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World Cup Notes: Towns, F. Wagner, Canada, Ingram

August 27th, 2023 at 9:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Led by Karl-Anthony Towns, the Dominican Republic is the early surprise team of this year’s World Cup, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. The Timberwolves‘ big man posted 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists Sunday as the Dominican team took down highly ranked Italy, and he told reporters the result shouldn’t be considered a surprise.

“Was this an upset?” Towns asked. “I thought we wanted to win. We had great things in the second half, that’s what brought us the victory. We did a great job as a team, everybody down the line was amazing.”

As the only 2-0 team in Group A and one game left against Angola, the Dominican Republic is in excellent position to move past pool play. Towns may be the most recognizable player, but he’s not the team’s only weapon. Andres Feliz also scored 24 points, including seven three-pointers, while Jean Montero contributed 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Italy is now in the unexpected position of having to defeat the host Philippines on Tuesday just to advance.

There’s more from the World Cup:

Germany got past Australia without Magic forward Franz Wagner, who sat out the game with a “slight sprained ankle,” per Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Wagner is considered day-to-day, but the Germans opted to rest him against their toughest opponent in Group E.
Canada enjoyed a record-setting day in its 55-point victory over Lebanon. Its 128 points were the most ever for a Canadian team, and its 43 assists set a record for a World Cup game, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet. Canada was able to rest Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, who is dealing with a minor injury, as nine players scored in double figures, adds Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link).
Team USA has a roster filled with talented scorers, so it’s hard for everyone to get the opportunities they’re accustomed to, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The most glaring example so far is Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, who was limited to four shots and two points in 15 minutes in the opening game against New Zealand. “This is totally different than what I am used to,” Ingram said. “The team is winning right now, so I can’t be selfish thinking about myself. But it’s a little frustrating right now for me, and I’m just trying to figure out ways I can be effective.”

World Cup Notes: Canada, Fournier, USA, Mills, Towns

August 25th, 2023 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Canadian national team hasn’t had a ton of success in international competition in recent years and is missing top players like Jamal Murray and Andrew Wiggins at this year’s World Cup. However, Team Canada looked formidable its first group-play game on Friday, outscoring a talented French club by 27 points in the second half en route to a 95-65 win.

“We got our ass kicked,” French wing Evan Fournier told reporters after the game, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. “… They were really physical with us. Taking us out of our set plays. And as a team I think they kind of forced us to do things that we don’t want to do.”

The Canadians leaned heavily on their NBA talent in the victory, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Luguentz Dort, Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker all playing at least 20 minutes. Melvin Ejim was the only other player to log more than five minutes in the game.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the standout, racking up 27 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in just 27 minutes of action. Powell (+35 in 23 minutes) and Brooks (+33 in 26 minutes) anchored Canada’s aggressive defense.

Canada will face Lebanon on Sunday, while France will look to bounce back against Latvia.

Here’s more on the World Cup:

In an Insider-only story, Jonathan Givony and Kevin Pelton of ESPN pick their 15 most interesting players at the World Cup, including reigning NCAA national player of the year Zach Edey (Canada), projected 2024 first-rounder Juan Nunez (Spain) and Fournier (France), who scored a team-high 21 points on Friday after spending most of last season glued to the Knicks‘ bench. A strong World Cup could help earn Fournier a new NBA opportunity via trade or buyout, Pelton notes.
Team USA entered Friday as the strong frontrunners to win the 2023 World Cup, but head coach Steve Kerr knows the team can’t afford to get overconfident, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. “Last time through this tournament, we finished seventh, we lost (two) games,” Kerr said. “We recognize how hard this is. These are not the days of 1992. … We may be one of the favorites, but I don’t think anybody’s clear cut. I think there’s a lot of teams that have a shot at this thing.”
Following an eventful offseason that saw him traded from Brooklyn to Houston to Oklahoma City to Atlanta, veteran guard Patty Mills provided a reminder on Friday of what he can bring to a team. The Hawks guard scored a team-high 25 points in Australia’s resounding win over Finland. “No surprises there,” Jack White said of Mills’ performance, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN. “We know he can turn it on; that’s what he does… he’s a hell of a leader and it’s what we expect from him.”
Prior to the start of the World Cup, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns spoke to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic about why he’s playing for the Dominican Republic and what it means to him to represent his mother’s native country. Towns and the Dominican Republic team got off to a strong start on Friday, defeating the host Philippines in a game that set a new World Cup attendance record (38,115), as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press details. Towns scored 26 points in the 87-81 win.

