We're talking about two different teams, obviously.

I've got a little something headed for Cheers & Jeers in tomorrow's print edition about JaVale McGee, who's omission from USA Basketball's 15-man roster for the FIBA World Championships wasn't exactly a surprise. But I did have to get my lone question on this afternoon's conference call with USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski about what their message was to the third-year Wizards center after he became a last-minute addition to the USA trials in Las Vegas following his solid showing in NBA summer league action.

"The entire staff has been very supportive and very encouraging to him because he's very raw, he's very young. He's still a babe in terms of the game is concerned, and he has a real future," said Colangelo. "So that's really how we left it with him, 'Keep working on your game and you may get a call sooner rather than later, we don't know.' We're playing it by ear, but he put in a good effort for us last week."

And so Team USA will stick to just two true centers, Tyson Chandler and Brook Lopez, while hoping that the rest of the big men are versatile (and that Kevin Durant shoulders a substantial load down low).

"We don't have big guys, I mean a lot of them. We have a lot of perimeter guys, and we're not going to pick someone up on a trade or anything like that. These are our guys, and we feel good about them," said Krzyzewski. "Maybe Durant and [Rudy] Gay will play a lot at the 4, which isn't bad. We had Carmelo [Anthony] and LeBron [James] play the 4 all the time, and [Chris] Bosh being our center for a lot of the Olympics when Dwight [Howard] wasn't in. So we're just trying to personalize the system to fit the strengths of this group, and we're going to have to rely on really good perimeter defense to make sure we don't get hurt inside."

The full 15-player roster: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

Meanwhile, multiple reports have Josh Howard agreeing to return to the Wizards next season and a much-reduced, incentive-based one-year salary of near $4 million. Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said a number of times last year, both before and after Howard blew out his knee, that he liked his toughness and feistiness, that Howard plays with a gritty edge to his game and plays like he wants to prove something. That makes him a good fit for what Washington is trying to achieve next season - not getting him locked in long-term is simply the way the Wizards now do business.

Of course, Howard still needs to get healthy. If he can get back on the court before the first game of the regular season, that would be a huge boost.

And if so, is the starting five complete? John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Howard, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. It feels like a .500 season and some fringe playoff contention, but that doesn't mean it won't be entertaining as heck.