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USA struggles;

NBA doing just fine

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Clippers, Olowokandi to decide future this week | Jazz balk at sign-and-trade for Russell

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NBA Free Agent Watch

INDIANAPOLIS - Team USA may no longer be the dominant force in world basketball, but NBA players still are.

That's exactly why NBA commissioner David Stern didn't break a sweat at an impromptu press conference Sunday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"From an NBA perspective we see a lot of NBA players doing very well here," Stern told Insider. "Basketball is increasingly becoming a global game. It will only make the NBA stronger."

Two NBA players — Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic — and two soon-to-be NBA players — Yao Ming and Emmanuel Ginobili — were named to the World Basketball Championship All Tournament Team Sunday. New Zealand's Pero Cameron was the only player not affiliated with the NBA to sneak onto the team.

The NBA's best — Nowitzki, Stojakovic, Paul Pierce and Pau Gasol — were all in the top 10 in scoring. Andre Miller and Baron Davis both finished in the top 10 in assists and Jermaine O'Neal and Ben Wallace both ranked in the top 10 in blocked shots.

Nowitzki had the most impressive tournament of any individual here. His 24 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 92 percent free-throw shooting (including a 29-point, nine-rebound performance Sunday versus New Zealand) helped him single handedly propel Germany to a bronze medal.

Pierce was Teams USA's leading scorer and the fifth-leading scorer overall in the tournament with 19.8 ppg. Pierce also shot an impressive 49.3 percent from beyond the three-point line in the tournament. What's more extraordinary is that he took a whopping 67 attempts in nine games. That ought to make Antoine Walker proud.

Gasol was the main reason Spain performed at a high level. He averaged 19.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, and 2.2 bpg while shooting 59 percent from the field. Stojakovic led a balanced scoring attack for Yugoslavia with 18.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg.

Several other soon-to-be NBA players also shined at the World Championships.

Yao Ming, who will join the Rockets this fall, ranked third in scoring at the tournament with an average of 21 ppg. He ranked first in field goal percentage, shooting an amazing 75 percent from the field, third in rebounding with 9.3 rpg, and first in blocked shots averaging 2.3 per game.

Argentina's Ginobili also turned the heads of just about everyone in the NBA with his quick slashing and heady play. Ginobili averaged 15.9 ppg on 50 percent shooting. He also ranked seventh in assists, averaging four per game and third in steals with 2.4 per contest. No wonder Spurs coach Gregg Popovich found a reason to smile despite Team USA's demise.

The Pistons' newest power forward, Turkey's Mehmet Okur, also impressed NBA brass. Okur led Turkey in scoring with 17 ppg on 54 percent shooting from the field. He also averaged 6.6 rpg and shot 48 percent from behind the three-point line. He outplayed teammate Hedo Turkoglu in most aspects of the game.

Yugoslavia point guard Marko Jaric has the Clippers salivating. Jaric's 9.1 ppg and 3 apg don't jump out at you, but he's a classic pass-first point guard who has spent most of his time running Yugoslavia's complicated offense. His toughness, both physically and mentally, helped put Yugoslavia over the top against the U.S. when he hit four clutch free throws and made two big defensive stops in the last two minutes of Team Yugo's big win. He's also shooting a scorching 52 percent from beyond the arc.

Soon to be Pistons point guard Pepe Sanchez ranked seventh in assists in the tournament.

While Stern said he still regards the NBA Champion Lakers as the best team in the world, he thought it would be an undo burden to send the NBA champion to events like these. Instead, Stern said he thinks USA basketball will have to spend more time preparing players willing to participate. Stern noted that the NBA season ends in mid June but Team USA didn't start to practice until mid August.

"I think more preparation is now required," Stern said. "Before we could just put together a team and do it. Things have changed."

When asked whether the NBA would consider adopting FIBA rules as a way to prepare NBA players for international competition, Stern said some sharing has already taken place. "We've looked at trading rules. But I think it's going in the other direction."

Stern noted that the NBA had changed its illegal defense guidelines to conform with international play, but said the adoption of the 24-second clock by FIBA was evidence that the international rules and NBA rules are coming closer together.

In the end, Stern seemed to think that Team USA's demise may teach NBA players and teams a valuable lesson.

"Maybe we've learned something from watching the world play the game the way we used to play it."