Edwards Must Become Team's Leader

August 24th, 2023 at 2:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Edwards has become the breakout star for USA Basketball this summer. For the Timberwolves to take the next step, Edwards needs to be their unquestioned leader, Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune opines. While he has remained deferential to Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, Edwards will be the player the Timberwolves turn to when they need a basket or a lift this upcoming season.

World Cup Notes: Latvia, Japan, Philippines, China, Australia

August 23rd, 2023 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Latvian Basketball Association has officially announced the national team’s 12-man roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup (Twitter link).

Thunder forward Davis Bertans is the only active NBA player on Latvia’s roster, but the team features a handful of former NBAers, including Bertans’ brother Dairis Bertans. Former Nets forward Rodions Kurucs and ex-Wizards big man Anzejs Pasecniks are the other Latvians with NBA experience.

Here are a few more notes on the 2023 World Cup:

Japan and the Philippines, two of the host nations of the World Cup, have announced their 12-man rosters for the event. Suns forward Yuta Watanabe is the only NBA player representing Japan in this year’s tournament, while Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is the lone NBA player for the Philippines (Twitter link). Young center Kai Sotto, who committed to the G League Ignite in 2020 and has spent the past two seasons in Australia, is also suiting up for the Philippines.
China and Australia are among the other national teams to finalize their 12-man World Cup squads. There are no surprises in either case — while Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson is China’s only NBA player (Twitter link), the Boomers have nine active NBAers on a loaded roster that includes up-and-comers like Thunder guard Josh Giddey and Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels (link via BasketNews.com).
A panel of ESPN’s basketball writers, including Brian Windhorst, has previewed the 2023 World Cup and made predictions for the event. South Sudan is a popular sleeper pick to make it to the knockout round and potentially earn an Olympic berth, but Team USA is widely expected to win the tournament — France was the only other team to receive a single vote.

World Cup Notes: Green, Brazil, Naturalized Players, U.S. Coaches

August 22nd, 2023 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks guard Josh Green, who sat out Australia’s final World Cup tune-up game on Tuesday due to a minor ankle injury, is considered healthy and available for the Boomers’ World Cup opener on Friday, per Basketball Australia (Twitter link via Olgun Uluc of ESPN).

Green, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension with Dallas this offseason, is expected to play a key role for an Australian squad looking to improve upon its fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup.

Here are a few more notes on the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which tips off this Friday:

The Brazilian national team has officially announced its 12-man roster for the World Cup (Twitter link). While no current NBA players are on the roster, former NBAers like Raul Neto, Bruno Caboclo, and Cristiano Felicio will be representing the Brazilians.
FIBA is permitting each national team to have one “naturalized” player on its roster for the 2023 World Cup, prompting Meliksah Bayrav of Eurohoops to highlight some of the notable players who fall into this group, including Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (Philippines) and Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson (China).
As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, it’s not just the players who are asked to accept lesser roles than they’re accustomed to when they join Team USA. Vardon takes an in-depth look at a talented U.S. coaching staff under Steve Kerr, noting that accomplished title-winning head coaches like Erik Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue have happily performed the “grunt work” expected of assistants during the lead-up to the World Cup.

World Cup Notes: Edwards, Haliburton, Spoelstra, Africa

August 21st, 2023 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Edwards has emerged as the breakout star for Team USA, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Timberwolves guard had a 34-point performance Sunday as the Americans rallied past Germany to post a 5-0 record in exhibition play heading into the FIBA World Cup. Edwards displayed his full offensive arsenal, including four three-pointers and an emphatic slam early in the game, and took over with 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“He’s unquestionably ‘the guy,’” coach Steve Kerr said. “I mean … he knows it, but now the team knows it and I think the fans see it. But we see it in practice every day. He genuinely believes he’s the best player in the gym every single night. And he’s such a dynamic young player, but I think he’s taking a leap.”

