OLYNYK IN LIMBO FOR TEAM CANADA
NBA big man can’t afford to risk playing in Olympic qualifier if he’s between contracts
Kelly Olynyk isn’t saying no to this summer, but he knows the odds are long that he’ll be there when Canada’s senior men’s team makes one last bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Olynyk, 28, is in that tenuous time this summer where he’ll be playing out his contract, assuming he doesn’t accept the player’s option on his deal, and will be a free agent when Canada attempts to earn a berth in the Olympics.
That the tournament is in Victoria, B.C., the province where he grew up, only makes the possibility of not playing that much harder to stomach.
“Yeah, definitely. That’s always there,” the 6-foot-11 power forward/centre said when asked about his contract situation complicating the matter. “Often the reason why guys can’t play is because they don’t have a contract. It’s a lot to risk, especially with me playing last year and getting hurt and missing training camp and the pre-season, basically, and still just trying to get back to 100 per cent.”
Olynyk was one of three NBA players taking part in a tune-up for the FIBA World Cup last August at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. During a game against Nigeria, Olynyk slipped on a wet floor and went down hard on his right knee. A bone bruise was the initial diagnosis, and while that sounded mild, the recovery from it was anything but.
Olynyk missed all of training camp and the pre-season as he was unable to put weight on the knee at all out of fear the bone bruise could become a fracture.
“It was just a thing that you have to let it heal, and if you don’t, your bone’s going to be weak,” Olynyk said. “And you don’t want to keep loading it and putting pressure on it because it’s like a bruise. If you keep pressing it, it will stay, and the bone’s going to be weak. So you have got to let it heal. And the only thing you can really do for that is (give it) time. You can’t speed it up.
“You can’t do anything like massage it out because it’s deep in the bone where the bruise is. So it’s tough. You’re basically there waiting, and they’re telling you ‘You can’t run, you can’t jump, you can’t do anything.’ So you’re basically just getting some soft tissue treatment and lifting the upper body for two and a half months waiting to heal. So it’s a long, long process.”
Based on the way contracts are trending, it’s unlikely that Olynyk and his agent will choose to accept the player’s option he has remaining on his deal for next season at $12.2-million, which means he’ll become a free agent and won’t sign at the earliest until early July.
That means playing without a contract, if he so chooses, this summer in Victoria and that’s risky.
“It’s not easy to walk into one of those things and to put your career on the line,” Olynyk told a handful of reporters following the Miami Heat shootaround. “And as much as you want to, and as much as you know you’d love to do it, it’s tough. It’s really tough to do, but if I’m able to and my contract and stuff has settled out and I’m feeling healthy, then there’s no reason why I won’t be there.”
Again, the likelihood of that contract being settled by June 23 is slim.
Olynyk has answered the bell to play for his national team as much as any man still playing the game today, but it’s possible in a year when Canada stands to have more NBA participation than at any time in their past, Olynyk won’t be among them.
Olynyk isn’t sure why the sudden rash of social media commitments to play for Canada began, but he’s thrilled with the level of interest. So far nine NBA players have made such commitments.
“I’ve been there year in and year out,” Olynyk said. “It’s what I do. It’s what I love to do. Playing for my country is special.
I’m glad people are coming out and doing it (committing), but I hope that when the time comes, people are actually there putting on the jersey and helping us get there.”
Olynyk admits the sudden trendy social media commitments is a bit weird for him.
“Why did they pick Dec. 1 or Nov. 27 or whenever they did (to post their commitment)?” he asked. “I don’t know why, but it’s nice to have that commitment, and hopefully they stick to their word and can help us do something special.”
In the same boat as Olynyk with a likely contract situation impeding his ability to commit is Tristan Thompson, another longtime stalwart in the program. Thompson is in the final year of a five year, $82-million contract. He’s putting up career best numbers in Cleveland so far this season.
If neither can play in June, that leaves Canada’s frontcourt down two big options.
The Raptors’ Chris Boucher and Trey Lyles, who now plays in San Antonio, have committed for the June tournament. Dallas big man Dwight Powell is another good possibility, although he stopped short of verbally committing a couple of weeks ago when asked about his intentions in Dallas.