USA Basketball Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: James, Davis, Dudley, Kuzma

September 27th, 2019 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James wants Anthony Davis to be the focal point of the Lakers offense, he told Josh Peter of USA Today and other media members during the team’s annual Media Day.

“If we’re not playing through Anthony Davis while he’s on the floor, then there’s no sense to having him on the floor,’’ James said.

Davis’ ability to draw double teams is an exciting proposition for James.

“When you’re able to attract two defenders on one guy, then you’ve got the numbers game. … It opens up for other guys on the floor, including myself,’’ he said.

We have more from the Lakers:

James gave a ringing endorsement to the front office headed up by Rob Pelinka and the work the group did this summer, Mark Medina of USA Today tweets. “They focused on what they can do to make this franchise as competitive as they can be. They exceeded that. They did a hell of a job and I’m happy to be a Laker.”
James was hesitant about committing to playing for Team USA in next year’s Olympics, then said he would, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. “Umm, I don’t know. I would love to,” LeBron said, adding that it will depend on his health at season’s end.
Davis shrugged off comments made by Pelicans executive VP David Griffin that were seemingly critical of him, according to an ESPN report. Griffin was quoted earlier this week as saying, “If sex appeal is your thing and you need a big market, OK. See you later.” Davis was asked for a response on ESPN’s The Jump. “That’s fine. I don’t care,” he said. “I mean like, the past is the past, you know? I didn’t hear that.”
Jared Dudley is intent on making Kyle Kuzma a well-rounded player, according to Mark Trudell of the team’s website. “My guy would be Kyle Kuzma. What can I do off the court to help him get to his full potential? He’s really the key for us,” Dudley said.

Rockets Notes: Westbrook, Harden, D’Antoni, More

September 27th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking today to reporters at the Rockets‘ Media Day, Russell Westbrook and James Harden expressed enthusiasm about teaming up in Houston this season. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details, Westbrook said the pairing will be “scary” for the rest of the NBA, while Harden suggested the two former MVPs will have no problem sharing the ball on offense.

“If Russ got it going and Russ is having one of those games that we’ve all seen before, guess what I’m going to do: sit back and watch the show, and vice versa,” Harden said. “It’s just a part of basketball. So you can’t sit up here and say, ‘Oh, Russ is going to have the ball for the first half and I’m going to have the ball the second half.’ No, things happen through the course of the game that you just flow with and go with.

“All of us in this locker room and this front office has one goal, and that’s to win it. However that happens, it’s going to happen, and we’re just going to figure it out.”

Westbrook agreed with Harden that the two stars won’t have any trouble co-existing in the Rockets’ backcourt and will focus on what’s best for the team.

“I don’t have to have the ball to impact the game,” Westbrook said, per MacMahon. “I don’t have to score, I don’t have to do anything. I can defend, I can rebound, I can pass, I can lead. Our main goal, main focus, is to win. I can go be scoreless, and if we win, that’s the best thing that ever happened. That’s all I cared about, and that’s all I ever cared about.”

Westbrook, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after the Thunder were eliminated from the postseason in the spring, was only recently cleared for five-on-five work, writes MacMahon. So the Rockets will proceed cautiously with the star point guard, who isn’t expected to participate in all of the club’s practices and preseason games.

Here’s more out of Houston:

Harden and Westbrook both indicated today that they have interest in representing Team USA in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (Twitter links via MacMahon and Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston).
Head coach Mike D’Antoni, GM Daryl Morey, and owner Tilman Fertitta all downplayed concerns about D’Antoni entering the final year of his contract without an extension and expressed confidence that he’ll stick with the Rockets beyond 2019/20, MacMahon notes in a pair of tweets. “Everybody tells me that Mike is the right guy for this team. Mike appears to me to be the right guy for this team,” Fertitta said. “I think he’s a great coach. He’s one of the great offensive minds out there. I truly do not see Mike going anywhere.”
Ryan Anderson‘s new contract with the Rockets features a $250K partial guarantee, sources tell Alykhan Bijani and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Anderson would receive another $250K, increasing the partial guarantee to $500K, if he makes the opening-night roster.
Jaron Blossomgame‘s non-guaranteed deal with Houston doesn’t feature an Exhibit 10 clause, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com hears. That may be a hint that the Rockets don’t expect Blossomgame to play for their G League team. His NBAGL rights are still held by the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers‘ affiliate.

