Seattle Supersonics guard Ray Allen says that USA Basketball should consider paying NBA players for playing in the Olympics.
"You're dealing with a different animal than the other sports," Allen said. "You've got people who are selling out buildings (venues) and if you want these particular (NBA) players there, how do you get them there?"
The USA team, consisting of NBA players, did poorly in 2004 for US standards, only finishing 3rd overall.
The argument from the other side is that players should just play for the honor of their country, but in the worlds #1 Capitalist nation, why should players not be compensated for their time, especially in an event that generates large amounts of revenue?
"Most athletes, they hunger for the Olympics every four years. They spend their lives wanting to get there and that's what they want to do.
"But we're different. We just finished an 82-game season and we want to chill out. People put so much pressure on NBA players, that you should be playing for your country, but you don't realize that many of us just want to do nothing in the summer."