Future Olympians

Bulls point guard Derrick Rose headlined a list of potential players for the 2012 Olympic Team in a recent ESPN.com article.  Henry Abbot of TrueHoop writes of Rose, “I say give him a couple of years to get used the next level of the game, then sneak the ‘next’ point guard onto the roster so he’s ready to unleash his game on the world in 2012.”  The article lists the likely crop of returning players as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard.  Other than Rose, Abbot’s candidates for additions to the roster include Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, Kevin Martin, Al Horford, Shane Battier, Greg Oden, Tyson Chandler, Rodney Stuckey and Rudy Gay.

If the aforementioned gold medalists do return in 2012, that would leave five roster spots available for new players.  Trying to take into account how each player will develop in the next few years, this blogger would take Oden, Roy, Durant, Gay and Horford.  Rose isn’t necessarily needed on the roster with two returning point guards and the playmaking ability of Roy and James.  But Rose is so talented that he could be a top two point guard in the NBA in four years.  The team is selected well before the Olympics though, actually approximately two years earlier, and it’s unlikely Rose will warrant a selection by then.

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