Team USA is going to give us a sneak peak of the NBA's future
Take a look at the 2016 USA men's Olympic basketball team — there's something missing.
Well, there's a lot missing. There's no LeBron James, no Chris Paul, no Stephen Curry, no James Harden, no Blake Griffin — you get the idea.
But of the 12 players — all tremendous — selected for the team, there was a more glaring omission: a true power forward.
Meet the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) June 27, 2016
Roster: https://t.co/SVpGiA5Dxl#UNITE #RoadToRio #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/hcg1tqPUOX
The closest thing to a prototypical 4 on this roster is Draymond Green — the 6-foot-6 do-it-all who is equal parts point guard and center.
Green's skillset, which was as recently as three years ago derided, is indicative of the way the NBA is heading — versatility is vital and low block play is antiquated.
There has been much made of the perceived disintegration of center play in the NBA during the current pace-and-space wave, but in fact, no position has seen its definition change more than power forward.
The line between a 5 and a 4 has never been blurrier. Same goes for a 3 and a 4. Now, there are just wings and bigs, and the latter seems to shrink by the month.
This is the globalization of basketball. Dirk Nowitzki used to a be an anomaly — no other power forward in the NBA played like him. Now, he's the norm.
Look at the top NBA Draft prospects Europe and the rest of the world churn out every year — you won't find Kenneth Faried copycats making the jump overseas. Instead, we're seeing an influx of 7-footers who can shoot, like Kristaps Porzingis and Dragan Bender.
So while Team USA team might not have the full depth of its talent heading to Brazil, it is sending a squad particularly capable of handling the world's best and beating it.
There are two centers on this team — the big man isn't dead yet — and they tell us a lot about how Team USA will play this summer: DeAndre Jordan would have fit in any era — he's hardly a Nowitzki protege — but his ability to drive down the typically vacated lane on pick-and-roll makes him an elite offensive weapon for the new era; DeMarcus Cousins is an inscrutable and incredible big man whose calling card is versatility. Both are perfectly suited for the international game.
With Jordan, Team USA is going to run pick-and-roll with point guards Kyrie Irving or Kyle Lowry and put three elite shooters around the 3-point line, ready for a kick out pass. Do you collapse the defense to stop the unstoppable Jordan alley-oop or leave Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, or Klay Thompson open for an uncontested jumper? Good luck with that decision, France.
With Cousins, expect five-out play and a bevy of backdoor cuts and amazing one-on-one moves. (And if there's one thing the Team USA coaches can count on this summer, it's that their guys can beat the other guys one-on-one every day of the week.)
You won't see many — if any— passes to a posted up 4, pounding the rock on the floor before putting up a bunny hook. You're more likely to see Harrison Barnes — all 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds of him — playing center as the USA looks to push the pace.
The NBA has been trending towards this style for a decade and the tide is not subsiding. The revolution will finish its coup soon, but in the meantime, the opportunities to see pace-and-space on full display with elite NBA talent are rare.
So while we might be missing out on LeBron and Curry and another Dream Team, we are going to see something that should interest all basketball fans — the future of the NBA.