The 22-year-old already appeared on the path toward stardom, making his first All-Star appearance last season while averaging 24.6 points per game. He led the U.S. in scoring at 19.2 PPG in exhibition play and appears to have established himself as the team’s No. 1 option as the tournament starts this weekend.

“If you think about USA basketball over the years, a lot of young players have taken a leap in these World Cup (and) Olympic competitions and it feels to me like Anthony is taking that leap,” Kerr said.

There’s more from the World Cup:

The Germans provided the first major scare for Team USA, holding a 16-point lead in the third quarter before wilting down the stretch, Vardon adds. The U.S. staged a late 18-0 run to pull the game out, but the players understand they will likely face similar challenges in the future. “We talk about it all the time — that fear factor (for other teams) is gone,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “There’s certain battles that you have to control to win basketball games, especially at this level. We know we gotta control the glass, we gotta run teams off the 3-point line, can’t send ’em to the free-throw line. That’s what really affects USA basketball, losing games. We didn’t do a good job of those things, but we figured out a way to win.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s serving as an assistant on Kerr’s staff, calls the Team USA roster “the future of the NBA” in an interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link). He also discusses the challenge of trying to mold a team in a few weeks to compete with opponents that have played together for years.
Five African teams are viewing the World Cup as a chance to show the rest of the world how much progress they’ve made, Leonard Solms writes for ESPN. Nigeria, the traditional power on the continent, won’t be in the tournament, but Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, South Sudan, Egypt and Cape Verde all qualified. The African team with the best World Cup finish will qualify for next year’s Olympics.

World Cup Notes: Bridges, Johnson, Team USA, Towns

August 19th, 2023 at 8:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mikal Bridges‘ and Cameron Johnson‘s careers have mirrored each other, from breaking into the NBA with Phoenix to being sent to the Nets in the same trade and now making their debuts together with Team USA, writes Vishakha Deshpande of USA Basketball. Nicknamed “The Twins” because of their close friendship, Bridges and Johnson are enjoying their experience as they try to win a gold medal at the FIBA World Cup.

“It’s just really amazing to be here with him (Johnson),” Bridges said. “It’s wild to even think that I didn’t know Cam very well five years ago and with every passing season we get closer. And now being here and playing for USA, it’s just such an honor.”

Many of the NBA’s top stars are skipping the World Cup with an eye toward playing in the Olympics next summer. That has created opportunities for not just Johnson and Bridges, but the rest of the U.S. roster, which is largely made up of players in their first major international competition.

“It’s been amazing,” Bridges said. “We’re all kind of like the same age. It’s a fun set of guys and we got along really fast. We weren’t worried about that at all when we got here. The goal is to get gold for USA.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

With Team USA’s first World Cup game one week away, head coach Steve Kerr appears to have settled on a starting lineup, observes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Kerr used the same starting five for the fourth straight game as the Americans defeated Greece in an exhibition Friday, penciling in Bridges alongside Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Brandon Ingram and Jaren Jackson Jr. “It’s so hard because you only have a couple weeks and then you jump right into the tournament,” Kerr said. “So I like the stability of that (starting) group.”
They haven’t gotten much notice, but John Jenkins, Langston Galloway and Eric Mika have been working with Team USA in advance of the World Cup, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The three players – who played for the U.S. during the World Cup qualifiers – won’t accompany the team to Manila for the tournament, but they’ve been actively involved in the preparation as members of the U.S. Select Team. “To see them win it all, it’d be a huge moment for me, John, Eric,” Galloway said. “We helped get them here. Now let’s finish the job.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was ejected from the Dominican Republic’s exhibition game with Spain after picking up two technical fouls, tweets Chrisos Tsaltas of Sportal. The Timberwolves‘ big man put up 20 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes before being tossed.

Reid Ready To Show He Deserved Extension

August 15th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Edwards is one of the top options for Team USA this summer heading into the World Cup. Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley expects Edwards to be better than ever during the upcoming NBA season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. “He’s working on all facets of his game. He’s hungry, he’s angry, he’s all that at the same time,” Conley said. “It’s going to be really fun to see his development and how he comes back this season.”
Timberwolves center Naz Reid is no longer under the radar after signing a three-year, $42MM extension. He told Krawczynski that he’s fine with the added pressure that comes with the contract. “Bigger role, bigger expectations,” Reid said. “So I’m definitely going to show I’ve improved, in every facet of the game, maturity, basketball or whatever the case may be. Higher pay comes higher responsibility. This is what comes with it. So I’m ready for it.”

