Monday Bolts – 8.4.14
Berry Tramel with an, ahem, interesting column: “Which makes this system madness. As Mavs owner Mark Cuban pointed out long before Paul George’s leg snapped, the NBA is assuming all the financial risk and reaping none of the financial rewards for international basketball. Personally, I don’t see the big deal for international basketball competition. Is there some question about the U.S. being the king of hoops? This isn’t soccer. Isn’t gymnastics. Isn’t track and field. Everybody knows who has the majority of the world’s best basketball players. Maybe in 50 years there will be legitimate debate. But not now.”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Stern, shortly before the 2012 London Games, suggested on behalf of his owners that the NBA’s future Olympic involvement should be restricted to players 23 and younger — just like they do in men’s Olympic soccer — to start lessening the offseason demands on the game’s biggest names as well as the fears of the jittery teams responsible for paying them in sickness and in health. Kobe Bryant promptly branded Stern’s proposal “stupid,” backed up by a lot of sense about how much safer international play is than pickup ball, but you have to believe now that there’s a line of teams that would love to challenge Kobe’s viewpoint. Starting with the poor Indiana Pacers.”
Woj reports Tibor Pleiss will go to FC Barcelona and might join the Thunder in 2015-16.
Lee Jenkins of SI.com: “If NBA teams ban players from international contests, then the unregulated summer events will also have to go, and so will a part of the league’s streetwise appeal. George won’t be swinging by the Drew League, as he did last month, dropping 33 and throwing down a 360 jam. He also won’t be sparring with Nick Young at a health club in Reseda, as he did as a young player, when a trainer told him: “Paul, I’m going to ask you to dominate, and I wouldn’t ask that if I didn’t think you could.” Paul George’s year has been ruined by summer basketball. His career, though, has been made by it.”
Andre Drummond says he’s learning a lot from KD.
Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “There’s a reasonable chance that seeing George’s injury up close will lead to NBA stars being less likely to volunteer for national team duty, especially for players approaching free agency. But that should be their choice. This isn’t riding a motorcycle or skiing or drag racing. This is a bunch of guys doing what they’d be doing in private gyms anyway, just while wearing their country’s name on their chests. It’s the players’ right to do so, and should remain that way. Damage to owners’ pocketbooks and GMs’ best-laid plans are not sufficient justifications to reverse course. In two years, when Team USA is preparing for the Olympics, it shouldn’t be up to Herb Simon or Larry Bird or me or you or the United Anonymous Owners And GMs Of America as to whether Paul George suits up in the red, white and blue. It should be up to Paul George. It’s unfortunate that it isn’t completely obvious to everyone involved.”
