They even sat next to one another for interviews after Team USA practice here.
But just when the dueling point guards might have started to get their message across, along comes another opportunity to pit one against the other - the Beijing Olympics. Both players are expected to play back-up roles behind veteran starter Jason Kidd when the Americans aim for a redemptive gold medal in China next month, and nobody is quite sure just how the workload will be divided.
"I don't know," Williams said. "You'll have to ask Coach K that. He's the one who controls the minutes. We're just doing what's asked of us."
It's another intriguing twist in what already has grown into a career-long debate between which player is better - the cool and bullish destroyer from Illinois whom the Jazz picked at No. 3 of the draft, or the seemingly undersized yet dazzling flash from Wake Forest who slipped to No. 4 to the New Orleans Hornets.
Everybody in basketball seems to have offered a perspective over the past few years, but the way coach Mike Krzyzewski answers the question in the coming weeks - in the form of playing time - could have a much broader impact.
"The fact is that the three point guards need to get minutes," Krzyzewski said, "because they're elite point guards, but also it gives us a fresh guy on the ball defensively and with the ball offensively."
Team practice sessions are mostly closed to reporters, so it's impossible to see just how the Americans are strategizing. But Williams said he has been working out at shooting guard as well as point guard during training camp this week at Valley High School, with the understanding that Krzyzewski envisions fielding an exceptionally versatile backcourt. The coach said he will use the team's five pre-Olympic exhibition games to get a better feel for his rotation, but doubts any of the three point guards will play more than 24 minutes per game in Beijing.
"That's the beauty," Kidd said. "You can play any two guards together. Me and Chris, or me and Deron, or Deron and Chris. Coach has a lot of different ways he can go with that."
True enough.
But there are still only 40 minutes in a game, and it seems unlikely that superstar shooting guards such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Redd or Dwayne Wade would be displaced for long - even if the Americans play a smaller lineup, which appears to be a likelihood given the shortage of big men on the team.
Center Dwight Howard, forward Chris Bosh and the Jazz's Carlos Boozer are the only true post players on the roster.
But maybe the coach has dropped a hint about his point guards.
Krzyzewski has talked a lot in recent months about needing strong perimeter players to hold up against the more physical guard play in the international game, and both he and Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo have acknowledged the need for better outside shooting, after the Americans clanked shots all over the 2004 Athens Games.
Well, Williams is bigger and more physical than Paul - he's three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier - and has become a better shooter, having made a slightly higher percentage of shots from the field and behind the three-point line last season.
That said, Paul scores and rebounds more for his Hornets than Williams does for the Jazz, and can probably gain an advantage with his speed.
In any case, Paul takes the same view as his friend and rival, insisting that he does not consider himself fighting Williams for minutes, no matter how it might look to outsiders who constantly compare them.
"We're on the same team," Paul said. "I'm not battling against him to do anything. If we're all out here battling, we've got a problem if we're trying to win a gold medal. So right now, it's just whatever it takes to win a gold medal, I'm going to do."
mcl@sltrib.com
James' sprain gives Team USA a scare
Guard LeBron James suffered what was believed to be a mildly sprained right ankle during Team USA's practice Tuesday.
James twisted his ankle when he landed on a teammate's foot after jumping to block a shot, coach Mike Krzyzewski said, and was taken out of practice as a precaution. Krzyzewski said he did not believe the injury was serious, and expects James to play in the team's first exhibition game against Canada on Friday.
Tale of the tape
Williams Paul
Illinois College Wake Forest
No. 3 Drafted No. 4
11 Team USA games 14
2007 Experience 2006
6-3 Height 6-0
205 Weight 175
No Parade All-American Yes
Yes NCAA Final Four No
No NBA Rookie of the Year Yes
No NBA All-Star Yes
Jason Kidd Childhood Hero M. Jordan
Vitamin Water Endorsement Right Guard
