Team USA isn’t filled with stars for this summer’s competition, but their absence could help players like Patrick McCaw and Norris Cole get another shot at the NBA, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. They’re part of the American team participating in the FIBA AmeriCup tournament, which begins Friday in Brazil.
“I think it’s more about representing the USA for me right now,” said McCaw, who played for three teams in five years and won championship rings in his first three NBA seasons. “I want to make it back to the NBA. I know that’s a process. And I know one day, whenever, next week, next month, next year, when it’s supposed to happen, it’ll happen. But right now, I’m just focusing on this USA, wearing these three letters, giving my all to this team and representing the United States of America.”
The odds may be even longer for Cole, who went to the NBA Finals with the Heat during his first three seasons in the league. Cole has been out of the league since 2017 and has been trying to revive his career with a long list of overseas teams.
“I still have the ability,” said Cole, who will turn 34 in October. “God has still blessed me with the ability. I still have the fire, the hunger and I still feel like I have something to prove, things that I would like to accomplish as a player. That feeling of winning a championship, the mission, the goal, the work to try to get to that point again, that’s what drives me as a competitor. And I want that feeling again.”
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- LeBron James talks to Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated about his desire to eventually play in the NBA with his teenage sons. Bronny is a high school senior and will be eligible for the draft in 2024, but Bryce is only 15 and can’t get to the league until 2027, raising questions of whether LeBron has that many years left. “I feel like I could play for quite a while,” he said. “So it’s all up to my body, but more importantly, my mind. If my mind can stay sharp and fresh and motivated, then the sky’s not even a limit for me. I can go beyond that. But we shall see.”
- Duke’s Dariq Whitehead, projected as a top-10 pick in next year’s draft, had surgery on Tuesday for a fracture in his right foot, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN. Whitehead is out indefinitely and the school says he will return sometime “this fall.”
- The NBA has reduced the price of League Pass by more than half for the upcoming season, according to Jacob Feldman of Yahoo. The standard price has been cut from $230 to $100, and the premium package has fallen from $280 to $130.