The NBA's U.S. Soccer Team

My brother has been over in Malaysia for the last five months.  This has made communicating with him relatively difficult.  With a 13 hour time difference, there aren't many times during the day that we can actually get a chance to have a conversation.  Instead of talking, our communication has turned into random text messages and emails.  I have woke up to random text messages about an albino Chinese men and Indian men with mullets and mustaches.  I have woke up to emails discussing fantasy football trades and birthday presents, but this Saturday I received his most interesting email yet.

After thinking about which sport has the best athletes, my brother decided to assemble a soccer lineup consisting of American-born NBA players.  He also functioned according to the following assumptions:

• They [American-born NBA players] grew up playing soccer.
• It's similar to Europe in that the best players are all going to be pushed towards striker/offensive midfield early in their career (i.e. obviously someone like Russell Westbrook would be a great defenseman, but he's gonna be a striker because of his overall skill level)
• There seems to be a natural disadvantage in soccer once you hit the height of about 6'6", so you have to be a freak to be considered for the squad if you're over 6'6" (aka Lebron - so the lineup is mostly guards).

He then asked me to forward the email to my soccer-loving friend Troy Luengen.  Each of them wrote out detailed responses that I don't really feel like including, but here are their lineups.

Doug decided on a 4-4-1-1 formation.  His lineup seems relatively well-composed and smart.  I think his biggest mistake comes in the form of Steve Blake at right back.  I know he believed that it was absolutely necessary to have a white guy in the starting lineup and I have to agree with his sentiment.  It's a necessity, but I feel like you can find a better player to fill that role.

Troy decided on a 4-4-3.  His lineup is clearly illegal.  Troy decided to put both Steve Nash (Canada/South Africa) and Jose Calderon (Spain) in the lineup.  I blame these foreign inclusions on Troy's illiteracy, but looking past this clear violation, he put together a pretty good lineup.  Also, reading his breakdown was one of the highlights of my today because it was clear he spent a long time studying NBA stats.  I have to give him credit for completing the exercise even though he knows almost nothing about the NBA.

Finally, here is my lineup:

Goalkeeper: Kevin Love. This fulfills my white guy requirement as well as giving me someone in goal who has incredible instincts and intelligence. No one in the league understands the direction a ball will go in better than K-Love. Also has tremendous hands and as the best outlet passer in the league, he would be unbelievable in distribution. He'd be starting counters right and left.

Defenders: Eric Gordon. He will be in the center of my defense. At 6'3" and 220 lbs, he's a brickhouse that can push strikers off the ball. Little bit of pitbull in him. He's not getting outmuscled in the box. On one side of Gordon, Tony Allen. You guys have already laid out everything you need to know about him. With his strength and quickness, no reason he shouldn't be a top-flight back. On the other side of Gordon, Andre Igoudala. He showed this summer that he's willing to sacrifice for the greater good. He'd be a lockdown defender. And his leaping ability would help him keep teams from cross anything into the box.

Defensive Midfielders: Rajon Rondo. Rondo is the black Michael Bradley. They are both 6'1" and around 180 lbs. Rondo would be about the same player as Bradley. Strong enough to help in defending as a CDM, but would also be the player that starts a majority of the team's forward movement. He has shown in the NBA that he would rather distribute than finish. Not sure there is a better fit for a basketball player in soccer. Deron Williams. Essentially the same argument except he's a little bit thicker than Rondo. Would be able to throw his body around and make some tackles as well as obviously distributing the ball.

Wingers: Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. This seems like a no brainer as well for me. The NBA's two most dynamic playmakers out on each wing attacking. They both have tremendous pace. They both are elite athletes. They both are very creative with the ball. They just seem like the perfect fit to cross ball after ball into the box for my two strikers.

Central Attacking Midfielder: Chris Paul. The NBA's best point guard will be the focus of my attack. He sees the floor better than anyone so he should see the field better than anyone as well. Also, since he is so unselfish he will be able to feed the ball to my strikers without feeling the need to take any shots.

Strikers: Lebron James. As Troy has already mentioned, he has NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. And as Doug has already mentioned, he's a freak. Fastest kid alive.James Harden. This was my absolute hardest decision for my entire squad. I needed someone that could really score, but also wouldn't have a problem deferring to Lebron when he decided to take over. I thought long and hard about having Kobe in this position, but I worried he may start taking too many shots to keep the attention on him. Harden is perfect because he is a creative finisher, but he also knows when to pick his spots. When he needs to be aggressive, he can do that and when he needs to lay back and let Lebron dominate, he can do that too.

I really wanted to put Kevin Durant and Metta World Peace on the squad, but I just couldn't figure out a way to put either of them on the pitch. MWP is just too big. He wouldn't be quick enough to keep up with world-class soccer players. And KD is just too lanky. I can't think of a soccer player of his size being successful. Just wouldn't work.

This was a lot of fun.  I want to thank my brother for coming up with such a randomly awesome idea.