And-Ones: Washington, Available FAs, Player Tiers, CBA

August 15th, 2023 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

Exploring possible destinations for some of the top remaining free agents, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report suggests that many people around the league think that P.J. Washington – the only standard restricted free agent still on the board – will eventually accept his qualifying offer from the Hornets. Pincus also confirms that the Lakers have conveyed interest in big man Christian Wood.

In considering a potential landing spot for Kelly Oubre, who averaged more than 20 points per game last season, Pincus notes that Memphis makes some sense. While it’s not clear if the Grizzlies have actually expressed interest in Oubre, Pincus points out that they haven’t really replaced Dillon Brooks at forward and have some young players – such as Ziaire Williams or Josh Christopher – who might appeal to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade scenario.

Here are a few more odds and ends from the league:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic has published the first two installments of his player tier rankings for the 2023/24 season. Breaking down the top 125 players of the league into five tiers, Partnow lists 45 players in tier five – including Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes – and 41 more in tier four, such as Kings center Domantas Sabonis, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Partnow’s top three tiers will consist of 39 players and will presumably be posted later this week.
Now that hoarding cap room into the regular season is no longer a viable strategy, Rob Mahoney of The Ringer wonders how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will change the way that rebuilding teams approach future offseasons.
With no sign that the Damian Lillard or James Harden situations will be resolved anytime soon, John Hollinger of The Athletic questions whether the NBA’s player empowerment era has reached its ceiling. During the last several years, stars who ask for trades have sought increasingly specific destinations despite having less and less leverage, Hollinger observes, adding that the outcomes for Lillard and Harden could create new benchmarks for future star trade requests.

World Cup Notes: Towns, Team USA, Barrett, Doncic

August 14th, 2023 at 10:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Karl-Anthony Towns‘ decision to represent the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup is a way to honor his late mother, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, a Dominican native, died from COVID during the early stages of the pandemic. She helped to inspire the commitment from Towns, who hasn’t played in an international tournament for more than a decade.

“There was a lot that went into the decision,” the Timberwolves‘ forward/center said. “The timing is right. I didn’t put as much stress on my body this last season because of the (calf) injury. I’m feeling great now, I’m 100% and feeling like myself again. It’s a perfect time to work on some things in my game. And with my mom’s passing, I felt an urgency to do it.”

The Dominican team won’t have Al Horford or Chris Duarte, but Towns’ presence will give them a chance of advancing. They’ll start out in pool play with Italy, Angola and the Philippines, which will host the Americas region when the tournament begins August 26.

Towns is also hoping to use the World Cup as a springboard to a better season with Minnesota. He missed 51 straight games with the calf issue, and his late-season return wasn’t enough to help the team get past the first round of the playoffs.

“The (Wolves were) very supportive when I came to them to talk about playing,” Towns said. “There’s a lot of commitment to get better this season, and for all of us this will be a head start.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Team USA got its first taste of adversity in Sunday’s game against the top-ranked Spanish team in Malaga, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Americans faced a rabid crowd as Spain erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the third quarter. “Atmosphere is contagious,” Mikal Bridges said. “And that’s funny. I was talking to my teammates about playing in the national championship, playing in the finals is just a different type of atmosphere. And this is like one thing that you dream of, and we aren’t even in the stadium in the Philippines (for the World Cup). But even coming here and being in Spain, this is ridiculous, man. I’m happy I’m a part of this, happy I’m going through this.”
While Jalen Brunson made all nine of his shots from the field as the U.S. pulled out a victory, Knicks teammate RJ Barrett scored 31 points in Canada’s overtime win over Germany in the finals of the DBB SuperCup tournament, per Christian Arnold of The New York Post. “(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), (Kelly Olynyk) and the guys are out there making it easy for me to do my thing, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Barrett said.
Luka Doncic told reporters, including Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops, that he feels he has something to prove after Slovenia’s early exit in last year’s EuroBasket. “I disappointed my team. I let my whole country down. It was my fault,” Doncic said. “I’ll be back. I will always play for Slovenia if I am not injured.”