Since USA Basketball announced its 12-man roster earlier this week for the first qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup, two players have been removed from the squad — DaQuan Jeffries withdrew due to an injury, and Frank Mason wasn’t cleared to participate.
NBA veterans Isaiah Thomas and Justin Anderson will replace Jeffries and Mason on the Team USA roster, according to a press release. Thomas, who continues to pursue an NBA roster spot, represented the U.S. in the AmeriCup qualifiers back in January, so he’s no stranger to international competition.
The same is true of Anderson — the veteran swingman, who has appeared in 226 NBA games, played for Team USA in the AmeriCup qualifiers in 2020 and was part of the Select Team that scrimmaged against the U.S. team prior to the 2019 World Cup.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks identifies some of the offseason moves that been the most impactful during the first month of the 2021/22 NBA season, including the Cavaliers‘ acquisition of Ricky Rubio and Tommy Sheppard‘s reshaping of the Wizards‘ roster.
- The NBA plans to increase COVID-19 testing during the Thanksgiving holidays next week, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski explains, the league is trying to avoid risking any team-wide breakouts after players participate in family celebrations.
- Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link) breaks down the pros and cons of the various pathways to the NBA for top prospects, taking an in-depth look at the G League, Overtime Elite, National Basketball League (Australia), and college basketball. As Givony writes, the NCAA remains “the most bankable path to the NBA” for top prospects, but those players have more options than ever to choose from.
Since players in all of those other leagues are getting paid, it’s becoming even harder for the NCAA to compete. It might be just a matter of time before they start paying the college players as well, even though it would be a very controversial decision.
They can already get endorsements. Players in the NCAA will be just fine.
Since no one else has said it, and I was gonna leave it alone, think of all the bad stuff that would bring. Might as well throw all small schools to div 2. All the blue bloods would be trying to outbid each other for all the biggest guys, and imagine being big guy on campus at 18, making 550k, how much drama would that bring, I don’t want to imagine
We’d never see a guy like dame or ja again
Or Curry
YES! The Cavs getting Rubio! Most fans were mystified by not only the Cavs making this trade, but the positive response by Cavs-fan posters on this site. There was nobody to argue with, as I recall… unlike with some The Athletic posters who seemed to prefer rebuild status. I said getting a smart, big, maybe old, PG was biggest thing the FO could do to affect winning— iffy news to rebuild fans or teen-player fans.
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#1 for the piece on minor trades was the return from Russell Westbrook trade. I hope that gets known as the Dinwiddie trade. But there were two other starters, two more contributors and a prospect, per espn.two
The Lowery move was considered “major”— I guess due to their thinking at the time. That might have listed #1 if all were considered— if nothing else I think it settled Herro.
Here’s a hot take… the NBA subsidizes the WNBA, which is a negative asset. Why can’t they do the same with the NCAA? Schools and the players can both get paid.
That is a f**** stupid take. The NCAA is not the same as the WNBA, at all, sorry.