philly sooner than later...

Washington re-signed guard Deshawn Stevenson for four years after being to perfect role player last season. The question is, how many guard/forward types will the Wizards stockpile before looking for a competent big man? The Etan Thomas/Brendan Haywood thing has run its course already. With Stevenson, Agent Zero, Caron Butler, rookie Nick Young (who plays a lot like Arenas by the way), Antawn Jamison and Antonio Daniels all on board, expect one or two of them to be shipped out for a big in the not-too-distant future..

In the spirit of the upcoming 7/7/07, I have taken it upon myself to look back on draft night seven years ago.  In so doing, I found out that the NBA Draft of 2000 was the worst draft ever. I mean, it's unreal, it was so bad. I was like, "Are you kidding me?"  Here's a breakdown on this nauseating slew of selections:

1. New Jersey Nets-Kenyon Marton: K-Mart was already damaged goods when he left Cincy for the NBA, but he did manage to provide shot-blocking and rebounding early in his career, helping JKidd and company reach the Finals twice. His offensive game never matched the enormous contract he demanded, and the Nets (rightfully, in my opinion) let him walk. Since that time, Martin's been distracting, injury-prone, and disruptive for the Nuggets. The good thing about the Nuggets is that they no longer need him with frontcourt players Carmelo Anthony, Nene Hilario, and Marcus Camby.

2. Vancouver Grizzlies-Stromile Swift: The Grizzlies drafted based on potential here, thinking Swift's athleticism was a sign of big things to come. While he could dunk with the best of them, Swift's personal drive never really left the ground, and he's been earning money based on "potential" for the last seven years.

3. L.A. Clippers-Darius Miles: One of the worst-case scenarios for jumping straight from high school to the NBA, Miles enjoyed a couple decent "developmental" years in L.A. and Cleveland, but never panned out as the "Next KG". Now an outcast on the Portland roster, he may never get another chance due to his on-court performance and off-court issues.

4. Chicago Bulls-Marcus Fizer: Fizer was supposedly the most solid pick in the draft, the next Karl Malone. He never averaged more than 25 minutes a game or 12ppg either, however, and disappeared from the NBA after fve seasons.

5. Orlando Magic-Mike Miller: To give you an idea about how bad this draft was, it's important to know that Miller is the most productive player from the first round of this draft, and that he was also that year's ROY. Great perimeter shooter, but not exactly qualified as a marquee name from a draft.

6. Atlanta Hawks-Demarr Johnson: Another guy "filled with potential", he's been on three NBA teams and has NEVER averaged double-figures in scoring.

7. Cleveland Cavaliers-Chris Mihm: LakerKev's favorite all-time player, Mihm is the epitome of the "soft and white" NBA center. I'm assuming he took that title from Luc Longley. Let's just say he's never developed into the dominant big man people thought he'd be.

8. Chicago Bulls-Jamal Crawford: People knew he could score coming out, and yes, he's very good scoring 17ppg on a bad team. The problem is not knowing if he can produce on a good team (maybe we'll find out next year when he plays with Curry and Randolph). He needs the ball in his hands to score. He's...OK.

9. Milwaukee Bucks-Joe Pryzbilla: Another 7-foot project, he somehow managed to get a decent contract with Portland after posting still current career-highs of 6.4ppg and 7.7rpg.

10. L.A. Clippers-Keyon Dooling: You'd think the first true point guard drafted would be more than a career 2nd/3rd string point guard...

11. Boston Celtics-Jerome Moiso: 6'10" out of UCLA, career highs of 4.0ppg and 3.5rpg. Lasted five years in the NBA, being the bench-warming big man for six teams.

12. Dallas Mavericks-Etan Thomas: Career highlights include 6.0ppg, 5.5rpg, and getting a dreadlock torn out of his hair by Wizards teammate Brendan Haywoodin a fight during practice.

13. Dallas Mavericks-Courtney Alexander: Translated 24.8ppg in his last year at college to a 3-year NBA career where he averaged 9.0ppg and a change of address per-year.

Ladies and gentleman, those were the Draft Lottery picks of 2000. Other miserable failures such as Mateen Cleaves, Mamadou N'Diaye, Dalibor Bagaric and Erick Barkley graced the first round. Now, granted, there were few players who managed to make decent NBA careers out of this class. The most notable is Michael Redd who was drafted late in the second round. Other honorable mentions include Quentin Richardson, Morris Peterson and Jamaal Magloire.

I think it's obvious, however, that on terms of expectations and overall production, this draft can unofficially go down as one of the worst ever in NBA history.