3 Spots Open For Dream Team

December 10, 1999 / 2:34 PM EST / CBS/AP

Officially, three spots remain up for grabs on the U.S. Olympic basketball team.

Unofficially, only two of them are open because one is earmarked for Grant Hill.

One of the open spots will go to a big man, but it won't be Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers' center said this week that he plans to spend his summer with his 3-year-old daughter rather than commit to a 42-day tour of duty with the latest incarnation of the Dream Team.

The USA Basketball selection committee plans to meet by conference call in early January to make the selections, and the tightest race appears to be in the backcourt at the shooting guard position.

Based on discussions with several members of the 11-man selection committee, the consensus is that the competition may have already been narrowed down to Ray Allen vs. Vince Carter.

"We're both top-class citizens and world-class athletes," Allen said. "I think I have a little more maturity than he does, but I really can't say who's the better player. With he or I, they'll get dynamite guys."

Allen's head-to-head matchup against Carter in Friday night's Bucks-Raptors game was going to be watched closely by NBA vice president Rod Thorn, the chairman of the selection committee.

Thorn has been lobbying to add another shooter ever since watching the team play in a qualifying tournament last summer in Puerto Rico.

Of the nine players already on the roster, Allan Houston and Steve Smith are the only shooting guards, although point guards Jason Kidd, Gary Payton and Tim Hardaway can all fill that spot.

Tim Duncan, Vin Baker, Kevin Garnett and Tom Gugliotta are the current big men.

"We've got three sports to go," Thorn said. "We need someone who can play center, somebody with all-around skills and a shooter. There are a lot of players who are awfully good who are still out there."

O'Neal would have filled the need at center, and his withdrawal

although not official opens up a spot for a true center like Alonzo Mourning.

"The guy I'd like to see, although he probably won't get it because he doesn't play for a high-profile enough team, is Antonio McDyess," said Duncan.

Hill, who withdrew from the Olympic qualifying team because the tournament conflicted with his wedding, would fit the bill for someone with all-around skills.

That leaves the 12th spot to a shooter, with the most talented candidates being Allen, Carter, Glen Rice, Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones and Allen Iverson.

"At some point, when you're talking about the caliber of the players on that team, you can get too carried away worrying about one position," said NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik, who also serves as president of USA Basketball. "The most important thing is finding guys that fit in well together. Certainly that's what we had in Puerto Rico, a great group that got along real well, and to me, at this point, that almost becomes THE key factor."

Said Thorn: "It's not just who's the best talent, it's who makes up the best team. We've got some great guys on the team now, and we'd like the other three to be those kinds of people."

That means that the last man picked will be expected to willingly accept a 12th-man role and the limited playing time that goes along with it.

That 12th-man mentality would seem to work against Bryant, who has been labeled a selfish player.

Iverson's personality and ego wouldn't seem to fit with the rest of the roster, and the strongest argument against Rice and Jones at this point is that both are shooting just a shade over 42 percent.

That leaves Allen and Carter, both of whom have played for USA Basketball teams before and would fit the profile of the team.

"Being a team player has been my person throughout my career," Allen said. "When you compete internationally, you represent you, your family, your team and the United States. With that comes a certain amount of humility that guys have to bring to Australia, and as long as I've played basketball that's what I've stood for."

Allen would seem to have an edge as the better pure shooter, while Carter would give the team an added measure of star power and flair an above-the-rim dimension that only Kevin Garnett currently provides.

In other words, Carter might make the team a little more TV friendly which is no small factor given USA Basketball's distaste at being virtually ignored by NBC during the Atlanta Olympics.

NBC will be televising the Sydney Olympics, with all the main network coverage appearing on tape-delay.

"The game of basketball should be the game of basketball, not making NBC happy," said Bucks coach George Karl, who feels Allen should get the nod over Carter by virtue of being in the league a couple years longer.

Carter knows that his best shot at the Olympic team might still be four years away, yet he yearns badly to make the team now.

"I pray about it all the time," he said.

Carter certainly hasn't hurt his case by averaging 31.3 points in recent weeks to lead the Raptors into first place in the Central Division heading into this weekend. Carter seems himself as a comparable player to Allen.

"He brings just about the same things, so it's tough. I guess who is playing better at that time," he said. "I just keep my fingers crossed every day."

As for Allen, he admits that Carter might make the Olympic team a more compelling team to peek in on.

"If Vince goes, I'll definitely watch and support him because I love watching him play," Allen said. "That is an issue because Vince brings a lot of flair to the game and everybody wants to see him dunk. That's what TV goes for these days."