Could Kentucky Beat The Dream Team?

I don't know what it is about Olympic basketball that brings out the most ridiculous arguments. The Dream Team comparisons have become the "But could Kentucky beat [name of terrible NBA team here]?" of the summer at this point. And the players -- both current and former -- are not helping.

Kobe Bryant was actually pretty tame, though he may have fired the first shot in this whole thing. When comparing the two teams, he broke down the matchup, then said six words that didn't sit well with the Dream Team legends.

"So I don't know," Bryant continued, the trace of a smile beginning to play its way across his face. "It'd be a tough one, but I think we'd pull it out."

Michael Jordan ... not so amused! And the game was on.

Jordan told The Associated Press Thursday that he laughed - "I absolutely laughed" - when hearing Bryant's comments that the squad training in Las Vegas could take Jordan and company.

Side note: Jordan is probably finding ways to lay down money on which team is better. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Charles Barkley also found some humor in the situation.

"I just started laughing," Barkley said. "How old is Kobe Bryant? He's 34? And he's calling us old? At the time, we were only like 28, 29. Michael Jordan and me were the same age. We were both 29 ... Other than Kobe, LeBron (James) and Kevin Durant, I don't think anybody else on that team makes our team."

Hey, let's keep the flood of legends going. Whatcha got, Magic?

Magic Johnson: "The 1992 #DreamTeam had 11 HOFs & 23 champ rings & the greatest player of all time in Jordan." twitter.com/SInow/status/2…

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 13, 2012

And Scottie Pippen got in on the fun, as well.

Scottie Pippen said the 92' #DreamTeam would beat the current #TeamUSA team by 25 points. Do you agree?

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 13, 2012

Kobe, the floor is yours for a rebuttal...

Kobe's response to MJ comments; "He’s knows I’m a bad m-----f-----r. I’m not really tripping."

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) July 13, 2012

Can we just end this now? I think everyone loves the original Dream Team. They were the gold standard and source of many fantastic memories. But is it necessary for everyone to get their flex on?

Enjoy the current team for what it is: A pretty great collection of talent that should absolutely be the favorite in the Olympics. And remember: The 2011-12 Kentucky squad could whip all their asses anyway.