Canada Basketball

[guyroch]

The question is how many of these players will commit long term to the national program?

This post was on the first page of this thread .. Wow if Joseph stays home then only 1 man left standing ..

Nick Nurse maybe saying .. I am giving up my summer and everyone is staying home .

[GOLDBLUM]

What an utter debacle.

I really hope the players become vocal and band together across the board to speak against the scheduling gripes they seem to have. Clearly no NBAers really seem to want to be there under the circumstances. Exceptions being the back up Americans who wouldn’t normally get to be on the Dream Team, or players like Giannis that are diehard for their nation no matter what.

[guyroch]

What an utter debacle.

I really hope the players become vocal and band together across the board to speak against the scheduling gripes they seem to have. Clearly no NBAers really seem to want to be there under the circumstances. Exceptions being the back up Americans who wouldn’t normally get to be on the Dream Team, or players like Giannis that are diehard for their nation no matter what.

They might gripe be if U.S.A doesn't medal ..


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[slaw]

What an utter debacle.

I really hope the players become vocal and band together across the board to speak against the scheduling gripes they seem to have. Clearly no NBAers really seem to want to be there under the circumstances. Exceptions being the back up Americans who wouldn’t normally get to be on the Dream Team, or players like Giannis that are diehard for their nation no matter what.

They key will be if the lack of NBA players affects sponsorship and costs FIBA money. That's what all of the changes to qualification were about: more games and more money for FIBA. But, as a I mentioned earlier, if FIBA ball isn't best on best, then in the long term that will devalue the competitions to the point where it will impact the bottom line. It will also open the door for someone (hello NBA and NBAPA) to put together a true best-on-best tourney and take the money for itself. Penny-wise, pound-foolish.

[KeonClark]

They might gripe be if U.S.A doesn't medal ..


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They just lost a scrimmage to a G league team yesterday

[LJ2]

Meh, I'm fine with team USA not winning it every year. The competition should be more event now shouldn't it?

[The Great One]

The ONLY Canadian players that deserves to be celebrated today are Cory Joe, Olynyk, Birch, Murray and RJ. The others don't exist in my book.

You have arguably the best player in the world in Giannis playing for his country but scrubs like Wiggins, TT, Lyles, SGA, Powell etc. can't play? I also don't buy the "he's a rookie" excuse. The Japanese kid that the Wizards drafted is playing for Japan. What's Alexander-Walker and Clarke's excuse?

*RJ is injured so he gets a pass.

[golden]

Meh. Just make the basketball World Cup and Olympics into a strictly under-19 tournament and we would have had a gold medal in 2017 already. Just forget about the pros and stop expecting loyalty and patriotism from pimps & hoes.

[KeonClark]

Meh. Just make the basketball World Cup and Olympics into a strictly under-19 tournament and we would have had a gold medal in 2017 already. Just forget about the pros and stop expecting loyalty and patriotism from pimps & hoes.

That's no fun either. Call it the world juniors I guess.

call me old fashioned but when you don't have most of the best participants available for a competition I tend to not care anymore

[golden]

That's no fun either. Call it the world juniors I guess.

call me old fashioned but when you don't have most of the best participants available for a competition I tend to not care anymore

Well then you are unwittingly part of the problem. FIBA, FIFA and IOC exploit that weakness to fill their corrupt pockets. The whole idea of the Olympics was the supposed to be about the purity of the sport and spirit of competition. Once money (i.e. pros) enters the picture.... it's dirty.

In reality, old-fashioned was back when I grew up watching the Olympics, without professional athletes. Everybody loved it and nobody felt like we were "missing" anything.

[KeonClark]

Well then you are unwittingly part of the problem. FIBA, FIFA and IOC exploit that weakness to fill their corrupt pockets. The whole idea of the Olympics was the supposed to be about the purity of the sport and spirit of competition. Once money (i.e. pros) enters the picture.... it's dirty.

In reality, old-fashioned was back when I grew up watching the Olympics, without professional athletes. Everybody loved it and nobody felt like we were "missing" anything.

That's because of the majority of Olympic sports ARE amateur. There's no millionaire skiiers or gymnasts off prizes alone. But thats where it gets murky, because they DO make money off their sport. Look at Michael Phelps...he's wealthy, and competing.

But why would it be the worlds best swimmers, worlds best gymnasts, worlds best curlers, worlds best lugers, track and field, you name it...but its the best basketball players and hockey players out of the pool of guys that arent playing professionally? Basically the Z list of these athletes in their field. That's inconsistent. I don't care who wins the gold in hockey out of all the best beer league guys in the world

[golden]

That's because of the majority of Olympic sports ARE amateur. There's no millionaire skiiers or gymnasts off prizes alone. But thats where it gets murky, because they DO make money off their sport. Look at Michael Phelps...he's wealthy, and competing.

But why would it be the worlds best swimmers, worlds best gymnasts, worlds best curlers, worlds best lugers, track and field, you name it...but its the best basketball players and hockey players out of the pool of guys that arent playing professionally? Basically the Z list of these athletes in their field. That's inconsistent. I don't care who wins the gold in hockey out of all the best beer league guys in the world

Yeah, but if you actually had the "best vs. best" from each country, the US would dominate and there would be no real point to even having basketball in the Olympics or World Cup. The only chance would be like in the early days when the US completely dis-respected the competition and took them lightly. Coach K didn't even know the opposition player's names. lol. So, it would just become a collection of Davids trying to see who can knock off Goliath. And after that.... who is the "Best of the Davids", i.e., minor league.

The NBA is already the "best vs. best" in basketball and you're not getting better than that in international competitions.

[MixxAOR]

Make it amateur again. Then all of the sudden NBA players will want to play again.

[golden]

Make it amateur again. Then all of the sudden NBA players will want to play again.

Yep. For example, boxing used to be a prestigious stepping stone as the crowning achievement of an amateur career before turning pro. Ali, Leonard, Lennox Lewis, Klitschko, etc...

I mean if it's all about watching the best, then there were Cuban boxers who were the best in the world and some Cuban baseball teams beat US teams with MLB pro players. But nobody cared about that and baseball is gone from the Olympics.

[NeedTristanThompson]

The ONLY Canadian players that deserves to be celebrated today are Cory Joe, Olynyk, Birch, Murray and RJ. The others don't exist in my book.

You have arguably the best player in the world in Giannis playing for his country but scrubs like Wiggins, TT, Lyles, SGA, Powell etc. can't play? I also don't buy the "he's a rookie" excuse. The Japanese kid that the Wizards drafted is playing for Japan. What's Alexander-Walker and Clarke's excuse?

*RJ is injured so he gets a pass.

I'm pretty sure Tristan Thompson is injured, and has played looooots of international games for Canada in the past - so shouldn't he get a pass???

Celebrate the double T!!

Alsoooo, you want to celebrate Jamal Murray?? I'm not saying you shouldn't for sure - but I was under the impression he hadn't exactly committed to Canada basketball too much so far, is that incorrect?