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Team USA Notes: Edwards, Hart, Banchero, Young

August 8th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

After completing its five-day training camp in Las Vegas, Team USA played its first official exhibition game ahead of this year’s World Cup on Monday and defeated Puerto Rico by a score of 117-74. The U.S. squad was up by just seven points at the half, but outscored the Puerto Ricans by 36 in a dominant second half.

As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards earned a spot in the starting five for Team USA alongside Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Brandon Ingram, and Jaren Jackson Jr., and showed why he belonged in that group. Edwards scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also adding four assists and four steals.

“Anthony was great,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He fits the FIBA game really well because of his physicality at both ends. He can get through contact. They allow a lot of contact on drives, so he can get through that contact with his strength and then using that same strength defensively, body people up and keep them from penetrating. So I thought he was great, but I thought the whole team really played well.”

The U.S. roster lacks an established scorer with FIBA experience whom the team could turn to for an important late-game basket, leading to speculation that Edwards could emerge as that player. Monday’s performance was a promising start.

Here’s more on Team USA as it prepares for upcoming tune-ups against Slovenia and Spain this weekend:

As Bontemps notes, Knicks forward Josh Hart was the only player who didn’t see any action on Monday vs. Puerto Rico. Team USA said he was out for “rest” purposes, but it’s probably no coincidence that Hart will become extension-eligible later this week — it will be interesting to see if he has an agreement on a new deal in place with New York by the time the U.S. faces Slovenia on Saturday.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero spent some time at center during Monday’s exhibition, and it sounds like Kerr plans to continue using him in that role going forward, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “He’s going to play some five,” Kerr said. “One of the things we really found in ’21 in the Tokyo Olympics was having a 5 that can push the ball in transition (as Bam Adebayo did) and create plays is very difficult for FIBA teams to handle. He can play some four, as he showed, but he’ll play plenty of five as well.”
In a separate ESPN.com story, Bontemps shares some early observations about Team USA’s starting five, its plan to lean on smaller lineups, and how using Banchero at the five could help create a “devastatingly effective” second unit offensively.
Within a larger discussion about Team USA during the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN express some skepticism that Trae Young will be part of the 12-man roster that represents the U.S. at the Paris Olympics next year, despite his desire to do so. “I heard Trae Young did not make a great case for himself during his previous time in the Team USA program,” MacMahon said.

Stein’s Latest: USA Basketball, Wood, B. Griffin

August 7th, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Multiple reporters have confirmed the news — originally reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — that Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was offered a spot on Team USA’s World Cup roster. Cunningham said last week that he declined the invitation to manage his workload for the upcoming 2023/24 season after being to 12 games in ’22/23 following shin surgery.

According to Marc Stein at Substack, USA Basketball had a longstanding interest in Cunningham joining the senior men’s team, but the organization also recognized that it was an “extreme long shot” to land him.

As Stein explains, Cunningham would have needed to commit to the full six-week time frame, which includes several exhibition games and lengthy international travel. Given how long he was sidelined, it makes sense that the 2021 No. 1 overall pick decided to be cautious; Detroit wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea either, according to Stein.

Here’s more from Stein:

Why was USA Basketball so interested in Cunningham? As Stein observes, he fits the mold of a physical guard that was a priority for the roster, which includes Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves and Josh Hart (though Hart is more of a wing than a traditional ball-handling guard).
The lack of physicality may explain why Hawks guard Trae Young isn’t on the World Cup roster, despite USAB managing director Grant Hill being a part owner of Atlanta, Stein writes. Young was disappointed to not make the team and recently said he’d welcome the opportunity to represent Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Stein adds.
Former ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy will serve as Team USA’s scouting director for the World Cup, Stein reports. Van Gundy has been associated with USAB for several years, including serving as head coach from 2017-19 when the team was comprised of non-NBA players during qualifying rounds, Stein notes.
The Lakers remain interested in free agent big man Christian Wood, sources tell Stein. However, they used most of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Gabe Vincent and their bi-annual exception on Taurean Prince, so they can basically only offer Wood the veteran’s minimum. While the Mavericks are open to a Wood sign-and-trade, neither the Lakers nor the Heat are believed to be viable partners in that scenario, according to Stein.
The Celtics are interested in re-signing free agent big man Blake Griffin, league sources tell Stein, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual. Griffin appeared in 41 regular season games with Boston in ’22/23, averaging career lows of 4.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 13.9 MPG. He also only played one game for six total minutes in the playoffs, despite the Celtics having 20 postseason contests.

