The 2016 Summer Olympics may be four full years away, but with London's games behind us, it's not too early to start looking ahead to Rio de Janeiro. NBA players are expected to maintain Olympic eligibility at least through 2016, so Tom Zeller of SBNation.com provides an early preview of what Team USA's roster might look like in Brazil. Zeller predicts we could see five new faces on 2016's squad, including plenty of players who missed the London games due to injuries: Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kyrie Irving.
Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says there's "no validity" to the Derrick Williams-to-the-Cavs whispers we heard over the weekend (Twitter link).
- What are the expectations for the newly-tattooed Jason Terry in Boston? Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com weighs in and passes along input from a few other Celtics scribes.
- New Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts intends to take his time in hiring four assistant coaches in addition to Kaleb Canales, tweets Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.
- Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register doesn't think the Lakers or their fans have to worry about Dwight Howard's health or role in Los Angeles.