Tokyo Olympics Basketball (July 25 - Aug. 7)

[Bluedog]

That's very surprising, especially given K's own history with the Olympics and the importance he seems to have placed on them.

Could be COVID related, could be that given what saw last year think getting the team together earlier is critical for success, could be that thinks being stable in one place right now is best for his development/readiness for NBA, could be something else, could be a bad report...but if it was a rising junior or something in a "normal year", I'm sure it'd be encouraged.

[JasonEvans]

Look, we have no idea of what K and Paulo may have discussed but I could see the conversation including K asking Paulo which was more important to him this year, winning a NCAA title or trying to win a medal with Italy. If Paulo answered an NCAA title then K may have been very honest and told him that working out this summer with his teammates and coaches was the best way to accomplish that. The Olympics will be there in the future for Paulo, in all likelyhood.

Also worth noting that Italy has not yet even qualified for the Olympics. They are in one of the qualifying tournaments and will have to battle a very good Serbia as well as pretty good teams from Puerto Rico and Domin. Rep to get to the Tokyo games. Italy is ranked 10th in the FIBA world rankings and would be a longshot for even a medal. Italy has not even qualified for the Olympics in men's basketball since 2004. There is not a single NBA player on the Italian national team roster.

[Duke79UNLV77]

I remember that Kyrie could have played for Australia in an Olympics but then would have been ineligible to play for America in the future. Could be the same thing.

[rocketeli]

That's very surprising, especially given K's own history with the Olympics and the importance he seems to have placed on them.

K is a fan of AMERICAN olympic basketball. I doubt he'd be very excited about the prospect of losing practice time and possible injury to one of his players while they played for another country. But I would speculate that this is all journalistic speculation, and most likely Italy hasn't asked, the player isn't actually interested and so on and so forth.

[brlftz]

Does anyone have a good sense for Paolo's attachment to Italy? The little I've read makes it seem like his life has been lived entirely in the US, and while it's cool to have a tie to another country, it may not be triggering the same sense of duty and patriotism that it would have had he actually been born in Italy or lived in it for any length of time.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Does anyone have a good sense for Paolo's attachment to Italy? The little I've read makes it seem like his life has been lived entirely in the US, and while it's cool to have a tie to another country, it may not be triggering the same sense of duty and patriotism that it would have had he actually been born in Italy or lived in it for any length of time.

Great question. I was wondering the same thing so did a little digging. It is really remote - I know the rules are pretty lax but I thought his Italian roots would not be sufficient.

"The great grandparents of his father Mario immigrated to the United States from northern Italy in the early 1900s and worked as farmers and as coal miners in the city of Black Diamond, Washington.

Their son, Mario's grandfather, was never naturalized in the United States, so Paolo's lineage therefore qualified him for Italian citizenship."

http://www.fiba.basketball/eurobaske...ings-for-italy

I'm not clear on when you officially commit to a country for sports - I believe in soccer, once you play any type of international game for a country, you are officially representing that country going forward and it is hard or impossible to switch. Not clear what the rules are for basketball and whether Paolo has done enough that he is officially Italian and can't switch (if those rules still hold).

[DoubleBlue]

Does anyone have a good sense for Paolo's attachment to Italy? The little I've read makes it seem like his life has been lived entirely in the US, and while it's cool to have a tie to another country, it may not be triggering the same sense of duty and patriotism that it would have had he actually been born in Italy or lived in it for any length of time.

Here's a good source: https://www.usworldherald.com/paolo-banchero/

Paolo is American born and bred (in Seattle on November 12, 2002). Yet, under a ruling that needs no explanation to American fans, he can also claim Italian citizenship since his great-great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s. Their son, Mario’s grandfather, was never naturalized in the United States, so Paolo’s lineage, therefore, qualified him for Italian citizenship. Mario’s great-grandfather left northern Italy and worked as a coal miner in the city of Black Diamond, Washington.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Here's a good source: https://www.usworldherald.com/paolo-banchero/

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks for the find. Sporks coming your way. (Well they would be, but I have to spread the love first.)

[tommy]

Look, we have no idea of what K and Paulo may have discussed but I could see the conversation including K asking Paulo which was more important to him this year, winning a NCAA title or trying to win a medal with Italy. If Paulo answered an NCAA title then K may have been very honest and told him that working out this summer with his teammates and coaches was the best way to accomplish that. The Olympics will be there in the future for Paulo, in all likelyhood.

Also worth noting that Italy has not yet even qualified for the Olympics. They are in one of the qualifying tournaments and will have to battle a very good Serbia as well as pretty good teams from Puerto Rico and Domin. Rep to get to the Tokyo games. Italy is ranked 10th in the FIBA world rankings and would be a longshot for even a medal. Italy has not even qualified for the Olympics in men's basketball since 2004. There is not a single NBA player on the Italian national team roster.

I'm pretty sure Warriors rookie Nico Mannion is going to play for Italy. Are Gallinari and Marco Belinelli not playing? Wonder why not. Regardless, even with Mannion, your point remains. Not a team likely to challenge for a medal even if they get to Tokyo.

[JasonEvans]

I'm pretty sure Warriors rookie Nico Mannion is going to play for Italy. Are Gallinari and Marco Belinelli not playing? Wonder why not. Regardless, even with Mannion, your point remains. Not a team likely to challenge for a medal even if they get to Tokyo.

