HOUSTON -- Tuesday morning, new Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes will load onto a private plane with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and the rest of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.
Destination: gold or bust.
Yes, the plane will head to Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympics officially open Friday. But the reality is that this group is no different than any of the other American basketball teams that have taken to the world stage. Anything less than a gold medal is massive failure.
"That's how we feel," Durant said last weekend as the team prepared for an exhibition Monday night against Nigeria in Houston.