World Cup Notes: Jackson, Reaves, Murray, Bogdanovic

August 7th, 2023 at 10:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. was named the standout of training camp in a straw poll of Team USA players taken by Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The American World Cup team wrapped up camp on Sunday in advance of tonight’s first exhibition game, and Jackson made a strong impression on his teammates.

“Jaren, particularly (Saturday), his energy and the way he went to the glass and went to the foul line every other possession,” Jalen Brunson said. “He was just really a force (in the Saturday scrimmage against the Select Team).”

As its best rim protector and most versatile big man, Jackson will be important to Team USA’s chances of capturing a gold medal. He’s looking forward to the international competition, noting that it’s conducive to his style of play, which often gets him into foul trouble in the NBA.

“It’s more physical in FIBA,” Jackson said. “You can use your chest a lot more. You can’t really use your hands, so that’s the similarity (with the NBA), but you can use your chest in FIBA just to get him off you or whatever the case. The defense gets a lot of benefit of the doubt, for the most part.”

There’s more World Cup news to pass along:

Even after a breakout season, Austin Reaves was surprised to receive an invitation to join the Team USA roster, per Steve Carp of The Sporting Tribune. Entering the league as an undrafted player, Reaves doesn’t have the credentials of his more heralded teammates, but his performance with the Lakers caught the attention of USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill. “I was shocked,” Reaves said. “As a kid, you watch (USA Basketball) and you fantasize taking that last shot to win the gold medal. Now I’m here and with a chance to contribute and be part of it. It’s a tremendous honor personally and to also represent the Lakers.”
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will miss Team Canada’s exhibition games in Europe as his status for the World Cup is evaluated, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The Canadians will play three times this week in Germany and twice next week in Spain before the actual tournament begins August 25. Canada will also be without newly signed Warriors guard Cory Joseph, who experienced an issue with his back during training camp, Kassius Robertson, who will report to his new EuroLeague team instead, and Oshae Brissett, who is rehabbing an injury (Twitter link).
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic tells Eurohoops that he’s optimistic about Serbia’s chances even though it won’t have NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic or new Thunder guard Vasilije Micic. “Given that it’s a relatively young team, we’ve managed well,” Bogdanovic said. “… We play a fast and attractive style of basketball.”

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.

Southeast Notes: Adebayo, Lillard, Young, Coulibaly, Magic

August 5th, 2023 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s pursuit of Damian Lillard could give Bam Adebayo a chance to team up with a close friend, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. They formed a bond while winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which is one of the reasons Miami stands alone on Lillard’s list of preferred destinations. Adebayo said that along with Lillard’s obvious talents, his “demeanor” could help the Heat make another run at a title.

“How he walks, how he talks, how he presents himself, we have a lot of those similar characteristics,” Adebayo said. “Dame isn’t the loudest person. I’m not the loudest person. We’re two down to earth people that gelled well in the Olympics.”

Adebayo was speaking from his youth basketball camp, where he got plenty of questions about Lillard from the participants. Miami hasn’t made much progress toward a deal because its offers haven’t appealed to Portland and it hasn’t been able to find another team to help facilitate a trade. Adebayo couldn’t offer any inside information, but he urged the campers to remain patient.

“The biggest thing is business,” he said. “Everybody wants it to make sense. Everybody on their side wants it to make sense. Obviously, other sides want it to make sense, too. So I feel like it’s just a waiting game until they reach an agreement, if or when it does happen.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks guard Trae Young is interested in joining Team USA for the 2024 Olympics (Twitter link from ClutchPoints). Young discussed the possibility in an interview with Gilbert Arenas, saying, “Obviously, I definitely want to … It’s up to them if they want me to … I respect the OGs and understand that you got to take your turn, but I believe that I should be on.”
Bilal Coulibaly tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington that the Wizards were the only team he met with before the draft. Coulibaly’s Metropolitans 92 team was in the French League finals, so he wasn’t able to participate in the normal pre-draft process, but he flew to Washington for a private meeting a few weeks before draft day. Coulibaly said he understands the responsibility of being the first pick of the new front office led by general manager Will Dawkins and Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger. “That’s just that they can trust me,” Coulibaly said. “They know I’m going to do the job for sure. They want me to play defense at first because that’s my biggest tool, so I’m going to do it. They don’t gotta worry about it.”
Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel examines how Magic lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard are planning to spend the rest of the summer as they prepare for their first NBA training camp.

