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Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat star who made a reported $26.2 million in salary and endorsements last year, thinks NBA stars should be paid for playing in the Olympics.
He told ESPN.com's Michael Wallace:
"It's a lot of things you do for the Olympics -- a lot of jerseys you sell. We play the whole summer. I do think guys should be compensated. [...] Unfortunately, it's not there.
"The biggest thing is now you get no rest. So you go to the end of the season, (Team USA) training camp is two weeks later. You're giving up a lot to do it. It's something you want to do. But it's taxing on your body. You're not playing for the dollar. But it would be nice if you would get compensated."
The comments will draw a firestorm, especially from the "you play for the love of country" contingent. Some will point out that gold-medal winners from the US already get $25,000. Others will ask where the line would be drawn: If Wade got paid, what about Michael Phelps? Gymnasts? Weightlifters? He'll be asked about the comments all summer and will likely slightly retreat from his position in the face of international media scrutiny. There are issues on which to be firm and hold your ground. This won't be one of them.
[ Related: London Olympic officials worried about notorious British pranksters ]
To focus on those issues misses the bigger point: In essence, he is getting paid to play in the Olympics. Nike pays Wade a reported $12 million per year in endorsements. Nike also sponsors USA Basketball. Those jerseys Wade wants a cut from? They're made by Nike. You do the math.
Unlike American baseball and football players, basketball players are a global brand. The Olympics are their biggest platform. When Nike signs Wade to that contract, it's not just because he's an NBA star. It's because he'll be wearing that Nike swoosh while playing in a gold-medal game in front of hundreds of millions of viewers.
At least one of Wade's teammates disagrees. His Miami Heat and USA Basketball backcourt mate, LeBron James, a player nobody will ever accuse of public-relations prudence, said getting paid "doesn't matter" and that he's happy to be playing for his country.
Neither of them are wrong. The money shouldn't matter to millionaire athletes, but nobody, no matter how rich, should have to work for free. Dwyane Wade need only look at the big picture to realize that he's not.

Let's make one thing clear. This is not an affront on Kobe Bryant's skill set, which still places him among the sport's elite, even after 16 seasons in the NBA.

But for the first time in Kobe's career, one of the greatest players in basketball history seems content with simply being a member of the supporting cast on the U.S. Olympic team—a somewhat unexpected twist that has taken shape in multiple facets this summer.

Bryant, 33, stirred the pot earlier this month when he stated that the present version of Team USA could defeat the hallowed 1992 Olympic squad, affectionately known as the "Dream Team."

Bryant, the most accomplished member of the NBA's group of elder statesmen (Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, etc.), has reached the point in his career where he can say just about anything he wants and get away with it.

The man owns five rings, once scored 81 points in a single game, is the NBA's fifth all-time leader in points and has an Olympic gold medal, which he earned as a member of the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing. Bryant was the third-leading scorer on the '08 squad, averaging 15 points per game in eight contests.

But four years and two NBA title runs later, we're seeing Bryant adjust to a new role on Team USA. Surrounded by players who grew up watching him win championship rings with Shaquille O'Neal, the future Hall of Famer is simply a supplemental piece on a roster filled with young talent.

Sure, he still starts the game on the court. The greatest player of his era has earned that honor, and coach Mike Krzyzewski clearly agrees in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

"I really like Kobe a lot. He's easy to coach. He buys into everything. He'll do whatever he thinks he needs to do to bring about a championship. He's proven it, and he wants to prove it again. There are lot of people who prove it once and never want to do it again. He's uncommon. He wants to prove it over and over again. There is nothing bad about Kobe Bryant."

But with a bench brimming with superb subs with substantially less tread on their tires like Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala and James Harden, it's apparent that Bryant is a rotational player at this point. Only a few members of Team USA—LeBron James, Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and Durant—will be necessary pieces of nearly every rotation Coach K composes.

Bryant scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting in a 113-59 victory over the Dominican Republic last Thursday. Durant's 21 first-half points paved the way to a convincing opening win for the Americans.

On Monday evening in Washington D.C., it was LeBron James leading the team with 30 points in a 80-69 win. Bryant was practically an afterthought.

But that's OK.

Since Los Angeles jettisoned Shaq to the Miami Heat in 2004, Bryant has pulled the Lakers' sled through good times and bad. He absolutely had to be a primary scoring threat on the 2008 Olympic squad in order for that group to claim gold and become the "Redeem Team."

Now, in 2012, we're seeing a different kind of Kobe. He's grinning more, talking smack with his idol Michael Jordan and he's taking fewer shots.

It's as if, overnight, the decisive superstar has embarked on his swan song. Earlier on Monday, Bryant told Yahoo! Sports reporter Graham Bensinger that he's considering retirement when his current contract with Los Angeles expires after the 2013-14 season.

“I’ve been playing for 17 years now — next year will be my 17th, and when I’m (age) 35 it will be my 18th (year) in the league,” Bryant explained. “That’s a long time to be playing. You know, it will be the last year of my contract and I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll be playing any longer than that.”

