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Team USA Notes: Germany, Edwards, Roster

September 7th, 2023 at 9:17pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Team USA blew out the Italian national team in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and intends to keep playing to its strengths ahead of a matchup with the undefeated Germans on Friday morning, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst writes.

While a loss to Lithuania earlier in the event stung, Team USA’s coaching staff featuring Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue and Mark Few reinvigorated the team’s identity prior to the 37-point victory over Italy, Windhorst writes, and they’ll plan to execute the same way against Germany in the semifinals.

Germany is 6-0 in World Cup play and has a size advantage, which Team USA struggled with in its loss to Lithuania, according to Windhorst. Dennis Schröder has been one of the best players in all of World Cup play, though he had an off day against Latvia on Wednesday. However, the Germans have depth, including NBAers Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, along with Daniel Theis.

“They’ve probably been the best team in the tournament overall,” Kerr said. “They’re connected, really well coached and have a lot of continuity and have a very strong team, physical team. So we’re going to have to play well to beat them.”

Team USA first took on Germany in a friendly game on Aug. 20, where Anthony Edwards fueled an 18-0 run by the Americans that helped the team complete a 16-point comeback victory.

The play of Edwards, how Germany chooses to guard him, and how the United States dictates the pace of play are key factors in determining which team will move on to play for the World Cup championship on Sunday, according to Windhorst.

“The challenge is to figure out when to attack and when not to,” Kerr said of Edwards, per Windhorst. “And we’re gonna need both. The last time we played Germany, he completely took over the game. [Against Italy] when we throw the ball ahead, whether it’s him or anybody else, we’re really lethal. So you just got to find that balance.”

We have more Team USA notes:

Edwards is doing everything Team USA asks of him, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, including dropping 35 points against Lithuania and then taking just six shots against Italy. “It’s the same thing with the Timberwolves,” Edwards said. “I’ve gotta look to score, look to pass. It’s not that hard.” Vardon writes that Edwards is on track to earn the elusive title of an NBA superstar, but he’ll need to close out the World Cup on a high note.
While Edwards has been a star, Team USA is benefiting from a team-oriented style of play featuring several impressive performances thus far, writes The Ringer’s Danny Chau. Chau highlights several of the team’s most impressive players, including Mikal Bridges, who scored 24 points on Tuesday against Italy. While none of what Chau calls “A-list NBA stars” are participating in the event, Chau believes many players on the team can or will elevate to that status.
Don’t forget to participate in our poll from this morning and chime in with who you think will win each World Cup semifinal matchup.

Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie Talks Offseason, Nic Claxton, More

September 7th, 2023 at 2:03pm CST by Rory Maher

In a podcast appearance with Dylan Burris of NetsPress, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie admitted there is a level of uncertainty surrounding Brooklyn and the league as a whole until the Damian Lillard and James Harden situations are resolved. The Nets have been cited as a possible Tyler Herro suitor in three-team scenarios with Portland and Miami.

“Obviously, the offseason isn’t over,” said Dinwiddie. “I know the entire league is in a holding pattern for Dame and James. It could affect what we have going on.”

When asked if he knew anything about the Nets’ interest in possible trades, Dinwiddie said that information was “certainly above my pay grade.”

Assuming the roster remains intact, the 30-year-old expects 2023/24 to be a “building” year, as NetsDaily.com relays.

“If we do have this team, which it looks like we will, it’s going to another year of coalescing, building,” Dinwiddie told Burris. “Mikal (Bridges) will try to establish himself as possibly an All-Star, a first time All-Star. I think Nic (Claxton) is going to try to establish himself as one of the premier big men in the league especially being in a contract year and heading into free agency next year.

“Cam (Johnson), I think, has more ball skills than people kind of expected. So I think you’ll see him play extremely well. I think him being comfortable signing his deal, being comfortable and stuff, you’ll see a little bit of a leap there. For Cam, Mikal and Dorian (Finney-Smith), I don’t think any of them had been in another system.

“We’re going to be a group that gets up and down and hopefully, we have a healthy Ben (Simmons) and if he’s in All-Star form, you might have two All-Stars. If he’s there, we have a real puncher’s chance against anybody.”

According to NetsDaily, Dinwiddie praised Simmons as a teammate and said he was encouraged by his recovery from back and knee injuries, though he didn’t know the specifics.

