San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Who’ll join Popovich in Tokyo?
If a recuperating LeBron
James competes against anybody this summer, it will be animated alien life forms on the big screen. Kevin Durant, presumably, will be busy, too, along with a handful of other All-Stars vying for an NBA title.
And Kawhi Leonard? Even if he’s open to a monthlong healing session with his old coach, the timing of a pandemic-delayed Olympics makes it difficult. With a chance to sign a new nine-figure contract in August, his advisers might not be too keen on him risking injury halfway around the world.
No matter how things shake out, the United States isn’t likely to take a “Dream Team” to Tokyo. And as Gregg Popovich prepares for what figures to be the final championship opportunity of his career, he surely recognizes his squad’s biggest challenge:
Recruiting.
Granted, as the head coach and team president of an NBA franchise, Popovich can’t just start cold-calling rival players and asking them out to expensive dinners. And regardless of who winds up joining him on a protocol-restricted Japanese excursion next month, the Americans will have more toplevel talent than anybody else will.
But as Popovich and USA Basketball learned two years ago during the FIBA World Cup, the gap isn’t nearly as wide as it used to be, and what other countries lack in depth they can overcome with star power and international experience.
In 2019, wracked by injuries and a general lack of interest from America’s elite players, Popovich’s team finished seventh in China. Spain was the winner then, and should be formidable again, as will France, Argentina and Serbia, which might feature the current NBA Most Valuable Player.
Nikola Jokic, it appears, will have some time to rest up before the Olympics begin July 24. But for those stars playing into the NBA Finals, which could run as late as July 22, doing both won’t
be an option.
That means Brooklyn Nets like Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden can’t commit, even if they were interested in taking an Olympics trip in which they won’t be able to bring their families or do much of anything other than play basketball and sit in a hotel room. Depending on how the next few weeks go, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Phoenix’s Chris Paul and Atlanta’s Trae Young might be out, too.
To be sure, Popovich has some attractive alternatives. Steph Curry didn’t play in last year’s bubble, and he didn’t make this year’s playoffs, and the only thing lacking on his résumé is an Olympic gold medal. In other words, he might have the perfect combination of rest and motivation to make him the leader of Team USA in 2021.
Imagining Curry sharing a backcourt with Damian Lillard almost melts the brain, but Popovich probably finds shots for both. For size, strength and athleticism, Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson could suffice.
The problem is, as appealing as that lineup sounds, nobody has accepted an invitation yet. And in the history of professional basketball players in the Olympics, there never have been more legitimate reasons for guys to say, “No, thanks,” than this year.
Aside from the travel and COVID-related complications, of which there many, the calendar presents others. After the shortest NBA offseason ever, the league crammed a brutal run of back-to-backs and five-games-inseven-nights ordeals into this season’s schedule. And this week, the league announced that even after a postseason that stretches into late July, training camps will start up again in late September.
Even for a star who missed the playoffs, like Curry, that doesn’t leave much time to recharge. And for someone like James, who’d spoken previously in his career about how much he liked the idea of playing for Popovich on Team USA someday, it simply became untenable.
Last fall, James’ Lakers had 71 days off between winning the Finals and the first day of 202021 practice (teams usually have at least 100). It might have been no coincidence that he missed 27 games this season, including the longest injury-related absence of his career.
So when he was asked after the Lakers’ first-round ouster if he planned to go to Japan this summer, it was no surprise that he deflected the question by promoting his movie “Space Jam.”
“I think I’m going to play for the Tune Squad this summer instead of the Olympics,” James said. “I’m going to let the ankle rest for about a month, and then gear up with Lola, Taz, Granny, Bugs and the rest of the crew.”
That means a CGI Granny will get James this summer, while a real-life white-haired 72-year-old will have to make do without him.
It might be just as well. With either Curry, Lillard, Tatum or Bradley Beal, Popovich will have a scorer around which to build. He can work with that.
And if the lure of spending time with the NBA’s winningest coach attracts them all? It would qualify as Popovich’s biggest recruiting coup since convincing Tim Duncan to turn down Orlando.
Spain and Serbia would have to take notice. And even the Tune Squad might get a little jealous, too.