LAS VEGAS -- It's a brutally hot August afternoon, and Gregg Popovich is running back and forth between Mike Krzyzewski, Jeff Van Gundy, Steve Kerr and Jay Wright, among others. They're comparing notes as Popovich's Team USA players go through scrimmages.
In the bleachers, a few dozen of his coaching peers, league executives and some scouts put in face time. They're keeping an eye on the action, but their minds also are occupied by questions about when would be the appropriate time to fly home, because it's finally vacation season for almost everyone in the sport.
The players, many of them at least the third choice for their roster spot, are facing a preposterous task of having to force themselves to come together in an environment in which they might only be remembered if they lose.