At this point, it appears Bryant's sole ambition is matching Jordan with six NBA championships. Like it or not, for countless young NBA fans who are too young to remember Jordan's greatness, Kobe is essentially MJ in their eyes.

We all recall the tagline of Nike’s global marketing campaign that made Air Jordan sneakers an unbelievably hyped commodity for the better part of two decades. “Be Like Mike” reached just about every corner of the world. Billboards from Tokyo to Tallahassee featuring Jordan’s ever-ascending silhouette gave athletes something to reach for.

He often challenged the limits of gravity and was once described as “God disguised as Michael Jordan” by legend Larry Bird (via NBA.com). Perhaps, most importantly, MJ saved Earth from likely destruction when he teamed up with Bugs Bunny and Newman from Seinfeld to defeat an evil alien race in a hotly contested pick-up basketball game.

While the rest of us who grew up in the '90s did all we could to be like Mike, a basketball prodigy living in Philadelphia’s Main Line district embarked on a hoops odyssey that would become an unspoken obsession of dethroning Jordan and all others who stood between him and the title of the single greatest player to ever grace a basketball court.

That thrilling youngster became simply known as Kobe and is now an aging superstar with a championship ring for each finger on his right hand and a focus on accomplishing a seemingly impossible task—be better than Mike.

That still appears to be Bryant's main focus, especially in the midst of his humorous ego-driven spat with Jordan over "Dream Team" comparisons. But perhaps, he's done pressing so hard to prove his worth.

Bryant looks almost relieved to play the role of "just another guy" during Team USA's 2012 Olympic run, as he suddenly sees the end of his playing career creeping closer on the horizon. Throw in the fact that Steve Nash is now a Laker and it becomes apparent that Kobe is ready and willing to relinquish ball-handling duties in order to increase his chances of tasting ultimate victory a few more times.

Before he chases another NBA championship, Bryant will play his part—perhaps one smaller than we're accustomed to—on Team USA this summer. As Kobe slides into his newfound "veteran presence" role, let's be sure to enjoy his adaptability and acceptance of the age-old truth in athletics.

No one can be king of the mountain forever.

How many future Hall of Fame Basketball Players are there on the 2012 Men’s Olympic Team?
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When comparing the 1992 Dream Team versus the 2012 USA Men’s Olympic Basketball team, one of the points that people make is that there were 11 Hall of Famers on 1992 Olympic Team.  Therefore, people think that there is no way that the 2012 Men’s Olympic Basketball Team could compete with the 1992 Dream Team.
However, there are plenty of potential Hall of Famers on the 2012 USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.
First, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are locks to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.  If LeBron and Kobe were to never play another basketball game, they would still both be in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Barring injury, Kevin Durant is a virtual lock to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Kevin Durant is George Gervin, except that Kevin Durant is even taller and therefore even a little better than The Iceman.  And George Gervin is in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Now, let’s look at the point guards for the 2012 Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.  Chris Paul and Deron Williams are halfway to having Hall of Fame Careers.  Again barring injury, I would expect Chris Paul and Deron Williams to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Carmelo Anthony is a scoring machine.  Carmelo Anthony is going to retire with Hall of Fame numbers and therefore Carmelo Anthony should make the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Also, since the Basketball Hall of Fame is not just for NBA accomplishments, Carmelo Anthony’s NCAA title at Syracuse only furthers his case.
Kevin Love has an incredible combination of being a great outside shooter and a great rebounder.  While Kevin Love has long way to go, if he can play at the level he is playing now for enough years, Kevin Love will make the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Russell Westbrook is an incredible athlete and only 23 years old.  Russell Westbrook was named second team All-NBA with the guy in front of him, Chris Paul, a likely Hall of Famer.  Russell Westbrook has gotten better each year and his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, made it to the NBA Finals.  While Russell Westbrook has a long way to go, barring injury, Russell Westbrook seems headed for a Hall of Fame Career.
The rest of the 2012 Men’s USA Olympic Basketball team consists of Andre Iguodala, Tyson Chandler, James Harden, and Anthony Davis.
Andre Iguodala and Tyson Chandler are both excellent role players for the 2012 USA Men’s Basketball Team, however, they are not going to make the Hall of Fame.
James Harden is a very good young player.  If the Oklahoma City Thunder win a few Championships, I think it is possible that James Harden could be a Hall of Fame player.  However, right now, I do not project James Harden to make the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Anthony Davis is a rookie who was the first pick in the draft.  Most people project Andre Davis as a Hall of Fame player, however, it is way to early to tell.
So in looking at the 2012 Men’s USA National Team for the Olympics, I project that there will be at least 8 Basketball Hall of Fame players on this team.
In basketball, there are only 5 guys on a court.  In a 40 minute game, a team probably only needs to go 7 or 8 men deep.  Therefore, I do not  think that the fact the 1992 Dream Team has more Hall of Famers on its roster as compared to the 2012 Men’s Olympic Basketball Team would be that important if they were to play head to head.  I suspect that they both could beat each other and if they played each other a number of times, the series would be pretty close.