LAS VEGAS — Deron Williams and Chris Paul have been linked since the 2005 NBA draft, when Utah chose Williams third overall, one slot ahead of Paul, taken by New Orleans.

Now the question is whether Paul can move ahead of Williams and into the No. 2 point guard position on Team USA behind Jason Kidd.

It's one of the story lines playing out behind the closed doors of training camp at Valley High School. Williams and Paul are longtime friends, but both want to play as many minutes as possible in Beijing. They're trying to smile through the inevitable questions about the competition.

"I didn't know it was a big deal," Williams said. "We're going for the same thing, and that's a gold medal. Point blank, that's all we care about is winning the gold. So it doesn't matter."

Paul dismissed questions about who will be Kidd's main backup. "We're on the same team," Paul said. "I'm not battling against him to do anything. If we're all out here battling (against each other) we have a problem if we want to win a gold medal."

Upgrading the point was perhaps the Americans' top priority after their bronze medal showing at the 2006 world championships.

They added Kidd, the lone member of this team with an Olympic gold medal. They also added Williams and subtracted Kirk Hinrich.

And they kept Paul, whose Team USA future seemed cloudy after he lost the starting job during the 2006 world championships.

"That's obviously our strongest position, because we have three guys who can play it," coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Paul started six games in Japan two summers ago, and he dished out 44 assists, a U.S. record for the world championships. But the 6-foot, 170-pound Paul struggled against taller, more physical players, and he seemed a long shot to make the Olympic team.

That all changed last season, when Paul blossomed into one of the NBA's top players, earning first-team All-NBA honors and finishing second to Kobe Bryant in the MVP voting. He became the first player since John Stockton in 1992 to lead the league in assists and steals, averaging 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

Suddenly, leaving Paul off the team seemed unthinkable.

Asked to assess Paul's improvement since 2006, Krzyzewski said, "I think he's quicker and stronger and more decisive. I guess that's one of the reasons he was almost MVP. He's grown immensely."

But he hasn't grown taller, and there's some thought that the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Williams is better suited to the international game. The former University of Illinois star has played in 34 games for the U.S., and he impressed the present coaching staff by averaging 4.6 assists per game coming off the bench in last summer's Olympic qualifying tournament.