As Dinwiddie noted, starting center Claxton is on an expiring $9.6MM contract, and the former No. 31 overall pick is coming off a breakout fourth season, having averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.5 blocks in 76 games (29.9 minutes) in ’22/23. Dinwiddie said his teammate has made strides in multiple areas this offseason, including his touch around the rim, strength, balance and conditioning.

“I think Nic is going to make the biggest jump,” said Dinwiddie, who is also entering the final year of his deal. “I think he’s going to be supremely motivated. I think we’re going to see a big-time year from him.”

Dinwiddie also said he was a “fan” of the team’s offseason moves to this point, per NetsDaily, specifically mentioning free agent additions Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker and second-round pick Jalen Wilson, who is on a two-way contract.

USA, Serbia Advance To World Cup Semifinals

September 5th, 2023 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

After their first loss of the summer against Lithuania on Sunday, Team USA bounced back in convincing fashion on Tuesday, blowing out Italy in a quarterfinal matchup that was never close. The U.S. won by a final score of 100-63, led by Nets forward Mikal Bridges (24 points, seven rebounds) and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (18 points, five assists).

The victory lines up Team USA for a semifinal showdown on Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between Germany and Latvia. The German team – which includes NBAers like Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis, and Moritz Wagner – is undefeated in the World Cup and will be the favorite to win Wednesday’s game, though Latvia has exceeded expectations and is a legitimate threat to make it to the final four.

Meanwhile, the Lithuanian squad that defeated the U.S. on Sunday had a disappointing follow-up contest vs. Serbia on Tuesday, losing by a score of 87-68 in another one-sided quarterfinal.

Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic was Serbia’s best player, pouring in 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Sixers big man Filip Petrusev had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. Heat forward Nikola Jovic also chipped in with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Serbia will face the winner of Wednesday’s Canada/Slovenia game in Friday’s semifinal, while Lithuania and Italy move into the consolation games to determine the fifth-through-eighth place finishers.

Lithuania and Italy will now have to win qualifying tournaments next summer in order to earn one of the final four spots in the 2024 Olympics, while Serbia remains in the running to claim one of the two FIBA Europe Olympic berths up for grabs in the World Cup.

The winner of Germany/Latvia on Wednesday would join Serbia as the two European Olympic qualifiers if Slovenia falls to Canada; if Slovenia wins, three European teams would still be alive for two Olympic berths heading into the semifinals.

And-Ones: Executives, Value Deals, Super-Max, Milestones

September 1st, 2023 at 10:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports recently ranked 25 of the NBA’s top decision-makers in terms of how successful they’ve been at drafting, making trades, and signing free agents over the course of their respective careers. The other five lead executives were not evaluated due to a small sample size.

As Rohrbach writes, with how his system is set up, having a high score over a long career is more impressive than an executive who performed similarly with fewer years of experience. Still, there’s an obvious caveat: his evaluation process is subjective.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is ranked No. 25, followed by Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak and Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas. The top three executives in Rohrbach’s system are Jazz CEO Danny Ainge (No. 1), Raptors president Masai Ujiri, and Spurs GM Brian Wright.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype created three all-contract-value teams comprised of players at each of the five positions. Players on rookie deals and those with maximum salaries were excluded from consideration. Gozlan’s first team features four members of the United States’ World Cup roster — Jalen Brunson, Austin Reaves, Mikal Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen takes the final spot.
Signing players to a Designated Veteran contract, also known as the “super-max,” is a polarizing topic among NBA executives, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “Super-max isn’t a guarantee of the result you’re looking for,” one general manager told Heavy Sports. “Just because you qualify doesn’t make you that guy. Inflated contracts are even harder to move. The additional penalties in the new CBA should slow the roll of everybody giving out a super-max deal the first time a guy qualifies for it. Just because a guy qualifies for it doesn’t necessarily make him entitled to it. That’s become the issue in the league. If you’re going to call yourself a franchise-level player, which is what I think the super-max number says, you’ve got to have more than just putting up numbers.”
ESPN.com lists some noteworthy milestones and anniversaries to watch for the 2023/24 season, noting that Lakers superstar LeBron James is on track to surpass 40,000 career points if he maintains his stellar production and stays healthy. James became the league’s all-time leading scorer last season.

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.

International Notes: Walker, Bridges, Lue, Fournier

August 17th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Kemba Walker talked about promoting the EuroLeague and giving it more worldwide recognition as he arrived in Europe this week to join AS Monaco Basket, writes Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops. The free agent point guard, who had been looking for a new team since the Mavericks waived him in January, agreed to a one-year deal with Monaco last month.

