Millsap invited to Team USA tryouts

[theatlfan]

On phone so no link, but apparently Paul Millsap has been invited to Team USA tryouts joining fellow Hawk Kyle Korver. I know Schröder is coming off the bench for Germany and I'd assume that Horford (Dominican Republic), Antic, and Thabo are all starters for their country.

Congrats to all.

[hawkschop1]

I don't believe horford is playing for DR this summer?

Anyways, a big congrats to Paul and Kyle. It's always nice to be well represented!

Let's get two in the AS game this year.


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[theatlfan]

I don't believe horford is playing for DR this summer?

Anyways, a big congrats to Paul and Kyle. It's always nice to be well represented!

Let's get two in the AS game this year.


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thanks for correction - as noted I'm assuming on those last 3 players.

Really hope that Millsap & KK can help recruit some players - as well as the others.

[MaceCase]

2 participants increases the odds of getting the first representative since Joe in 2006. I think Sap has a better chance than Kyle though, Durant and George are the likely rotation at PF in FIBA ball making Parsons a bit of a redundacy. K and Colangelo may opt for more girth at the backup PF position instead and I think Sap offers so much more offensively than Faried in that he's a big stretch 4. Davis sans injury is likely the starting center and I'd imagine only one of Drummond or Cousins would make the squad to add some size to nuetralize Spain's frontline but K has never been interested with stacking plodders in the C rotation preferring smaller skilled guys in Bosh, Odom and Love as the backups. Sap isn't as tall as those guys (although close to Love's height) but I'm sure his spurts as a small ball C throughout the season and playoffs has given K and Colangelo hope that he can also fill that role.

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks represented at Team USA better than any other time since pros played.

Can't believe it's Millsap and Korver doing it.

Thoughts:

-I remember Josh was auditioning for Team USA a few summer's back. Then he was like the first person cut from the team. It took them a matter of days of watching him up close to know he wasn't what they were looking for. I regret it took longer for Sund, Ferry and the ATL Spirit.

-I wonder how Millsap's participation will affect (or be affected by) Free Agency next summer.

-There are a number of young men I don't even recognize in this photo.

-We might not win Gold in 2016 with this squad.

[Jamaaliver]

Super Happy Millsap got this invitation.

Sadly, there is growing speculation he will not be one of the bigs selected for the team:

Colangelo said USA Basketball plans to keep 15 players through Aug. 22. Over the next three weeks, he said USA Basketball plans to "hang on to bigs" before it gets down to its 12-man team...This final spot could easily come down to how comfortable [officials] are with carrying only three bigs (Davis, Cousins and Faried). The big-bodied Drummond looks like the best alternative...if USA Basketball decides to bring a fourth big man.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/31/usa-basketball-fiba-world-cup-spain-kevin-durant-jerry-colangelo-mike-krzyzewski

Mason Plumlee was a member of the select team that was brought in to practice against the national team. After one day, he was promoted to the main team and has continued to carve out a niche.

Krzyzewski has strongly hinted that Plumlee will make the first cut and there is a rising belief that he has a chance to make the final roster

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11293618/anthony-davis-now-center-attention

[Jamaaliver]

From NBA.com today:

Paul Millsap is likely in competition with Faried for the smaller big man spot...it seems clear that Faried can make a more immediate impact. It should also be noted that Faried was on the original roster...

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2014/08/01/usa-basketball-showcase-big-for-roster-hopefuls/

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/494980981577617408[/tweet]

[Jamaaliver]

On a happier note, K Korver is expected to proceed to the next phase:

Colangelo has said that, beyond a core of seven or eight guys, you need specialists...

Colangelo mentioned his desire for a "shooter" as one of the complementary pieces, and Korver is clearly the pick among the available wing options

[Jamaaliver]

It's official:

Paul Millsap was one of three players cut from 2014-16 U.S. Men’s Basketball team, according to a report by Yahoo Sports.
The Hawks All-Star forward was joined by the Wizards’ John Wall and Bradley Beal as the roster was trimmed to 16 players...

HERE

It's really an honor for him just to get the invite. Super proud of him. And happy he made it back in one piece.

I fully expect him to hit the ground running come the start of the season.

[ATLHawksfan21]

It's official:

Paul Millsap was one of three players cut from 2014-16 U.S. Men’s Basketball team, according to a report by Yahoo Sports.
The Hawks All-Star forward was joined by the Wizards’ John Wall and Bradley Beal as the roster was trimmed to 16 players...

HERE

It's really an honor for him just to get the invite. Super proud of him. And happy he made it back in one piece.

I fully expect him to hit the ground running come the start of the season.

Hopefully, players will start noticing how coming to Atlanta can light a spark for your career once we start winning. Korver and Millsap's careers have really taken off since arriving in ATL.

Korver sets the 3 pt streak record, invited to the 3 pt shootout, invited to play with Team USA.

Millsap gets his first all-star appearance and gets invited to Team USA.

[bee4ever]

Glad Sap got cut. We need him to focus on us.

[MaceCase]

Glad Sap got cut. We need him to focus on us.

I'm actually disappointed especially watching Parsons and Gay struggling to be Euro-4s in the last exhibition game. America gets away with their lack of size at the 4 thanks to the explosive scoring ability and ball handling they get from Lebron, Melo and Durant but with neither of them there I thought they'd stick with a little more traditional size to go along with shooting ability from the position to counter other teams bigs.

Beyond that, I wholeheartedly agree with the poster above you in that all of these star conglomerations only work to help the franchise. Players seeing their profile rise playing for the Hawks may remember that when it comes to resigning and others elsewhere who see their careers on the cusp may begin to see that as an advantage to jumpstarting their careers. Also, the "Big Three" and other current superstar team-ups were all first kindled during international play. Having representatives from the team directly interacting with top tier talent only helps to increase the odds of the team finally adding and retaining one.

As far as Millsap, it's not as if the Hawks had a deep playoff run nor is it likely the team will make a run to the Finals this year so fatigue is not an issue. The team also addressed frontcourt depth with Payne and having Al, Antic, and Scott return with Muscala having a year under his belt so unless another plague hits the team's frontcourt, Sap should expect reduced minutes throughout the season. ESPN also kept repeating that participants from the last World Champion/World Cup teams went on to have great following seasons as that is only to be expected from playing and practicing with the best over the summer for a meaningful goal.