詹姆斯國王

The title of this post roughly translates to "King James" in Mandarin Chinese. Lebron James recently confessed that he was studying the ancient language in preparation of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. But the US team has to qualify first.

No, these are not your older brother's Dream Teams. Our boys have to qualify this Summer in the FIBA America's Tournament in July. Until very recently, James was unsure if he was going to play on the team, but now he has signed up completely, and will take the floor for Team USA next month, and--hopefully-- in Beijing. This is an important step for Lebron, who if he wants to solidify his status as the best player in the NBA, has to take advantage of every opportunity to prove it. In addition to that, Dwayne Wade will still remain apart of the team even though he is undergoing shoulder surgery this month, making it much harder for other superstars to turn their nose at International play. That being said, let's take a look as to who I think should be Team USA's starting lineup and bench based on commitments already received:

PG Chauncey Billups
SG Kobe Bryant
SF LeBron James
PF Carlos Boozer
C Amare Stoudemire

Bench:

PG Jason Kidd
PG Deron Williams
SG Mike Miller
SG Michael Redd
SF Tayshawn Prince
SF Kevin Durant
C Tyson Chandler
C Greg Oden

Pretty strong squad. It's nice to know that USA Basketball is back to figuring out that the key to any of these teams is strong play at the point guard position, and we have the point guards of Christmas past, present, and future in Kidd, Billups, and Williams on this team. If one of them doesn't play well, then there are two other guys that can step in and distribute to the prolific scorers that make up this team. It will also be one hell of a treat to see Durant and Oden play this summer, especially for those fans in Portland and Seattle-- a bit of a taste of what they can expect in the future. Coach K has a lot of promise on this team, and a lot of players who have shown their commitment to USA basketball, and are somewhat hungry to prove that the nation that invented the game is still the best at it.