NBA News Flash: Competing All Summer Is a Drag

Last week in an epic live-blog from which the world may never recover, MJD and myself joked about the perils of the preseason trip. You know, Suns started slow because they went to France, Sonics are terrible because they went to Japan three years ago, whatever.

But what is absolutely no joke is that this USA Basketball stuff is horrible for the NBA. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

After nearly a month training together under the auspices of USA Basketball last summer and weeks of touring the Orient for exhibitions, Wade, James and the rest of the national team spent almost three weeks at the World Championships in Japan. A month later, they were back at training camp, ready to begin the 82-game NBA grind. And they'll be invited back to do it again this summer. And the summer after, for the 2008 Beijing Games.

Hey NBA, remember Yao Ming? That half-dominant big man who emerged as Shaq's rightful heir once he got a summer off? Have you read Mutoni's post on the dwindling worth of the Finals? Wade says he "wasn't as explosive as I want to be at times early this season, as quick as I want to be at times," and he's not the only one:

Already this season, NBA observers have noticed a sluggishness in the play of 2006 national team members Elton Brand of the Clippers and Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls. Kings center Brad Miller is in the throes of such a miserable, injury-plagued season that he already has asked out of this summer's commitment.

Of course, all that matters is international competition. Some NBA team will win the Finals, but what good will that do for the league's image? Certainly, Jerry Colangelo isn't buying these concerns:

"I know, for sure, that these guys would be playing one way or the other. They're actually better off in a structured situation."

Plus, if USA Basketball takes its inspiration from our men and women in uniform, and they can be deployed year-round with no break, then certainly these spoiled millionaires can deal with it. These players need to get over themselves.