The NBA season might be over, but that doesn’t mean fans will have to wait until October for 
pro-basketball to kick off. The 2012 Olympic games are right around the corner which means the highly anticipated basketball tournament is only days away from tip off.
Many NBA players will be representing their home country such as Manu Ginobili, Nene, Pau and Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Leondro Barbosa, including the favorites to win gold — Team U.S.A. laden with NBA stars.
Players such as James Harden, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams will put on the red, white and blue uniform and help lead the U.S. to what will hopefully be the gold medal. However, the U.S. is limping into the tournament.
Already, Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups, and Dwight Howard will not suit up in London due to various injuries which already will hurt the team’s chances for gold. Compounding matter is the fact the U.S. might have to face the field of teams without Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade.
Wade is contemplating off-season knee surgery, and if he does decide to go under the knife, he will skip out of the London games.
“When everything dies down this week, I will sit down with doctors — those that I trust — and make the best decision for me and my career,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I won’t know until I sit down with [the doctors] and have an MRI and see what’s wrong with my knee and what I have to get done.”
“My left knee is my power knee. It’s my explosion knee. When you are dealing with knee issues, you are dealing with lateral quickness [issues]. I dealt with it. At times, I did great with it. At other times, I didn’t do great with it.”
Losing Wade will be a huge blow to Team U.S.A. In international play, many teams will field big guards or quick, speedy guards. Wade is an excellent perimeter defender and could help keep in check the opposing team’s best perimeter guard. Not to mention, losing his offensive firepower will also hurt.
Seems day-after-day, reports come out of a player on the U.S. roster may or may not play this summer in London. If this keeps up, Spain (considered the biggest threat to the U.S.) has to be inching closer to being the favorite in the tournament. Their biggest loss so far has been Ricky Rubio (knee injury) but still field a packed roster with the Gasol brothers, Ibaka, Rudy Fernandez, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Jose Calderon.
Should Wade sit out the Olympic games, Team U.S.A. might consider bringing in a player from the U.S. Select team such as DeMar DeRozen, or Klay Thompson.
