Just as news that Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer won't make the cut of finalists for the 2012 USA Olympic men's basketball team -- along with fellow 2008 participants Michael Redd of the Suns, Pistons small forward Tayshaun Prince and future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd -- wasn't a shocker, it's no surprise that Derrick Rose did make the list.
Barring injury, the Bulls point guard and reigning league MVP is almost a lock to make the squad, but who else will join him?
Pencil in the likes of the back-to-back NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant of the Thunder, current Magic center Dwight Howard, Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony and the Heat duo of LeBron James and Chicago native Dwyane Wade.
The other half of the dozen-man roster is where it gets tricky, but if it's up to me -- based on their skill sets and the 19-man player pool, first reported by Chris Sheridan -- I'd go with Clippers floor general Chris Paul, his young teammate Blake Griffin, NBA rebounding champ Kevin Love of the Timberwolves, Hornets sharpshooter Eric Gordon and 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala.
The final two picks might seem like head-scratchers -- leaving off point guards Chauncey Billups, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams, forwards LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh and Lamar Odom, and center Tyson Chandler -- but if the goal is to win a gold medal, then role players and specialists like Gordon (shooting) and Iguodala (defense) are necessary, though it's hard to leave off veterans like Odom, Billups and Chandler, let alone young talents such as Westbrook and Aldridge.
However, evaluating the snubs on how they play for their NBA teams and present production -- Odom has started the season miserably after being traded to Dallas, Billups isn't getting any younger, Aldridge won't get the same touches he sees in Portland and the abilities of Westbrook, Chandler and Williams are relatively duplicated, if not surpassed, by Rose, Howard and Paul, respectively (Gordon is currently hurt and Iguodala has struggled, but they'd be specialists) -- it doesn't appear they'd make it a more complete team, though the value of chemistry can't be underestimated, helping the cases of 2010 World Championships veterans Odom, Chandler and Billups.
The final roster won't be set until after the NBA season concludes, so there's plenty of time for debate.
Who would be on your roster and what players should have been included in the group of finalists?