Tuesday, August 5, 2014

USA Basketball's Future

With the two-years-to-go mark of the Rio 2016 Olympics arriving today, I've decided to take a look at one of the biggest hot-button issues that came about over the weekend.  In fact, it's something that has a direct bearing on what's going to happen in Brazil two years from now.  I'm, of course, talking about Paul George's gruesome injury in the USA Basketball scrimmage the other day.

George's injury has revived the debate on whether or not NBA players should participate in international events.  Mark Cuban, who always has to get his point across, has been adamant that they should not.  Former Commissioner David Stern suggested during the 2012 Olympics that the Olympic tournament should revert back to the pre-Dream Team days and be an under-23 event.  They're both wrong.

The George injury was certainly cringe-worthy, but it's not a reason for the NBA to abandon international basketball.  And to suggest so would simply be overreacting to a freak accident.  That's all the George play was.  An accident.  He landed in the wrong place.  It was a basketball injury that easily could've happened in December.  It also easily could've happened if he was playing pick-up in some high school gym somewhere getting ready for the season.  My point is this--injuries happen.  It's unfortunate, but you can't blame USA Basketball.  Just like you can't blame Paul George.

In February, the NHL shut down in midseason for the fifth straight time so that its players could go to the Olympics.  And the issues between the NHL and the IOC that put the participation in doubt had nothing to do with injury concerns.  Sure the owners were worried about injuries, but the opportunity to grow the game outweighed the risks and they understood that.  As it turns out, the Islanders lost John Tavares for the season because of an injury he suffered during the Olympics.  But there was no one calling for the NHL to suddenly stop sending its players to the Olympics after it happened.

As for baseball, one of the reasons it's not in the Olympics anymore is because the Major Leagues refuse to shut down the season to participate (logistically this would be impossible, so I agree with MLB's stance).  That's also why the World Baseball Classic was invented.  Major Leaguers representing their countries during Spring Training.  Are there injury concerns?  Absolutely!  But the WBC isn't going anywhere, and you're not going to find a single owner who'll keep his stars from playing in the next one in 2017.

Representing your country is the greatest honor any athlete can have.  Who can blame them for wanting that opportunity?  If a player takes it upon himself to decline an invitation to play for Team USA, that's his prerogative.  And that's the way it should be.  It should be HIS decision, not his team's.

That's really what USA Basketball is worried about.  We've already seen it with the last two World Cups.  The superstars--your LeBrons, your Carmelos, your Kobes, your Dwight Howards--all want to play in the Olympics.  But it's like pulling teeth to get them to play in the World Cup (even though it's an Olympic qualifying tournament and they won't be asked to play again next summer if they win).  For the last one in Turkey, Kevin Durant was the only NBA A-lister who played, and he was the biggest reason why the U.S. won the gold medal.

It's the same thing this year.  Durant's by far the biggest name, but all of the other top players have declined invitations for various reasons.  George is on that next level, a star, but not a superstar, yet he was one of the best players in camp and was considered a lock to make the team.  Those are the players who USA Basketball has increasingly come to rely on in these international tournaments.  But in light of the George injury, they might be understandably a little more hesitant to play.  That might be the only real lasting effect of the George injury.  And that's where USA Basketball needs to worry.  The World is too good for the U.S. to send a B- or C-team to the World Cup and still expect to win.

Most importantly, it would be a mistake for the NBA to pull out of USA Basketball because that's not going to happen in any other nation.  Basketball is becoming more and more international, and you know that the Gasol brothers are still going to play for Spain, Joakim Noah's going to play for France, Andrew Wiggins is going to play for Canada, etc.  (The only reason Manu Ginobili's not playing for Argentina is because he's injured.)  That's a good thing.  Basketball's a better game because of it.  It's no longer just assumed that the U.S. is going to win international tournaments.

Adam Silver has said that one of his main goals is to make basketball the most popular sport on Earth.  Right now it's No. 2 behind soccer.  The only way to continue that growth, though, is to not overreact to Paul George getting hurt while playing for Team USA.  In order for the game to grow, the best players in the world (and I mean all of the best players in the world) have to play in the world's biggest events.  Otherwise, what's the point?

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