“I hope I can help increase the notoriety of the EuroLeague,” Walker said. “To increase the style of play and just built it up more. … It’s a big step. Something different. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity. I just want to play basketball.”

There are plenty of former NBA players in the EuroLeague, but no one has the resume of Walker, who was a four-time All-Star before a knee injury derailed his career. Even if the experience in Europe doesn’t lead to another NBA opportunity, Walker is hoping to show that he can still play at a high level.

“I’m looking forward to be in a different environment,” he said. “Learning my teammates. Meeting new people… the coaching staff, medical guys, everything. Basketball is basketball. And I’m here to win games.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

Mikal Bridges is enjoying his first time representing the U.S. in international competition, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Bridges won two national titles at Villanova and has developed into an elite player with Phoenix and Brooklyn, but he considers playing for the World Cup team to be the highlight of his career. “It’s definitely surreal, just being here, having these colors on, having USA across the chest,” he said. “When Steve (Kerr) first talked to me about being on the team, I was in Phoenix then, and when he called, it was already a ‘Pinch me’ moment. And when I got the official call from Grant (Hill) asking me to be on the team, I was like, ‘Oh shoot, we’re really doing this.’”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is part of Kerr’s staff after an injury cost him a chance to join Team USA as a player in 1997, notes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I think it’s an honor,” Lue said. “You grow up watching basketball, watching the Olympic team, the Dream Team, you always want to play for those teams. I wasn’t good enough, but it’s amazing to have an opportunity to represent my country in any capacity. So, coaching is what it is.”
French guard Evan Fournier reached a milestone Wednesday by taking part in the 100th international game of his career, according to Eurohoops. The Knicks‘ guard had 10 points and two assists in a win over Japan.

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.”

Eastern Notes: Livers, Bridges, C. Johnson, Brunson, Celtics

August 6th, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Rory Maher

After being limited to 19 games in 2021/22 — his rookie season — due to a right foot stress fracture he sustained in college, Pistons forward Isaiah Livers now realizes he may have done more harm than good with his strenuous workout regimen last offseason. He appeared in just 52 games during his sophomore campaign in ’22/23, having dealt with multiple injuries.

As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes, Livers has taken a different, more measured approach this summer in an effort to prepare his body for an 82-game schedule.

“I’ve built a new friendship with the weight room,” Livers told Sankofa. “I feel a lot more explosive, bouncier, and I feel more in control of my body. It’s no secret, the No. 1 thing about me is just avoiding injuries. It’s been some small injuries. I tweaked my workout plan to the point where I won’t have those wear-and-tears, those nagging injuries. I’ve been put on a smart plan where I’m not overworking myself. This is the season. I’m excited and we have big things to look forward to.”

A relentless worker, Livers admits it hasn’t been easy to take a step back, but he knows ’23/24 will be a key season for his future. As Sankofa notes, the former second-round pick will be headed to restricted free agency next summer after Detroit exercised its team option on his contract at the end of June.

Livers also spoke to Sankofa about the return of Cade Cunningham and new head coach Monty Williams, among other topics. It’s an interesting, thoughtful interview and worth checking out for Pistons fans.

Here’s more from the East:

Both Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson are thrilled to be able to represent Team USA in international competition, and the Nets are fully supportive of their choices, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes in a subscriber-only piece. “It seems so much fun,” Johnson said. “You know, I’ve talked to people that have played, I’ve talked to people that have been a part of it. They said it’s such a valuable experience for your career, and you can learn a lot from it. And then you just get the experience to see high level basketball across the world in a different type of environment. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson believes playing for Team USA in the World Cup this summer will be beneficial for him entering the 2023/24 season, according to Ethan Sears of The New York Post. “I think it’s another way to get ready for training camp,” Brunson said. “You gotta look at it and see the positives that come out of this, going towards the NBA season. I know I’ll be ready for that. I think for me, my mindset is focused on this and not really worrying about what’s going on ahead right now.”
Brian Robb of MassLive.com covers a number of Celtics topics in a mailbag article. Most of the questions are centered around how the team should fill out the end of the roster. Robb would take a patient approach and thinks free agent big man Christian Wood is an unlikely target for a variety of reasons.

