NBA duties gut Team Canada Pan Am roster
Wiggins most prominent of young Canadian basketballers not playing
In a perfect world, the Canadian men’s basketball team would have enjoyed a two-month sprint of continuity this summer. They would have used the Pan Am Games, starting later this month, as a tune-up for the Olympic qualification tournament, which runs from late August to the middle of September. And, the majority of their roster would have consisted of NBA players.
That, unfortunately, was a pipe dream. So long as the NBA provides the overwhelming bulk of money for professional basketball players, getting them to commit to a full summer of international competition is wholly unrealistic.
“It’s not ideal for what we were hoping for, but there’s not much we can do about it,’’ says Jay Triano, the head coach for Canada for both the Pan Ams and the Olympic qualifying. “All of our best basketball players are still playing basketball, and that’s the most important thing.”
Just not for Canada, which is an unavoidable reality. Tyler Ennis, the Milwaukee point guard, is the only player who has been ruled out for the entire summer. He is recovering from shoulder surgery. However, the team that plays for Canada in Toronto will be missing many more marquee names. Andrew Wiggins is the biggest of those: The Minnesota Timberwolves insisted he play in Las Vegas for the team’s summer league squad. Kelly Olynyk of Boston is in the same position. Nik Stauskas, traded this week from Sacramento to Milwaukee, is also needed by his pro team.
Meanwhile, the country’s most experienced high-level NBA players, Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson, are in the process of negotiating new contracts as restricted free agents. Joseph, in particular, is crucial for Canada’s chances in Mexico this summer, as he is by far the best option at his position. Combine them with a plethora of players looking to catch on with a team at summer league, and you are left with a relatively anonymous, if intriguing, team for Toronto. The hope now is that most of those players will be available in August. There are no guarantees, though, especially not with the free agents.
The Pan-American team, which will compete from July 21-25 at Ryerson University, will be highlighted by a pair of players who have struggled to find their niche in the NBA: Orlando’s Andrew Nicholson and Minnesota’s Anthony Bennett.
“I think both of those players bring obviously the experience of being in the NBA. Also, the fact that both of their games might be suited for the international team in a really positive way is a good thing,” Triano said. “They can both step out and face the basket. They can both shoot the three-point shot at the international level. I think Andrew Nicholson in the past has represented us very well. He’s been a big part of our program. And I think Anthony Bennett is about to break through. I really have a lot of confidence in him.”
With solid tournaments, both players will be firmly in the mix for spots with the team in Mexico. Nicholson is likely a lock, given his past performance. Program veterans like Jermaine Anderson, Carl English and Junior Cadougan also have a shot to play in both events, while Jamal Murray (Kentucky) and Dillon Brooks (Oregon), a pair of players at or near the start of their college careers, will be fascinating to observe in Toronto, should they make the team when the roster is cut down from 16 to 12.