The roster that I saw for Italy for the upcoming qualifying tournament that starts in just a couple weeks did not include any of those guys.

[awhom111]

The roster that I saw for Italy for the upcoming qualifying tournament that starts in just a couple weeks did not include any of those guys.

Italy has just been naming people as they become available for various stages of training camp:
http://fip.it/news.aspx?IDNews=13564

That is the group that they will play three exhibitions with and then they will bring in more players for the last exhibition game and then make a final decision. Besides Mannion, they are bringing in Nicolo Melli from the Mavericks. This roster includes none of the players who were just in the Italian League finals, including Marco Belinelli. There seems to be no realistic path for Danilo Gallinari to make it to qualifying and Donte DiVincenzo is obviously not available for multiple reasons. I have no idea where they are on trying to get Ryan Arcidiacono into the picture. The release also specifically mentions academic reasons for Banchero not joining. I would suspect that there are a few nervous Italian fans wondering if Paolo will just opt to never play for them.

Despite my quip about Jokic's ejection, the latest reports suggest that he will not be in Serbia's qualifying squad. We really do live in a weird timeline with Canada having strong player availability, although they are practicing in Tampa for a tournament they are hosting in Victoria.

[budwom]

I know this is track and field and not hoops, but a local farm girl(woman) is quite the sensation on the track:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/s...section=Sports

plus she can milk cows.

[Truth&Justise]

Jayson Tatum has reportedly committed to play for Team USA.

The report indicates that Damian Lillard and Draymond Green have committed as well.

And NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that there is "optimism" that Bradley Beal will commit as well.

Would be fun to see Tatum out there, and I imagine he's motivated by the bad finish in 2019. And while I've long been a proponent of having a competitive camp where cuts are made based on who is playing best at the time (it's how you get the right player at the right time, like Kenneth Faried in 2014), I am at least glad that some of the top level NBA talents (Lillard, Tatum, Beal) may be included.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Jayson Tatum has reportedly committed to play for Team USA.

The report indicates that Damian Lillard and Draymond Green have committed as well.

And NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that there is "optimism" that Bradley Beal will commit as well.

Would be fun to see Tatum out there, and I imagine he's motivated by the bad finish in 2019. And while I've long been a proponent of having a competitive camp where cuts are made based on who is playing best at the time (it's how you get the right player at the right time, like Kenneth Faried in 2014), I am at least glad that some of the top level NBA talents (Lillard, Tatum, Beal) may be included.

Let's hope we don't see the same rash of injuries from the playoffs.

[peloton]

I know this is track and field and not hoops, but a local farm girl(woman) is quite the sensation on the track:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/s...section=Sports

plus she can milk cows.

Real nice story...I'll be sure to follow her running exploits. Thanks for sharing.

[budwom]

Real nice story...I'll be sure to follow her running exploits. Thanks for sharing.

thanks, she's a real phenom, perhaps because she didn't grow up fixated on running...she just happens to be really good at it.

[JasonEvans]

Jayson Tatum has reportedly committed to play for Team USA.

The report indicates that Damian Lillard and Draymond Green have committed as well.

And NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that there is "optimism" that Bradley Beal will commit as well.

Would be fun to see Tatum out there, and I imagine he's motivated by the bad finish in 2019. And while I've long been a proponent of having a competitive camp where cuts are made based on who is playing best at the time (it's how you get the right player at the right time, like Kenneth Faried in 2014), I am at least glad that some of the top level NBA talents (Lillard, Tatum, Beal) may be included.

Tatum, Lillard, Green, and Beal would be huge. It would indicate that top tier players are playing. There is a domino effect when players pull out, as guys see players above them in the pecking order saying "no" and suddenly it looks uncool to be playing. That is how you end up with a team that doesn't have any NBA stars. But, if we have All-NBA level players like these guys saying "yes" then it completely changes the narrative about playing on the team.

If Green is playing, I would think that would tempt Steph even more. Getting Steph would really send the message that this will be a team of top-tier NBA players.

[arnie]

Tatum, Lillard, Green, and Beal would be huge. It would indicate that top tier players are playing. There is a domino effect when players pull out, as guys see players above them in the pecking order saying "no" and suddenly it looks uncool to be playing. That is how you end up with a team that doesn't have any NBA stars. But, if we have All-NBA level players like these guys saying "yes" then it completely changes the narrative about playing on the team.

If Green is playing, I would think that would tempt Steph even more. Getting Steph would really send the message that this will be a team of top-tier NBA players.

No K, no win.

[JasonEvans]

In recent days the following guys have confirmed they will participate for Team USA:

Jayson Tatum
Damion Lillard
Draymond Green
Bradley Beal
Devin Booker (once the Suns are done in the playoffs)

And then this afternoon came word that Kevin Durant will also play for Team USA.

Looking like we are getting most of the best players to commit. Should be fun!

-Jason "where is Zion? He should be one of the first guys named" Evans

[CrazyNotCrazie]

In recent days the following guys have confirmed they will participate for Team USA:

Jayson Tatum
Damion Lillard
Draymond Green
Bradley Beal
Devin Booker (once the Suns are done in the playoffs)

And then this afternoon came word that Kevin Durant will also play for Team USA.

Looking like we are getting most of the best players to commit. Should be fun!

-Jason "where is Zion? He should be one of the first guys named" Evans

Brooklyn losing last night probably made that an easier decision as now he gets a little time off.