And-Ones: Kerr, Expansion, Team USA, Giles, Barea

August 5th, 2023 at 1:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who is currently guiding Team USA as it prepares for the upcoming World Cup, is enthusiastic about the possibility of NBA expansion, particularly to Las Vegas and Seattle, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“It feels right,” Kerr said. “Obviously it’s not my department, but Vegas and Seattle seem to be such smart franchises. It’s a shame that we ever lost the Sonics in the first place. But as you look forward and you think of what we need, we need a couple of Western time slots. Think about all the doubleheaders on TV you have where the second game is starting at 8:40 central time. We lost a couple of West Coast time slots back when Seattle and Vancouver left the league. It hurt the TV schedule, which hurt the whole league schedule.

“You factor in Vegas for the time slot. But also just how great of a venue this is for summer league, USA Basketball, the fans here have proven they’ll come out, they love the Aces. The Knights just won the Stanley Cup, the Raiders are filling it up every Sunday. So this seems like a really good next team.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The U.S. Select Team outplayed Team USA in a scrimmage on Friday, emerging victorious by a final score of 47-39 after two 10-minute periods. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Kerr was unfazed by the senior team’s defeat. “It’s a time-honored tradition of USA Basketball,” Kerr said. “Everybody knows the Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley story from ’92 (defeating the Dream Team in a scrimmage ahead of the Barcelona Olympics). In 2019, for the last World Cup, the Select Team came in, kicked our butts, and that’s the whole point. You want to get great talent to come in and challenge you and that’s what the Select Team did today.”
Harry Giles‘ agent, Daniel Hazan, tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv that the free agent big man recently worked out for the Magic and has a workout scheduled with the Warriors next week (Twitter link). Giles will be in Miami on Saturday working out for Brooklyn. The former first-round pick is eligible for a two-way contract and all three clubs have at least one two-way spot available, as our tracker shows. Giles, who dealt with major knee injuries early in his career, last played for Portland in 2020/21.
Former NBA veteran J.J. Barea will be the new head coach of Puerto Rico’s Guaynabo Mets, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). It will be the longtime guard’s first coaching stint, Charania adds.

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.”

And-Ones: Harrison, Bennett, New CBA, Hill

July 30th, 2023 at 4:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former NBA journeyman point guard Andrew Harrison has a new international address. He has agreed to a contract with Greek team PAOK BC, per Eurohoops.

The Kentucky alum was selected with the No. 44 pick in 2015 and enjoyed stints with the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Pelicans from 2016-19. Across 145 career NBA games, the 6’6″ guard holds averages of 7.0 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.0 RPG and 0.7 SPG in 20.6 MPG.

Harrison also suited up for the G League affiliates of the Timberwolves, Warriors and Bulls. He has been playing abroad off and on since 2019, including stints in Russia, China, and Turkey.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft, has agreed to a contract with South Korean club the Goyang Sono Skygunners, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia notes that Bennett averaged 22.6 PPG and 12.2 RPG while playing for Taiwan’s Hsinchu JKO Lioneers in 2022/23. Across 151 NBA contests with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Raptors and Nets, the 6’8″ power forward holds averages of 4.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 0.5 APG.
The league’s fresh Collective Bargaining Agreement could help the NBA achieve even more significant parity than it has enjoyed in years, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. As Bontemps notes, five different clubs have won the title in the past five seasons. Only once before in NBA history has that happened. The new CBA is especially punitive towards teams that go way above the luxury tax line in terms of certain team-building mechanisms, and was created to disincentivize teams from spending beyond the second luxury tax apron. “I think people are going to be more cost conscious in roster building,” a front office executive told Bontemps. “You’re just not going to give away max contracts to above-average starters who are not max-level players.”
During a new interview with Marc Stein on his podcast The Saturday Stein Line, USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill indicated that he perceives a lack of appreciation for international competition stateside. “There’s maybe in a way a lack of appreciation for the international game here in the U.S.,” Stein said (hat tip to HoopsHype for the transcript). “And what I mean by that is that it’s hard, like it’s not easy… It’s not the original Dream Team where you steamrolled the competition. The rest of the world has improved, and the talent level has increased. And it’s a game that they are more familiar with the game, is officiated differently, and the rules are different.”

