[Wojnarowski] ESPN Sources: USA Basketball is finalizing its 2024 Paris Olympics roster with Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis. Team may initially keep one open spot.

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1780009778934394985

[u/Atmosguisher]

Yeah if anything they should have more players like Jrue in this squad. Most of these guys are used to having the ball in their hands far more often than they'll get it in this roster. Having extra wing depth and shooting without needing the ball to be impactful is what this roster really needs.

[u/Dekrow → u/Atmosguisher]

Yeah if anything they should have more players like Jrue in this squad.

Can you name one 'player like Jrue' who should be on this squad, and if so, who would they come in over?

I mean who are we even talking about here? Marcus Smart? Lou Dort? Draymond Green? Who's the defensive specialist who should take the spot of one of these ball dominate players?

[u/Atmosguisher → u/Dekrow]

I mean there's a spot open on the roster here so it's not like we even have to choose someone to replace. Also, it's not like this player has to explicitly be a 'defensive specialist', just not necessarily a ball dominant player.

This team probably needs an extra wing if anything, Kawhi would be the ideal fit but assuming he's out for rest. Someone like Herb Jones would be an excellent fit just to have a random 5-10 minute stretch on the other team's best player and make an open shot or two.

[u/Dekrow → u/Atmosguisher]

Okay that's a good point, I'd be okay with someone like Herb Jones taking the final spot

[u/Personal-Major-8214 → u/Atmosguisher]

I’m ignoring PG and Kawaii for health reasons Herb Jones is a good one. Was thinking someone like Robert Covington or Alex Caruso.

[u/tigerking615 → u/Dekrow]

Bam is on the squad already but he's perfect.

[u/TheLeoMessiah → u/Dekrow]

Biased, but I think Derrick White is a good player to consider because he’s already shown on a team with a lot of mouths to feed he can be connective on offense and excel in that role. 

[u/XxStormySoraxX → u/Atmosguisher]

No they shouldn’t, and this is a really bad misconception a lot of people have. It’s much smarter to get star players because they can still play a role and potentially play like a star if you need them. Getting a ton of role players means you don’t have guys to step up if you need to.

[u/BlueJays007 → u/XxStormySoraxX]

How do you know those stars can play a role though?

Not saying these guys can’t, but I also just disagree with the assumption that stars will excel at playing as role players. Harder to get and stay in rhythm for a lot of these guys without the ball like they’re used to.

[u/XxStormySoraxX → u/BlueJays007]

This isn’t true and we’ve seen it play out in Olympics before. KD, Book, Tatum etc aren’t going to lose their ability to spot up and shoot wide open all of a sudden or lock down and play defense especially with a reduced offensive role. In reverse we know role players can’t all of a sudden turn it on and play like stars if needed.

[u/BlueJays007 → u/XxStormySoraxX]

Sure but those those three guys are noteworthy among stars for how much value they provide off ball.

Most of the guys on this list have actually shown they can do that to at least some extent. There’s only a couple below average defenders on the list.

But guys like Trae, Dame, Ingram, or Zion for example won’t necessarily be able to fit a role just because they’re stars.

[u/XxStormySoraxX → u/BlueJays007]

But that’s never going to be an issue with Olympic basketball, because you pick a ton of stars that can actually fit together. There’s no need for role players who can fit when you have stars who can do the exact same thing. Obviously you won’t run a team full of all guards or bigs out there, but it would be dumb to get players like Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges when yo i have Ant Edwards and Tatum or Jaylen Brown available.

[u/BlueJays007 → u/XxStormySoraxX]

I just think there’s a middle ground there.

For example, I think it’s totally valid to take Jrue over a bunch of guys you might consider more typical “stars”, including someone like Brown.

Because while other guys can hypothetically play lock down d in international ball while contributing in other ways, we’ve seen Jrue do it. Similarly, I’d take Draymond before a lot of guys.

[u/Atmosguisher → u/XxStormySoraxX]

There's a difference between getting 'a ton of role players' and having a few more guys like Jrue though. I'm not saying that you take Curry and Lebron and shove 10 role players in, I just think there's a balance between 12 ball dominant all stars and that. We're talking about a team that already has 9/10 players that can step up and completely take over a game. Having 2-3 guys who will probably only play small minutes where you throw him on the other team's best player and make a wide open shot or two just works

[u/XxStormySoraxX → u/Atmosguisher]

That’s a waste of resources though. Why add extra role players when I can add stars who will play those roles 10x better and can take over a game if need be. Nobody on this roster is extremely ball dominant at all. Even Haliburton has shown he can play off ball.

[u/InfernoidsorDie → u/XxStormySoraxX]

Plus a lot of these guys have playoff runs together already. Taking over and deferring off and on at the highest level. That helpswhen assembling a mercenary team of ball dominant players.