And-Ones: FIBA Ranks, Olympic Qualifiers, NBAGL

September 20th, 2019 at 5:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite their disappointing showing at the 2019 World Cup in China, USA Basketball has retained the No. 1 seed in FIBA’s international rankings, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. World Cup champion Spain is at No. 2, followed by Australia, Argentina, and France.

FIBA’s rankings account for results from the last eight years, so the fact that Team USA won the 2014 World Cup and took home gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics keeps the program at the top of that list for now.

Meanwhile, FIBA also announced this week that the 24-team field is set for next summer’s Olympic qualifying tournaments. Eight of the 12 spots in the 2020 Olympics have already been claimed, but 24 countries will have a chance to compete for the final four spots. Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Serbia, and Slovenia – all of whom should have NBA players on their rosters – are among the teams competing in those qualifiers.

Interestingly though, those Olympic qualifying tournaments are scheduled to take place between June 23-28, 2020, so it’s not clear whether members of next year’s free agent class will be willing to participate — suffering a major injury in those games would impact their earning potential a week later.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Ethan Strauss of The Athletic polled a dozen executives around the NBA about the 2019/20 outlook for the Warriors, Lakers, Clippers, and Rockets. The consensus? Those execs unanimously agreed that Golden State will make the playoffs, and believe that the Clippers are a better team than the Lakers. They’re also not convinced that the Rockets will be much better after swapping Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook.
The NBA announced this week that the annual NBA G League Winter Showcase will have a new tournament format this year. The event, which will take place in Las Vegas from December 19-22, will feature a $100K prize for the winning team. That prize will have to be split among all the team’s players, but it still represents a nice bonus, considering the NBAGL’s standard salary is $35K.
In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Danny Leroux explains how an over-the-cap, below-the-tax team that re-signs a player using Bird rights can essentially turn that player into a “walking trade exception” by overpaying him to some extent. Leroux points to Darius Miller of the Pelicans as one example. Miller probably wasn’t getting a $7.25MM salary from any team besides New Orleans, but that contract could be a useful salary-matching piece for David Griffin during the season, whereas a minimum deal wouldn’t have been.

Stephen Curry Talks 2020 Olympics, KD’s Departure

September 18th, 2019 at 10:15am CST by Luke Adams

Count Stephen Curry among the potential Team USA players who didn’t participate in the 2019 World Cup but is interested in helping the program recapture gold at the 2020 Olympics. Speaking to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (link via Nick Friedell at ESPN.com), the Warriors‘ star said that he intends to join Team USA in Tokyo next summer, health permitting.

“That is the plan, for sure,” Curry said. “You know, obviously knock on wood, you don’t want any injuries or things like that to interfere. … [I] definitely want to go. I’ve never been on the Olympic team. I’ve been on two World Cup Championship gold medal teams. But the Olympics is the experience that I want. And next year will hopefully be it.”

Besides Curry, a handful of other stars have spoken out in recent days about being part of the USA Basketball roster in 2020. Some, like Donovan Mitchell and Kemba Walker, were part of this year’s World Cup roster and have expressed interest in representing Team USA again at the Olympics. Others, like Curry and Damian Lillard, passed on participating this year but would like to play next summer.