International Notes: Doncic, Embiid, Gobert, Lessort

July 30th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Luka Doncic was introduced Saturday as the new captain of the Slovenian national team for the FIBA World Cup competition, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. He takes over for Edo Muric, who will miss the tournament with a torn ACL.

“I am honored to be the captain. The coach and the rest of the players made the decision,” Doncic said. “It is a pleasure to play for the national team. I have not played since April 10, so I can’t wait for the games.”

At 24, Doncic is already a veteran of international competitions. He was among the stars at the last Summer Olympics and competed twice in EuroBasket, helping Slovenia capture the gold medal in 2017. His team failed to defend its title at last year’s tournament, getting upset by Poland in the quarterfinals.

“As in every tournament, the goal is to win the championship,” Doncic said. “Last year’s failure in the EuroBasket did not make (me) too angry, but instead motivated me. You must look ahead. We don’t care what happened last year. I feel better this year. It is apparent. Much praise to the fitness coach pushing me.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

After saying earlier this week that he’s hoping to have Sixers center Joel Embiid for the 2024 Olympics, Team USA managing director Grant Hill expanded on those comments Saturday on Marc Stein’s podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype). Hill expressed guarded optimism about landing Embiid, who also has citizenship with France and Cameroon, stating that talks will continue as he puts the team together. “Joel Embiid is an incredible talent and he has options,” Hill said. “And I guess that’s a good thing. I’ll just say this: I’ve had some discussions with him, and he knows our desire to have him a part of our program. So we’ll see sort of where that goes. But we’ll certainly, as we get through this World Cup and start to sort of plan for next summer, we’ll continue with those conversations, and hopefully by then, I’ll have some numbers and percentages to give you in terms of where the possibility stands.”
Rudy Gobert had doubts about participating in the World Cup after the season ended, but now he believes France has a good shot at a gold medal, according to Eurohoops. Gobert said he continued to work hard after the Timberwolves were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. “The break after the end of the season wasn’t one,” Gobert said. “I trained a lot in June and July, I feel good and that’s also why I’m here.”
France may be without draft-and-stash player Mathias Lessort, whose NBA rights are owned by the Knicks, Eurohoops reports. Lessort has an ankle issue that will force him to miss an exhibition game with Tunisia next week.

International Notes: Embiid, Mykhailiuk, M. James, Onuaku, A. Brown

July 28th, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter audio link), Team USA managing director Grant Hill confirmed that he’s talked to Joel Embiid about the possibility of playing for the U.S. at the 2024 Olympics and will continue to pursue the Sixers center.

Embiid is a citizen of both the U.S. and France, in addition to Cameroon, so he has plenty of options if he determines he wants to compete internationally next summer. If he were to decide to play for France alongside young phenom Victor Wembanyama, it would further upgrade a squad that Hill already expects to be one of Team USA’s top competitors.

“France is a team that’s probably been our toughest opponent, at least in the last (few years),” Hill said. “They beat us in the opening game in the Olympics in ’21, and then in a very close, hard-fought win, we beat them in the gold medal game. And then you think about Wembanyama and the potential of others (joining the team)… It’s not easy.”

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

Free agent wing Svi Mykhailiuk is drawing interest from Greek club Panathinaikos, according to a report from SDNA.gr (hat tip to BasketNews.com). A 2018 second-round pick who has appeared in 252 regular season NBA games over the past five seasons, Mykhailiuk is reportedly focused on finding another NBA opportunity, but if none materializes, Panathinaikos figures to be among his top suitors in Europe.
Veteran guard Mike James decided not to exercise the NBA opt-out clause in his contract and will remain with AS Monaco, as Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com details. James was mentioned early in the offseason as a possible Suns target and there was speculation he may opt out after Kemba Walker joined AS Monaco, but it appears he’ll stick with the team for at least one more season.
Big man Chinanu Onuaku and forward Anthony Brown are among the former NBA players who recently signed new contract overseas. Onuaku completed a deal with Spanish club Joventut Badalona (press release), while Brown is rejoining Turkey’s Bursaspor Basketbol (Twitter link).