Team USA adjusting to the era of player power just like the NBA
At the Rio Olympics three years ago, Jerry Colangelo beamed at the sight of gold medals dangling from the necks of players on a supposedly underwhelming United States men’s basketball team.
“This is a once- in- a- lifetime opportunity that might not otherwise have been there for them, so I’m happy for them,” Colangelo said that day. “It bothers me when some of our players are called ‘ B’ players or ‘ C’ players. That’s ludicrous. They’re all great players.”
Funny how time and circumstances distort perspective. Back then, these were some of the names on that “Is this the best we can do?” Team USA: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler. You know, the same guys who helped change the NBA during this landmark offseason.
If that was a B or C team, let’s just skip assigning a letter grade for the current FIBA World Cup roster. This figures to be the least accomplished collection of players that the USA has sent to a major international competition since 1992, when the Dream Team debuted.
The 2019 World Cup team has convened in Las Vegas this week to start preparing for the tournament later this month. For the casual basketball fan, it’s a “Who’s that?” list of emerging stars and role players. Kyle Lowry, Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton are the only reigning all- stars available. Harrison Barnes and Lowry are the only holdovers from the 2016 Olympic team. It was once thought the team could include significant star power, but a long list of healthy stars seemingly in line to lead the team dropped out, including James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Bradley Beal and CJ McCollum.
While the 2019 roster lacks the superstars, it does possess a collection of the kind of talent and versatility that suits international competition. Gregg Popovich, a great team builder, is the right fit to coach this group because he will combine a clear and demanding standard with a clever and flexible style of play.
There are some valid larger concerns, however. Most important, where are the heads of the biggest American stars?
There’s a thought that many stars declined Team USA invitations to focus on what could be an epic 2019- 20 season. It also didn’t help that the World Cup was pushed back a year, meaning aspiring 2020 Olympians would have to commit consecutive summers to the team, and that’s a huge problem in this era of load management. The tournament also ends in mid- September, just two weeks before the start of NBA training camp.
It’s not a big deal when Davis, during a summer in which he was traded, decides to save himself for his new team. When Julius Randle and Tobias Harris have better things to do, you grow concerned about both priorities and the effects of so much NBA player movement. As New Orleans guard JJ Redick cited in turning down the opportunity, he has to get his family settled in a new city.