Of course, before Team USA makes any decisions on its 12-man roster for Tokyo, we’ve got a full NBA season to play. In his conversation with Nichols, Curry offered several thoughts on the upcoming year and looked back at Kevin Durant‘s free agent decision. Here are a few of Curry’s most notable comments, via Friedell:

On Durant’s decision to leave the Warriors for the Nets:

“At the end of the day, we live in an age where choice at the forefront, and K made a decision for himself and you can’t argue that. I wish we could still play with K. He’s an unbelievable talent, unbelievable person. We accomplished a lot together. But things have changed a little bit. So you obviously wish him the best, obviously with his recovery first and foremost and things on and off the court. But we’re gonna have to battle down the road. So this should be a fun, new experience on that front too.”

On potential “load management” during the 2019/20 season:

“I want to be smart about what I’m doing. I doubt there will be any games where I’m playing 48 minutes (laugh). I could, but that’s not part of how you achieve greatness, at the end of the day, for what we’re trying to accomplish, which is a championship. So everything’s going to be in light of trying to get another banner. All the other stuff is — it’ll take care of itself.”

On the possibility of winning his third MVP award this season:

“I always say, I’m playing like I’m the best player on the floor no matter what the situation is. That’s my mentality. It might not mean I’m taking every shot, but that’s the aggressiveness that I need to play with and the confidence I need to have. So, that’ll carry me the rest of my career. And at the end of the day, winning an MVP would be special. And it’s something that I’ve experienced before and would love to experience again. I’d love to push the envelope and push the limits a little bit. [But] you won’t see anything different about how I play this season versus years past.”

And-Ones: Team USA, Darko, G League, NBA 2K

September 17th, 2019 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

While Team USA’s seventh-place finish at the 2019 World Cup in China wasn’t exactly a catastrophic outcome, given the stateside apathy toward non-Olympic international tournaments, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo admitted to Chris Mannix of SI.com that the result will nag at him for the next year.

“There has not been any disappointment around USA Basketball in a while,” Colangelo said. “This will bother me until the 2020 Olympics.”

Colangelo, who believes that Team USA could still have won this year’s tournament if not for injuries to Kyle Kuzma and Jayson Tatum, said that two or three of the players on the World Cup roster have already earned spots on the 2020 Olympic squad. While Colangelo didn’t name those specific players, Mannix surmises that Kemba Walker and Donovan Mitchell are good bets.

As for how USA Basketball will fill out the rest of the Olympic roster, Colangelo suggested that star players interested in participating will be considered on an individual basis, though he hinted that he’d look more favorably on those who didn’t withdraw at the last minute this year.

“The disappointment I feel is not from the guys who said they wouldn’t play,” Colangelo said. “It’s those that said they would, and then backed out.”

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…

Former No. 2 overall pick Darko Milicic, who hasn’t played basketball professionally since suiting up for the Celtics in the 2012/13 season, is reportedly making a comeback overseas. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays a report from Basketball Sphere, which indicates that Milicic is joining a team in his hometown of Novi Sad, Serbia, where he’ll primarily focus on mentoring younger players.
Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops passes along the G League incentive bonuses for the 2019/20 season, which include a modest $3,000 bonus for earning NBAGL MVP honors.
The NBA and NBA 2K developer Take-Two Interactive are expanding their esports partnership, according to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, who writes that the NBA 2K20 Global Championship will be launched this October. The tournament will run from October to February, with the championship winner taking home $100K.
Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights takes a deep dive into NBA salary figures to see if he can determine the average salary for a starter – or a starter-caliber player – in 2019/20.

World Cup Notes: Spain, Rubio, Popovich, Fox

September 15th, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Suns guard Ricky Rubio was named World Cup MVP as Spain captured the gold medal this morning by rolling past Argentina, 95-75. France claimed the bronze by defeating Australia.

The all-World Cup team had a strong NBA flavor as Rubio was joined by Spanish teammate Marc Gasol, Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, France’s Evan Fournier and Argentina’s Luis Scola. Gasol capped a memorable three-month stretch that included an NBA title with the Raptors and the World Cup crown.