USA Basketball pondering options

Chad Ford / ESPN.com

World Championships fiasco has U.S. seeking remedies

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Final produced drama rest of tournament lacked

Chad Ford / ESPN.com

Yugoslavians feel right at home

Tom Enlund / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Yugoslavian celebration, U.S. consternation

Ailene Voisin / Sacramento Bee

Clippers, Olowokandi to decide future this week

Now that the World Championships are out of the way, expect the NBA to get back to business as usual on the free-agent front.

Michael Olowokandi, Rashard Lewis, Bonzi Wells, Michael Redd and Wang Zhizhi are the biggest names left out there. All five should make some progress this week with training camps just three weeks away.

Olowokandi's agent, Bill Duffy, said that he's planning a meeting this week with Clippers brass in an effort to force the issue. The Clippers, as expected, have been dragging their feet all summer in response to Duffy's demands for a contract that at a very minimum resembles Mike Bibby's seven-year, $80 million pact with the Kings. If someone doesn't move this week, expect Duffy to make good on his threat to take the Clippers' one-year, $6 million qualifying offer.

Think he's bluffing? Rasho Nesterovic, another Duffy client, reportedly accepted the T-Wolves' one-year tender offer for $2.6 million this weekend. That means both players would become unrestricted free agents next summer.

Wells and Redd are in similar situations. Unable to find a team willing to give them an offer sheet, they are stuck. Wells is looking for a starting salary between $5.5 and $6 million a year. The Blazers are offering one in the $4 million range. According to one league source, the Blazers are afraid of fan backlash if they sign Wells for too much. Wells offended fans last year when he took a shot at them in a Sports Illustrated article.

"They really don't matter to us. They can boo us every day, but they're still going to ask for our autographs if they can see us on the street. That's why they're fans, and we're NBA players." Those comments are costing him big time at the moment.

Wells' agent, Bill Strickland, in particular has been working hard in an effort to work out a sign-and-trade. It appears that the Pistons are out of the mix, really leaving just a few teams; the T-Wolves and Wizards are the most prominent still interested.

Redd is looking for the full $4.5 mid-level exception. The Bucks would be willing to match that offer, should he get it from another team. But in the absence of an offer sheet, their offer is substantially lower at the moment.

Lewis is still in Houston pondering his fate. League sources told Insider that neither the Sonics or Mavs have heard much from him the last few weeks. His agent, Carl Poston, has also been working the phones in an effort to find a sign-and-trade that suits the Sonics, but he hasn't had much luck. If Poston can't work a trade, the choices are pretty clear. Take the Mavs' or Rockets' $4.5 million exception or re-sign with the Sonics for seven years, $60 million.

Wang is still in the stickiest situation. While his agent, Simon Chen, is telling teams that the Mavs won't match an offer for the restricted free agent from China, Dallas has been sending mixed signals. Without an offer sheet in hand, however, the Mavs aren't tipping their hand.

Jazz balk at sign-and-trade for Russell

Free-agent swingman Bryon Russell is running out of options. The Jazz have rejected a multi-player sign-and-trade proposal that would have sent veteran center Greg Ostertag and Russell to the Wizards for Christian Laettner, veteran point guard Chris Whitney and perhaps one other player to Utah, the Deseret News reported.

Despite the decision by Jazz officials not to pull the trigger on the sign-and-trade, Russell may still wind up in Washington. "We'll probably just sign a short-term deal with a team he fits with, then, mostly likely, he'll become a free agent next summer, when more money is available," Russell's agent, Dwight Manley, told the Deseret News. "Definitely next week we'll have it all figured out." Asked if that team would be the Wizards, Manley said "they're the leading candidate on a short list."

The team also said it's still looking for one or two backup point guards to help John Stockton out now that it looks like Raul Lopez may miss the season. Expect one of them to be veteran John Crotty. As for the other, what about Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo?

"My agent told me . . . we have had some talk, some communication [with Utah]," Arroyo told the Deseret News. The Jazz plan to bring Arroyo to Salt Lake for a visit later this week and are considering offering him a one-year contract.

Arroyo said other possibilities include Indiana, Cleveland and perhaps Miami or Orlando. "It depends on which team comes up with the best offer," said Arroyo, who hopes to be offered at least one guaranteed deal somewhere.

Jazz nix Russell-Ostertag trade to Wizards

Tim Buckley / Deseret News

Jazz show an interest in Puerto Rico's Arroyo

Tim Buckley / Deseret News