Dwight Howard drama finally over (apparently) as he's traded to the Lakers

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After months of drama and saga, it seems that Howard finally will get his wish. According to sources, the 4 team proposed trade is as follows: the Lakers would of course receive Dwight Howard, the Denver Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia (coming from Philadelphia) will get Andrew Bynum (coming from the Lakers) and Jason Richardson (coming from the Magic), and the Magic would get a first round draft pick from each of the other 3 teams,  and Rookie Moe Harkless from Philadelphia.
Now several key notes to consider, first Dwight Howard will still NOT sign an extension with the Lakers, he would still seek to become a free agent next summer and it is  perceived that the Dallas Mavericks would be his preferred destination should he not return to the Lakers. Secondly, notice that Kobe Bryant got his wish, Pau Gasol was not traded. The Lakers now catapult themselves into immediate championship contenders alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder and the defending champions.
The Philadelphia 76ers here are the surprise winners, they have been looking to trade Iguodala for some time now, who could have thought that they would land the second best center in the league in Bynum???? If this trade goes through, there is no reason why Bynum would not sign an extension with the 76ers, they are a already a playoff team without him, they have great young talent and Bynum grew up about an hour away. Could you imagine a backcourt of Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Nick Young, alongside Thaddeus Young and Andrew Bynum? They will be scary, perhaps not tittle contenders, but trouble in a first or second round series.
The Denver Nuggets acquire Iguodala and George Karl will put the swift army knife to good use, they are young and exciting. Ultimately, the Magic will now be very bad for a few years as is usually the case when a team trades their superstar away. As for the Lakers, the success of this trade (SHOULD the trade go through) depends on two things, the first their ability to win a championship right away, and two, can they manage to convince Howard to stay in LA.  There are still many questions to be answered, will Kobe and Nash make it work in the backcourt? How will Howard's back hold up coming off surgery? And finally, Will David Stern pull a "Basketball reasons" excuse to cancel this trade just as he did with Chris Paul's trade to the Lakers?

As we head into the elimination round, what role will each USA player play?

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As elimination round begins, let's take a look at what each player has to do for team USA to take gold in London.
Chris Paul
Paul lead the USA in minutes played in the preliminary round, he will be the starting point guard, he must be a bulldog on the defensive end, stifling opposing backcourt players to create turnovers and transition offense for his team, we all know that the US wants to get out on the open court, and Paul must be the first catalyst of that. Defense leading to offense, dont expect much scoring from him, he knows this team doesnt need him to score, he will focus more on getting Kevin Durant open looks and finding his wing players on the fast break.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe is the starting SG, at this point we don't know understand why, he has been extremely inefficient with his shot selection, and sometimes tries to force the issue on a team where frankly he does not need to (shot 4-17 going into the Australia game). In addition, his defense (which was his calling card in beijing) hasn't been all that good. Perhaps he's biding his time for when it matters most, but Kobe needs to choose his spots on offense and focus on being that bulldog he was in international play on defense.
Kevin Durant
Durant needs to do what he has been doing, shooting the ball. He's the USA's leading scorer and nothing more is expected of him but to shoot the basketball.
Lebron James
The US's swift army knife, Lebron must continue to do whatever is necessary for this team. For the most part he has not looked to score unless needed and is more interested in being a facilitator and thats what he must continue to do. His presence is more needed on the defensive end though, where he is asked to guard bigger low post players every game, aside from Chandler and Love who else with playing time can guard bigger players with consistent success?
Tyson Chandler
The Team's only true big man, stay out of foul trouble Chandler
Deron Williams
Williams must do the same as Chris Paul and try to limit his turnovers, he has been a turnover machine in these olympics, which does not help the US much.
Russell Westbrook
Westbrook has been the team's best perimeter defender, tormenting opposing ball handlers and providing energy for his team with his highlight dunks, he needs to do the same on defense and NOT take crazy shots 2 seconds into the shot clock
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo has clearly been a monster scoring the ball, nothing more is expected of him as he battles Durant for USA leading scorer,
Andre Iguodala
The mini swift army knife, he needs to continue to be a lockdown defensive threat whether its guarding 6-10 bigs, or 6-3 guards, on offense anything he provides will be a boost.
Kevin Love
After Carmelo, Love is the most important player off the bench, the only other big on the team with legitimate playing time, he has to establish himself in the low post and NOT shooting threes, and HAS to rebound, he knows he will be depended on heavily when Chandler gets in foul trouble, and must be a presence inside.
James Harden
make threes? Harden does not play a lot, when he does the game has usually been decided
Anthony Davis
Must remember to put his jersey on before walking out on the floor