Aldridge and Oden Need to Accept those Team USA Invititations

As Sports Illustrated reported over a week ago, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden will be invited this summer to compete for spots on the 2010 Team USA roster that will play in the World Championships in Turkey. An invitation to Team USA should not be taken lightly by these 2 players and should be considered a mandatory event if you are the Blazers front office and coaching staff. Sure, Brandon Roy was also reportedly invited, but the last thing we need is his body not getting enough rest after that grueling season. LA and Oden on the other hand, need the work.

Some of the biggest names in the NBA including LeBron, Wade, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all became “elite” once they took to the biggest basketball stage on the planet. Obviously we all knew these players would turn out to be hall of famers, but once they lived, learned and grew together over the few summers leading up to the Olympics we saw an almost overnight or exponential change.

When you play with greatness, you are forced to be “great” and the best thing for Aldridge and Oden at this point in their young careers, is to play with the best players on the planet. Grinding. Hating. Loving. Improving. Hurting. While many of the players from the 2008 team pass the torch to the new wave of talent, this is the opportunity as Blazers fans, you should be begging your players to grasp.

And on a final note...Brandon, just stay home and relax, you deserve it.

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