Arenas Won't Risk His Season for America

Like it or not, USA Basketball ruined this NBA season. Watching Dwyane Wade limp through Heat/Bulls, you can't help but wonder if a summer off might have saved him (and his team). LeBron took half a season to get off the ground. Brad Miller was a non-entity. Oh, and if you didn't notice, Yao only became the league's best center when an injury gave him a much-needed summer break.

Enter Gilbert Arenas, voice of reason. Last year, the injured Amare Stoudemire tried to rush back for the glory of the flag. It's a testament to his physical freakishess that his comeback still went just fine. Arenas, on the mend from knee surgery, is taking no such chances. And is not doing with emphasis. From The Washington Times

"I'm just going to throw everything out the window until this leg is better, until I'm back to the point where I can move like I want to be able to move," said Arenas, who added that doctors have told him he should be 100 percent by Aug. 1. "I'm not going to jeopardize the 2007-08 season to play on the Olympic team."

Maybe there are commercials running now about the honor that is USA Basketball, and Colangelo has, in effect, said he doesn't want any half-assed participants. We'll see if, over the summer, more players don't think things over and end up betraying their country. Besides, no less an authority than Kevin Garnett has said that players need to look out for themselves.