Jerry Colangelo is a forward thinker, so don't expect that he wakes up kissing his gold medal and resting easy on past accomplishments.

It's quite the opposite, in fact.

The architect of the Redeem Team that won it all at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is gearing up for Phase 2 of his patriotic endeavor: this summer's FIBA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey.

"The way I see it, we've only done half our job," the national director of USA Basketball said last week by phone from Toronto. "We won the gold medal, (but) the rest of the world puts great emphasis on the World Championship – in many countries even more so than the Olympics. We need to go to the World Championship and finish the other part of our job."

The first part has been well-chronicled, most recently in the superbly executed Dan Bickley book, "Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and The Redeem Team."

After the 2004 debacle in which Team USA took bronze and was officially unseated as the global basketball power, the Arizona Republic columnist tells the story of Colangelo restoring the pride in the national program.

Bickley brilliantly captures the significance of the path back to prominence, how the NBA stars of Team USA entered with a newfound respect for the international game and exited champions. Colangelo committed to the team-first approach that was seemingly lost in recent years.

Colangelo's next charge comes with a whole new set of challenges. While he has received verbal agreements from the team's eight-man core, three of those players – Cleveland's LeBron James, Toronto's Chris Bosh and Miami's Dwyane Wade – will have to resolve their own free agency future before training with Team USA this summer. Free agency begins July 1, and the team's mini-camp in Las Vegas is scheduled for mid-July.

"We're going to announce just before the All-Star Game (in Dallas in mid-February) a roster of 25 to 26 players for our national team roster," Colangelo said. "But nothing else takes place until the end of our NBA season and college season. And as we prepare a roster for our mini-camp the third week in July, we'll know where some of the free agents stand. If all of them (James, Bosh and Wade) are still free agents, they still need to be at camp – even if they are not participating.

"By the time we reconvene after that four-day workout session, it won't be until Aug. 10 (until they meet again for a subsequent training camp). It would seem to me that six weeks after free agency goes into effect, most of these guys will have their business taken care of."

Yet Wade has expressed some hesitance to take part at all. What's more, a recent ESPN report cited "Team USA insiders" saying there are concerns that other members of the core (James, Bosh, Wade, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) may go back on their verbal agreements. Colangelo said that wasn't the case.

"Quite honestly, I saw that (story) and I don't know if it was a misprint or whatever," he said. "I understand how Dwyane is feeling, but I haven't heard that from any of the other guys. I don't have any anxiety at all."

Colangelo raved about Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant as the new leader of the younger bunch, saying he had "separated himself" from the rest.

Real trade season coming

With the trade deadline less than three weeks away, talks are only starting to heat up.

It's the NBA way, due in part to the fact that team executives are looking to assess their current roster as long as possible before making changes. It's also because the 11th-hour approach is written somewhere in the general manager's unofficial handbook.

Despite being able to trade since the end of last season's playoffs (and teams that weren't in the postseason could trade amongst each other), the majority of deals are done either in the summer or as the trade deadline approaches.

League sources polled this week said Philadelphia and New York are the most active. The 76ers are shopping the likes of small forward Andre Iguodala (four seasons and combined $56.5 million beyond this season) and center Samuel Dalembert ($12.9 million next season), with the Kings having shown some interest in Dalembert.

The Knicks are looking to shed even more salary-cap room for this coming summer as they prepare to make a run at James. Small forward Jared Jeffries is among those said to be available.

Kings' trade outlook

The Kings remain in a challenging position, as their focus is acquiring a big man the likes of whom may not exist.

The most talented of those potentially available – players like Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire, Bosh, and Utah's Carlos Boozer – are simply too risky because they have expiring contracts and may not re-sign this summer. Meanwhile, there is the alternative of pursuing big men of less impact such as Dalembert, whose contracts would severely limit the financial flexibility in the near future. Though the Kings' financial outlook isn't as dire as it was at this point last season, they still need to spend responsibly.

"I think if we're going to trade for another player and take on significant money, you'd have to feel like you're getting some real bang for your dollar," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said late last week.

There are potential targets for the Kings who would come with less risk: Golden State's Andris Biedrins (four seasons and a combined $36 million remaining) and Washington's Brendan Haywood (expiring contract worth $6 million this season).

Haywood is the sort of defensive-minded presence they covet, but he's also a hot commodity at the moment.

Charlotte – which sources say would be very motivated by any trade involving Kings second-year forward Jason Thompson – has a logjam of centers whom the Kings may inquire about: Nazr Mohammed (6-foot-10), DeSagana Diop (7-0), Alexis Ajinca (7-0) and oft-injured Tyson Chandler (7-1). The Bobcats may also have interest in the expiring contract of Kenny Thomas ($8.7 million this season), as he has been highly regarded by Charlotte coach Larry Brown since they were together in Philadelphia.

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