Hoops Rumors Originals

After months of worries about the elite talent that was skipping the Summer Olympics, followed by concerns over a few close games, Team USA will leave Rio de Janeiro as the undisputed king of the basketball world.

The Americans re-established their dominance this afternoon with a 96-66 battering of Serbia in the gold medal game. It was a statement victory for the U.S. squad, which had eked out a three-point win over the Serbians earlier in the tournament when a last-second shot bounced off the rim.

Team USA won without LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis, who skipped the Games because of a combination of injuries, desire for rest and other unstated reasons. But this was no “B team” that represented the United States in Rio. All-Stars abounded on an American squad that was challenged at times, but never seemed destined to walk away with anything less than gold.

After the lopsided victory in the final game, USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo issued a challenge to the rest of the world, relays Sam Amick of USA Today.

“I’m all for raising the bar for global basketball,” he said. “The more interest in basketball on all levels, I’m for. I’m a lifer in the game. I love the game. Basketball is the No. 2 sport in the world, [but] we just need to see these other countries get their acts together and become more competitive.

“I’d love to see that. Everyone would love to see that. I’m not going to be making excuses for anyone about our [dominance]. Someone said to me [after the game], one of the officials said to me, ‘You know next time you play, you ought to play with four.’ And I said, ‘No, maybe the other teams better get their act together and compete.’”

Those are strong words, and the Americans will need a strong team to back them up, which brings us to tonight’s question: Which 12 players will represent the United States at the 2020 Games in Tokyo? After four Olympic appearances, Carmelo Anthony is out, announcing his retirement from the international game today. James said this week that he was having regrets about not playing, so he may be back in four years at age 35. The rest of this year’s team is relatively young and all may want to return in 2020, but others who skipped this time may want a shot and some younger players may be in the mix by then.

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

The words “super team” are normally directed at the Cavaliers, Warriors or Spurs. However, Derrick Rose thinks the Knicks also deserve that designation.

Rose, who was traded from Chicago to New York in June, not only made the statement, but recently backed it up when he was given the chance to reconsider. “I feel like if you’re in any team in the NBA — it don’t have to be the NBA, it could be the college level, high school level — you should believe in yourself and have the confidence in yourself that you’re playing on a super team anywhere,” Rose said. “So I have a lot of confidence, and I’m not taking that back.”

So maybe Rose’s statement was more about confidence building than an actual assessment. But the Knicks do have a lot of talent for a team that won just 32 games last season:

• Start with Rose, who was the league MVP in 2011 and was a three-time All-Star before tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. He appeared in 66 games last season, which was the most since the injury.
• Joakim Noah, who signed with New York as a free agent, is a two-time All-Star and has been a productive center throughout his nine-year career. He finished fourth in the MVP voting for the 2013/14 season.
• Carmelo Anthony is an 11-time All-Star and was the league’s scoring champion in 2012/13. Even at age 32, he remains one of the league’s most dangerous offensive threats.
• Kristaps Porzingis appears headed for stardom after a meteoric start to his NBA career. The 7’3″ Latvian was a unanimous choice for NBA All-Rookie first team honors and was runner-up in the balloting for Rookie of the Year.

That may not be a super team, but it’s certainly the core of a much improved team that may reach the playoffs. Throw in new additions Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings and a new coach in Jeff Hornacek, and the Knicks could be ready for a major jump in the standings.

That brings us to tonight’s question: How good will the Knicks be in 2016/17 and is there any validity to Rose’s “super team” comments? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

The Pistons took a low-key approach to the offseason. Content with the young pieces assembled over the past two seasons, head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy opted to improve his bench.

Detroit did pursue one top-level free agent, Al Horford, but quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. So, Van Gundy made some under-the-radar signings, essentially splitting up the salary-cap room available to ink three reserves — point guard Ish Smith, power forward Jon Leuer and center Boban Marjanovic.

Smith should be a major upgrade as the backup to Reggie Jackson. The Pistons had aging Steve Blake at that spot during the second half of last season. Leuer is also expected to play a major role and gives the club more versatility up front compared to the player he’s replacing, Anthony Tolliver.

Van Gundy is banking on improvements from within as his young core grows together. Jackson just finished his first season as a full-time starter. Combo forward Tobias Harris, acquired at the trade deadline, will now have a full season to blend in with the starting unit.

The Pistons are also expecting big things from second-year swingman Stanley Johnson, who jumped right into the rotation as a rookie and flashed some star potential.

The whole roster revolves around center Andre Drummond, who led the league in rebounding despite free throw shooting woes that often kept him on the bench during crunch time.

The Pistons will have very little cap space next summer unless they dump some salary, so the players on the current roster need to build on the franchise’s first playoff appearance in seven seasons.

This leads us to our question of the day: Did the Pistons do enough this offseason to become serious contenders in the Eastern Conference?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.