According to ESPN, the United Stated Basketball committee has released its list of players who will be invited to training camp for the World Basketball Championships. The list includes the following players:

Carmelo Anthony, Denver
Gilbert Arenas, Washington
Shane Battier, Memphis
Chauncey Billups, Detroit
Chris Bosh, Toronto
Bruce Bowen, San Antonio
Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
Dwight Howard, Orlando
Josh Howard, Dallas
LeBron James, Cleveland
Antawn Jamison, Washington
Joe Johnson, Atlanta
Rashard Lewis, Seattle
Shawn Marion, Phoenix
Brad Miller, Sacramento
Chris Paul, NO/Okla. City
Paul Pierce, Boston
Michael Redd, Milwaukee
Luke Ridnour, Seattle
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix
Dwyane Wade, Miami

Noticeably absent from this list is Allen Iverson. Although I have been adamant about A.I.’s ball hogging and inability to lead a team to an NBA championship, I am surprised and disappointed by his  exclusion from the list for several reasons: 1) Many people on the list also don’t have the capacity to lead a team to the championship but are MUCH less talented 2) Iverson was one of the few dependable players and good citizens (as opposed to Lebron & Carmelo) on 2004’s team; 3) The NBA has benefited greatly from AI’s image and performance for the past ten years and owes him an opportunity to perform on an international stage and compete for a likely gold medal winner.

The reasons for his snubbing is anyone’s guess. I would imagine that officials would argue that this year’s team is not about individual talent (i.e. the Dream Team model) but collective potential, hence the number of role players (defensive stoppers and sharp shooters) like Bruce Bowen. I can buy this argument, but I find it hard to believe that A.I. ,who played as well as anyone in the 2004 games, is so incompatible with the new approach that he doesn’t even deserve a try-out!!!!!????? Would it be too much to just invite him to the workouts? Even Shaq, who refused to play last time (arguably the reason that we lost) and likely won’t play this time was offered a “standing invitation.” Some would say that they only wanted to invite legitimate candidates. Right. I’d bet dollars to donuts that no one really expects to see Luke Ridnour rocking an Olympic Olive Wreath. At the end of the day, this is an insult to one of the greatest players ever to wear an NBA uniform.