2012 Olympics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Souhan On Wolves, Olympics

July 29th, 2012 at 10:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune has written a new column tracking several members of the Timberwolves' performances in the London Summer Olympics:

New signees Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved, teammates on the Russian national team, both turned in strong performances in an opening victory over Great Britain and have already developed chemistry.
Kevin Love, playing with Team USA, was impressed with the team's two new Russian players, and has already spoken to Kirilenko about the upcoming season.
Kirilenko and Shved were likewise impressed with Love, both today and during the 2011/12 season, and are excited about playing in Minnesota.

Poll: Which Star Will Improve Most From Olympics?

July 29th, 2012 at 12:27pm CST by Daniel Seco

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are underway and USA Basketball is off to a strong start thanks to a 98-71 victory over France. Strong play from Kevin Durant and a host of other players led the way for the convincing victory as Team USA begins its quest for another gold medal. International play has had a history of improving the skills of young players as they return from overseas to return to their NBA teams.

With young players such as Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis being afforded the opportunity to play in the Olympics for the first time, the question becomes how will the experience impact them during the 2012/13 season and beyond.

The Effect Of Playing For Team USA

July 27th, 2012 at 5:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

In 2011 there was a lot said about the effect playing for Team USA in the 2010 World Championships had on NBA stars who experienced breakout seasons the next year. In 2010/11, Derrick Rose won the MVP, Kevin Love grabbed the rebounding title, and Tyson Chandler became the defensive anchor of the title-winning Mavericks, among other Team USA alums who lifted their games. So, it might be reasonable to expect the same from members of the 2012 Olympic team, which begins its quest for the gold in London this weekend.

Yet there's evidence to suggest playing for Team USA is not always a catapult to success. We've broken down the year-to-year PER changes for each member of the last three Team USA squads, encompassing the tenure of Mike Krzyzewski as coach. Obviously, this is a limited data set, and doesn't take a broader look at players from other countries, but it at least establishes that a spot on the national team is not guarantee of success going forward.

While eight of the 12 players on the 2010 roster had a better PER in 2010/11 than 2009/10, only 13 of the 24 Team USA players from 2006 and 2008 improved their PER in the following season. The combined PER for the '06 and '08 squads was down slightly in the seasons immediately following the events, while the PER for the 2010 team jumped by 26.2 points in 2010/11.

The performance of players from this year's Team USA may go a long way toward determining whether top NBA stars will continue to play in the Olympics. Commissioner David Stern indicated he's in no rush to push for a decision on a proposed 23-and-under rule from FIBA, and if many of the 2012 Olympians carry over their success to the coming season the way their 2010 counterparts did, there might be little appetite for change. If the players show fatigue, sustain a high rate of injuries, or if there are just as many who play worse next season instead of better, the World Championships may become the only stage for the kind of star-studded Team USA that will play the next two weeks in London.

Categories:
2012 Olympics

David Stern Talks Olympics, Howard, Fegan

July 27th, 2012 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The opening ceremy for the 2012 London Olympics is set to happen later today, but the basketball world still has one eye looking ahead to the 2016 games. NBA commissioner David Stern has talked about instituting a 23-and-under rule starting in 2016, and Team USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has said the sooner he knows the rule, the better. Stern discussed that topic and others in an interview with Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, so let's round up the highlights….

Stern is in no rush to reach a resolution on the participation issue for the 2016 Olympics, as he told Zillgitt: "This is not an urgent issue. This is just an opportunity to have an intelligent conversation with our friends at FIBA."
Added Stern: "Nothing is definitive. All we're talking about is the issue, having taken stock 20 years after Barcelona. What is the best way to continue the growth of the game on a global basis?"
Stern was also asked about the ongoing Dwight Howard saga, and took the opportunity to chide the man he believes is the source of many of the latest leaks: Howard's agent Dan Fegan. "It's [a] very unique [situation], especially if it's driven by a quote source that happens to be Dwight's agent," Stern said. "'A source in the meeting.' Oh, OK, who might that be?" It's hard to argue on that point, considering many reports of the meeting between the two sides criticized the Magic for being unprepared, something the team certainly wouldn't leak itself.
As for the Howard situation itself though, Stern told Zillgitt that he didn't have a problem with how it was playing out: "To me, it is the soap opera our fans turn in for — the drama on the court and the drama off the court. When we cease to have a story popping up, we probably won't exist…. That's the way it has been in baseball and the NFL and hockey and basketball. And frankly, it engages our fans, it engages our reporters, it engages our bloggers. It makes people happy, mad, sad. It's just the life in sports."

Anthony Davis Out Of Olympics?

July 3rd, 2012 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday 8:48pm: According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony Davis will report to Las Vegas next week despite his ankle injury.

Monday 12:23pm: A source that spoke to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune classified Davis' ankle sprain as "light" and said it could sideline the big man for a week or two. Talking to SI.com's Sam Amick, Colangelo continued not to rule out Davis for the London games until he has more information.

"Just getting a report that his ankle is serious doesn't mean anything to me until we get an official doctor's report on what that means," Colangelo said. "Does it mean he can't practice for a week? Does it mean he's out for a month? You know what I'm saying. I don't like to speculate."

Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws

July 3rd, 2012 at 11:41am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.

Odds & Ends: Hawks, D-Will, Calderon, Celtics

July 3rd, 2012 at 12:15am CST by Chuck Myron

It's been another whirlwind day of player movement in the NBA, as the Hawks agreed to two significant trades, sending Joe Johnson to the Nets and Marvin Williams to the Jazz. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld speculated that Josh Smith may be the next Hawk to go (Twitter link), but Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report that Smith is excited about the moves, which would free up plenty of cap space for next summer, when Atlanta could go after Smith and other major targets. Here's news from elsewhere around the busy Association.

Odds & Ends: Miller, Mavs, Martin, Cavs, Olympics

July 1st, 2012 at 2:45am CST by Luke Adams

Brad Miller decided earlier this year to retire at season's end, and went on an emotional note in April, receiving a standing ovation in his final game with the Timberwolves. But according to agent Mark Bartelstein, it's "not a certainty" that his client will retire, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.

I have to wonder what Miller's contract situation is, for the T-Wolves' sake — his $5.1MM 2012/13 was only partially guaranteed, so if he'd been waived by June 30th, he would've received $848K of it. If he'd officially filed for retirement, he would have forfeited the salary. But if neither of those things happened, will Miller still be on Minnesota's books for $5MM+? We'll have to wait for some clarification on that front, but in the meantime, here are some odds and ends from around the league, as free agency begins:

LaMarcus Aldridge Out Of Olympics

June 29th, 2012 at 5:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge is a no-go for the Olympics as he recovers from right hip surgery, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports. Aldridge is the third player in the past two days to withdraw from Team USA because of injury, joining Chris Bosh, who pulled out today, and Dwyane Wade, who declined his invitation yesterday.

Chris Bosh Withdraws From Olympics

June 29th, 2012 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of teammate Dwyane Wade pulling out of the Olympics due to injury concerns, Chris Bosh has decided to withdraw as well, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Agent Henry Thomas told Winderman that Bosh has pulled out of the London games to deal with his lingering abdominal injury.