And-Ones: Team USA, Contracts, EuroBasket Qualifiers, BIG3

August 6th, 2023 at 7:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Team USA got revenge on the Select Team during Saturday’s scrimmage, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who writes that the senior team won 84-61 after three periods, which were 10 minutes each.

As Vardon notes, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram and Jaren Jackson Jr. started both days for Team USA. On Friday, Cameron Johnson was the fifth starter, while Anthony Edwards received the nod on Saturday.

Given that the team performed much better yesterday, it seems like Edwards might have the edge for a starting nod, though head coach Steve Kerr still isn’t ready to commit to anything.

Despite what he’s said publicly in terms of the lineup, it’s clear that Kerr has a major role in mind for Brunson, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“I think Jalen is such a natural leader,” Kerr said. “Because he’s a point guard, he immediately comes to mind. He’s the one who’s leading the ‘1, 2, 3 USA’ chant. Some guys just, it just comes naturally to them.”

With the Select Team heading home and the Americans having a non-contact practice on Sunday, the next test for Team USA as it prepares for the 2023 World Cup will come during Monday’s exhibition game against Puerto Rico, Vardon adds.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Which NBA players have benefited the most from the salary cap rising 10% each of the past two years? ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides a chart (via Twitter) of salary comparisons over the past four league years, and notes the highest earners have actually received the biggest bump in terms of relative volume.
The 32-nation qualifying field for the 2025 EuroBasket tournament has been set, as Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. The qualifiers will take place over three different windows between February 2024 and February 2025.
BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube has a handful of former NBA veterans on his wish list, including DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Dwight Howard and Jamal Crawford, he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscriber link). The 12-team 3-on-3 league started at the end of June and runs through August 26, with the championship held in London, England.

Team USA Notes: Lineup, Kerr, Edwards, Banchero

August 4th, 2023 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr isn’t prepared to name a starting five for this summer’s World Cup squad, telling reporters on Thursday at the U.S. training camp that things will “shake out over the next week or two,” as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays.

Although Team USA’s roster features plenty of talent, it’s primarily made up of younger players who don’t have a long list of postseason awards and/or playoff achievements on their respective résumés. Most of the roster also doesn’t have much – if any – international experience, so Kerr and his staff will have to figure out quickly which players are best suited for the international game and who fits together the best.

“It’s not easy, because usually you’re talking about 12 starters in the NBA. … These guys are all starters and great players,” Kerr said. “Part of the FIBA commitment is none of that stuff matters. There’s no contracts on the line. Nobody’s getting traded. This is just us for six weeks, and I expect the same thing to happen here is what happened in [2021, for the Olympics] and in [2019, for the World Cup], in terms of the buy-in and the effort and the energy and the intensity, and, we’ll see what happens.”

Here’s more on Team USA as it begins to prepare for the 2023 World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia:

In a separate ESPN.com story, Bontemps explores how the 2023 U.S. team can draw inspiration from the 2010 iteration of Team USA, which didn’t feature anyone from the 2008 Olympic roster and was derisively nicknamed the “B-Team.” Bontemps draws parallels between rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and the 2010 version of Kevin Durant, who helped lead the U.S. to World Cup gold 13 years ago during his ascension to NBA superstardom. Edwards has a chance to follow a similar trajectory, as Bontemps outlines.
Despite its relative inexperience, this U.S. squad appears better positioned for World Cup success than the 2019 group, which finished a disappointing seventh, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who predicts that Team USA will come away with a gold medal this time around. Vardon predicts that Jaren Jackson, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Brandon Ingram will be starters, with Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and Austin Reaves vying for the final starting slot.
Team USA forward Paolo Banchero tells Vardon that his decision on whether to represent the U.S. or the Italian national team was a difficult, “drawn-out process.” The recruitment of Banchero by former Magic star Grant Hill – now Team USA’s managing director – and the fact that Paolo’s mother played for the U.S. women’s team in the 1990s helped tip the scales in favor of Team USA, as the reigning Rookie of The Year explains.
Banchero also told Vardon that he recognizes he may have a limited role on a talented U.S. roster and he’s prepared to do whatever is asked of him. “With Orlando, I’m the leading scorer, kind of the main guy,” he said. “But here, and I’m able to do other things, whether it is affecting the game defensively, on the glass, with my passing, whatever it may be. … I think I can showcase the other parts of my game. Whatever the team needs, I would try to show that.”