We dont need Wade to win this year. There are plenty of other great players who are willing to play for their Country

These guys are playing on the international stage to represent their country. The purpose of the Olympic Games (in theory at least) is to put country against country. It is not explicitly intended to be a commercial enterprise in the same way that the NBA is.

That said, when playing for the United States national team, the entirety of the players’ travel, food, lodging, etc., is paid for by USA Basketball. The players are not asked to spend any money of their own and are not really foregoing other basketball/endorsement-related opportunities to earn income since the national team commitment is only, what, two months of the off-season? It doesn’t interfere with their regular NBA season and companies seeking star players for endorsement deals can surely wait until the Olympics end.

Next, on the topic of endorsements, playing for the national team at the Olympics gives all of the players incredible international visibility to prospective corporate sponsors. It’s like those high school kids playing in the McDonald’s All-American basketball game every year. You think that single game doesn’t do wonders for their national profile? At least a billion people are going to watch the Olympics, and men’s basketball is always a marquee event. Being on that stage is basically an audition for a thousand different international companies, all of whom could pick up the phone and say, “Hello, Mr. Wade. How would you like to endorse our product?”

The point is, playing for the Olympic team should be viewed as a privilege and an honor, not a business move. The 1992 Dream Team is a group of basketball immortals, with 11 of the 12 players (sorry, Laettner) ending up in the NBA Hall of Fame.

So, it shouldn’t be about the money. But for those selfish, money-grubbing individuals who really think the national team players are not fairly compensated, they are obviously not seeing the bigger picture. The international exposure has the potential to earn these players far more than the “measely” couple thousand dollars that NBA Basketball might be able to afford to pay them.

Oh? That was all your doing, was it Jerry? Looks like Wade isn’t the only self-interested snob a part of USA Basketball.

And cut the crap Dwyane. Everyone knows how you really feel now and tweeting some shallow follow-up about money being less important than playing for your country is an obviously lie. God, can someone in Miami’s PR department please put a lid on all the mouths of all the idiots on their basketball team? They can never seem to say anything that doesn’t make them look like out-of-touch, selfish, man-children.