“We were not the most talented team,” Rubio said. “We were not the biggest team. But we played with heart. We will be family for life.” (Twitter link from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando)

There’s more World Cup news to pass along:

Coach Gregg Popovich blasted critics who are taking shots at Team USA after a seventh-place finish, relays Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The Americans won the past two World Cups, but fell far short this time, losing back-to-back games to France and Serbia. “Some people want to play the blame game. There’s no blame to be placed anywhere,” Popovich said. “They want to play the shame game, like we should be ashamed because we didn’t win a gold medal? That’s a ridiculous attitude. It’s immature, it’s arrogant, and it shows that whoever thinks that doesn’t respect all the other teams in the world and doesn’t respect that these guys did the best they could.” Windhorst notes that only four of the 35 players who were on the projected U.S. roster last summer wound up playing in China.
There are no hard feelings from USA Basketball toward Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who left the team shortly before it departed for exhibition games in Australia, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. It was suggested on ESPN’s “The Jump” this week that Fox wouldn’t be considered for future international teams, but USA Basketball communications director Craig Miller said the organization “understands De’Aaron’s decision.”
Both of this year’s finalists were successful with players who are considered past their prime, strengthening the argument that continuity provides a huge advantage in international play, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Argentina was led by the 39-year-old Scola, while Spain’s foundation of Rubio, Gasol, Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez and Victor Claver has been together for many years.

Community Shootaround: Is Team USA Still The World’s Best?

September 14th, 2019 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

At least they were better than Poland.

Team USA wrapped up a disappointing World Cup experience this morning with a 13-point win over the Polish contingent in a battle for seventh place. It’s not what the Americans expected going into the tournament or where they appeared to be headed when the invitations for training camp went out last month.

But that was before Anthony Davis passed on the chance to play in China, followed by James Harden, Eric Gordon, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Tobias Harris, Kevin Love and a host of other NBA stars. The final 12-man roster didn’t have enough shooting, size or cohesiveness to compete with the world’s best teams, resulting in the worst finish for the Americans in a major tournament since NBA players started participating in 1992.

It’s easy to dismiss this year’s results and expect Team USA to be back on top at the 2020 Olympics. But Kobe Bryant, who helped re-establish American dominance after a similar performance in 2004, isn’t buying it.

“It’s not a matter of the rest of the world catching up to the U.S., it’s that the rest of the world has been caught up for quite some time,” Bryant told Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “And it’s to the point now where us in the U.S. are going to win some, we’re going lose some. And that’s just how it goes.”

Windhorst believes the Americans didn’t underachieve, but finished about where their talent level should indicate. They lost to France and Serbia in the tournament and dropped an exhibition game to Australia, leaving their overall record at 7-3. It would have been 6-4 if not for a fortunate win over a Turkish team that let a victory slip away because of missed free throws.

Whatever the roster looks like for 2020, Team USA won’t have the overwhelming talent advantage it has gotten used to in Olympic play. LeBron James will be 35. Kevin Durant may still be awaiting his return from an Achilles injury. Kawhi Leonard has never played in an Olympics or World Cup and isn’t a sure thing to participate.

As Bryant noted, the rest of the world has been catching up for a while. Many teams are filled with NBA players and work together frequently, while the Americans will be starting from scratch when Olympic training camp begins.

We want to get your opinion. Does the World Cup performance mean that Team USA’s Olympic crown is in jeopardy?

Head to our comment section below to share your feedback.

Donovan Mitchell On 2020 Olympics: “I Want To Be There”

September 14th, 2019 at 1:21pm CST by JD Shaw

Coming off a disappointing finish in the FIBA World Cup, Team USA guard Donovan Mitchell has shifted his focus to representing his country next summer in Tokyo, Japan, where the 2020 Olympics are scheduled to be held.

Mitchell, one of the few NBA stars who played for Team USA in the world cup this month, cherished the experience and enjoyed playing against the international competition.

“For me, this is an amazing experience,” Mitchell said, as relayed by ESPN. “Everybody likes to look at the end goal, but when you sit back and reflect, I played on Team USA. That’s incredible for me. I think that in itself is amazing. So yes, it was definitely worth it.”

