The Associated Press

Hey, Shaq, Uncle Sam needs you.

No one at USA Basketball, on the selection committee, and probably at the highest levels of government, wants to take any chances on letting an Olympic gold medal slip away in Athens.

The Americans almost certainly will win without Shaquille O'Neal. With him, the word "almost" drops out of the sentence.

If Kevin Garnett signs up, too, the 12th spot could go to a bobblehead doll and the Americans would be unbeatable.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony or any of the other NBA players under consideration for the last spot would make Team USA ridiculously unbeatable.

That's exactly the way Americans like it.

O'Neal and Garnett have been asked to join a U.S. Olympic team that already has Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady, Karl Malone, Ray Allen and Mike Bibby.

Even with a question mark about Bryant, who could be on trial in Colorado on the sexual assault charges against him, that is one powerful lineup.

What it lacks is the dominating center. Duncan and Jermaine O'Neal could fill in well, but they would fit in much better as power forwards complementing Shaq with their inside-outside games.

"They are asking me," Shaq said Wednesday night. "I haven't decided yet."

He has been waffling about the Olympic team all season, and seemed to pull the plug on the idea at the All-Star game. But now the selection committee is sending out its formal invitation to him and Garnett, and wants an answer within two weeks. It plans to make the final pick by mid-April. Training camp opens July 26 and the team plays its first game of the Olympics on Aug. 15.

Since the international basketball federation cleared the way for NBA players to be eligible, the United States has gone 24-0 and has won the last three golds in 1992, 1996 (with Shaq) and 2000 (with Garnett).

But the world has been catching up with the Americans on the court. In 2002 at the world championships, Serbia, Argentina and Spain beat a U.S. team with NBA players. In a semifinal game at the 2000 Olympics, the United States beat the Lithuanians by only two points after they missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it.

"People don't believe it until they see it, but the competition internationally has gotten very close," Craig Miller of USA Basketball said.

PACERS: Indiana forward Ron Artest missed practice Thursday to deal with a personal matter.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the absence was excused, and Artest would be in the starting lineup for today's home game against Sacramento Kings.

FINES: Memphis guard Bonzi Wells and New Orleans center Jamaal Magloire were fined $5,000 apiece by the NBA for throwing a basketball into the stands in separate games on Tuesday.

BUCKS: A drug investigation involving the search of guard T.J. Ford's home will not result in charges. Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Julius Kim said he closed the investigation because of insufficient evidence.

ROCKETS: Charles Oakley, who hasn't played all season, signed a 10-day contract with Houston. The 40-year-old power forward once played for Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy while they were with the Knicks.

"I know him; I trust him," Van Gundy said.