team usa mini camp: ariza in, bynum out.

[dockingsched]

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/l ... wsID=30724

The Dominican Republic have been trumpeting Trevor Ariza as an NBA player who could represent them at the FIBA Americas Championship this summer in Puerto Rico.

But Ariza, the newly-crowned champion of the Los Angeles Lakers, appears to have thrown in his lot with the United States after accepting an invitation to take part in the USA Basketball National Team Mini-Camp next month in Las Vegas.

Ariza is among 25 players to have accepted invitations to take part in a July 22-25 mini-camp.

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/2009/06/b ... nicam.html

Andrew Bynum said Thursday he will not participate in the U.S. National Team minicamp in July because he wants to rest and rehab his knee.

The purpose of the camp is to evaluate the 24 young players with the best chance of making Team USA's roster for the 2010 World Championships in Turkey.

Also, Sasha Vujacic will play for Slovenia at the European Championships this summer. Slovenia is in the same group as Spain, which means Vujacic would face good friend Pau Gasol assuming the Spaniard participates in the tournament.

[96 Til Infiniti]

Awesome for Trevor, good to see him getting that kind of recognition.

I assume his invites based on being a possible defensive specialist for Team USA, like they've used Prince and Battier in the past.

[DEEP3CL]

Smart move by Drew...........shows me his focus is on getting stronger and better for next season.

[brassviews]

That pretty much means Bynum won't be playing in 2010 and 2012.

[alfurd]

Team USA will probably still be running up and down the court in 2012, so even if Bynum was good enough to make the team his role would probably be limited to playing behind Howard and Bosh anyway.

On our end of things the fewer summers competitions he commits to the better. The mileage on big men is always concerning, particularly for those who haven't had a good history of health so far. He'll be almost 25 by London 2012, which still gives him a lot of good years to offer to the national team if he chooses to do so.

[hzafary]

Good to hear Ariza will be keeping busy.

I just hope Lamar keeps his word and hits the weight room

[RJM]

This is awesome to know that we've got Ariza possibly getting a spot, but how is it that Michael Beasley doesn't even get a look? He had a pretty good Rookie season out there in Miami and really battled Kevin Durant during the Rookie Shootout during ASW. Where's the fairness in that?

[dockingsched]

looks like there a bunch of good character guys, thus no beasley.

[Desiderium]

bynum says hes not participating to rest his knee....bs man they probably withdrew the invite after his atrocious playoff performance.

[Slava]

The lesser they play the better for us as Laker fans. Its not like they need a medal like Kobe did to cement his legacy right now. Bynum isn't much suited for the international game anyway.

[Mamba Venom]

If Bynum can get a couple of years healthy he will be an all star.

I hope he is w/ Dwight doing rebounding drills

[RJM]

looks like there a bunch of good character guys, thus no beasley.

You're aware that all that negative talk about Beas is only from the news?

Ask Ira (Winderman), Beat Writer for the Miami Heat - http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/bask ... ory?page=2

Q: You may disagree with me, but I think the way the Heat talked down expectations with Beasley from day one has played a role in the perception of his total game. Everything you read nationally is how Beasley struggled last season. If they are shopping him in trade talks this offseason, Riley and Spoelstra may have diminished his value themselves. Not that I'm for trading him at all. I think he can eventually be a 20-and-8 guy and certainly superior to many of the guys who were invited to the Olympic tryouts. -- Robert.

A: I doubt that anything said about Michael would change perceptions from legitimate insiders. This is a very wired-in league. Teams know what goes on in other locker rooms. Any outside perceptions about Michael come from intelligence beyond comments by Heat staffers. The snub for the Olympic minicamp clearly is a matter of image. Polishing that image is mostly a Michael matter, if, indeed, that's what matters most to Michael.

[dockingsched]

so that rookie camp drug situation was purely fabricated by the news?

[KObe Bryant]

Bynum is doing a good job. Yeah, he should rest that knee. Don't say Sasha would also be a bench warmer for the slovenia team Good for trevor, I hope he didn't play his last game as a laker.