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo valued Mitchell’s participation with so many players dropping out this summer, and, as covered in a recent Hoops Rumors story, it’s something Colangelo likely won’t forget heading into the Olympics.

“I can only say, you can’t help but notice and remember who you thought you were going to war with and who didn’t show up.” Colangelo said, as relayed by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “The players (we have) did everything they can do… But we went in with higher expectations in terms of roster and it didn’t kind of happen the way we were hopeful and anticipating and expecting. That, to me, was a big disappointment.”

For Mitchell, the abundance of American superstars dropping out of play didn’t change his decision. As the 23-year-old prepares to enter his third NBA season with the Jazz, the desire to represent his country next summer remains should the call come.

“I think I have to wait for them to ask,” Mitchell said. “But I want to be there.”

Colangelo Won’t Forget World Cup Pullouts

September 12th, 2019 at 6:56pm CST by clarkcrum

Fresh off a second consecutive loss in the 2019 FIBA World Cup that will ensure USA finishes no better than seventh – the worst finish ever by an American men’s team in a major tournament – Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports that USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo won’t forget those who backed out of commitments to play in the World Cup this summer when the time comes to start assembling the 2020 Tokyo Olympics roster.

“I can only say, you can’t help but notice and remember who you thought you were going to war with and who didn’t show up.” Colangelo said. “The players (we have) did everything they can do… But we went in with higher expectations in terms of roster and it didn’t kind of happen the way we were hopeful and anticipating and expecting. That, to me, was a big disappointment.”

As Reynolds notes, of the 35 players originally selected for the U.S. player pool, only four are in China for the World Cup. Many pullouts cited schedule concerns and lingering injuries, but it appears Colangelo isn’t satisfied with some of the players’ excuses.

“Going forward for USA Basketball, we’re going to need the cooperation of teams, agents and then there has to be communication with players 1-on-1 to solidify those commitments,” Colangelo said. “I am going to be anxious to see how many players reach out early to indicate that they wish and want and desire to play (in the 2020 Olympics)… But I’ll make this statement: It’s as much about maybe who we don’t want as much as who we want.”

Team USA Eliminated From World Cup Medal Contention

September 11th, 2019 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

Team USA has been eliminated from medal contention in the 2019 World Cup, having been upset by France in today’s quarterfinal matchup. The 89-79 defeat snapped USA Basketball’s 58-game winning streak in international games featuring rosters made up of NBA players. That streak dated back to the 2006 World Championship.

Donovan Mitchell had a big game for the American squad with a team-high 29 points, but a French team led by Rudy Gobert (21 points, 16 rebounds) and Evan Fournier (22 points) pulled out the comeback win to advance to a semifinal showdown vs. Argentina. Team USA will have its much-anticipated matchup with Nikola Jokic and the Serbians after all, but it will happen in the 5-8 classification round instead of in the semifinals.

Frank Ntilikina also played a key role for Team France today, scoring 11 points and essentially taking Kemba Walker out of the game on the other end before also helping to slow Mitchell in the fourth quarter. We noted last week that an impressive World Cup showing could have an impact on Ntilikina’s NBA future, since the Knicks have a big decision due next month on his 2020/21 team option. He has made a strong impression so far.

Since Team USA had already qualified for the 2020 Olympics, today’s result won’t affect the club’s standing for that tournament. Still, it will be interesting to see whether a disappointing World Cup run impacts the sort of turnout the program gets next summer. It’s possible that stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden, and others will now be more willing to play in Tokyo to reclaim Team USA’s spot atop the international basketball world.

With Argentina set to play France in one semifinal, the other matchup will be set after the conclusion of this morning’s Australia/Czech Republic quarterfinal. The winner of that game will face Spain. The last two European teams standing will clinch spots in the 2020 Olympics, so an Australian victory today would ensure that France and Spain secure Olympic berths.