LAS VEGAS -- No one can blame the Lakers' Kobe Bryant if he's having a serious case of "what could have been" playing for Team USA this summer.
From Jason Kidd (the point guard the Lakers did not trade for last season) to Michael Redd (the perimeter shooter the Lakers did not draft in 2000), Bryant has reminders everywhere.
But the biggest "what if" for Bryant is Team USA Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who flirted with the Lakers' coaching job before Rudy Tomjanovich was hired in 2004.
"I've been a big fan of his for a long time," Bryant said of Krzyzewski, who has averaged 26 wins a season in 27 years coaching at Duke and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
"I'm very excited about having the opportunity to play for him and to have a relationship with him. It's been everything that I thought it would be."
Only Krzyzewski, 60, knows how serious he was about making the jump to the Lakers but based on how he has been able to relate with the pro players on Team USA, the NBA would not be a problem.
With a roster that includes proven veterans such as Bryant, Kidd and Chauncey Billups along with young superstars such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, Krzyzewski has been able to get his team to bond by treating everyone like family.
"The first thing is communication, which he does very well because he likes to teach," Kidd said about Krzyzewski, who has won three national championships and led teams to 10 Final Fours.
"He makes things easy because he gives you what he wants to see out there, which makes it easy for a point guard. . . . I think he would do great in the NBA but we all know that he has a great gig at Duke."
But Krzyzewski understands that his legendary coaching status will not mean a thing if Team USA fails to reach the FIBA Americas Championship final and is forced to play in a world qualifying tournament to reach next year's Olympics.
"I'm proud that these guys have made this type of commitment," Krzyzewski said about Team USA players, who committed three years to work with the national program.
"Throughout the years, college and pro players have committed to play but not for this length of time and that's what makes this commitment so big. . . . But we felt that we needed that to start building something. In the past, we've always just showed up and played. This is different."
