Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

[TrueNorth31]

Are we 100% sure Simmons will play this summer given he’s extension eligible?

Simmons has been making noises that he will play - although he's a bit like Andrew Wiggins and hasn't really been engaged with the Aussie program. Even without him in the last Olympics the Aussies finished fourth ( should have been third except for a bad call against Spain - the same reffing crew that screwed Canada in Mexico was involved ).

Simmon's will be a day one no- brainer extension candidate and his deal will be done in early July. Jamal Murray for Canada is in the same boat - Denver however may choose to dicker and draw negotiations out until the start of training camp.

[VanWest82]

Are we 100% sure Simmons will play this summer given he’s extension eligible?

Simmons has been making noises that he will play - although he's a bit like Andrew Wiggins and hasn't really been engaged with the Aussie program. Even without him in the last Olympics the Aussies finished fourth ( should have been third except for a bad call against Spain - the same reffing crew that screwed Canada in Mexico was involved ).

Simmon's will be a day one no- brainer extension candidate and his deal will be done in early July. Jamal Murray for Canada is in the same boat - Denver however may choose to dicker and draw negotiations out until the start of training camp.

I could see Philly waiting especially if Simmons can’t figure out playoff defenses again when teams inevitably shut off the paint and dare him to shoot from outside.

Murray will be a big loss if he decides to sit. CJ is a free agent too so he might be a question mark. Could get thin at the guard spot. I know a lot of people are high on Barrett but he isn’t remotely ready to carry the men’s team.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Grunwald and Barrett should be preparing their bid right now for the next available World Cup. If they're going to make it that f'in easy for the host, in addition to home court advantage, that's almost like a bye into the quarterfinals. Ridiculous.We all saw this coming, but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow.

Canada should set up warm up exhibition games against any and all teams from Groups A and B and just dominate them to show how ridiculous the pools are if a couple of those teams advance farther than Canada.

Also, it's time for all the big name players to put their money where their mouths are. Most of them have been talking for years about how great it will be for all of these talented players to play together and make a push for a medal. Time to walk the walk.

[Tor_Raps]

I think this deserves it's own thread. Total screw job with the pool selection.

[Dtown84]

The funny thing is about group A is China still might not make it out of the first round. I'd favor Venezuela and Poland over them.

[TrueNorth31]

This thread is fine - why spread out the topic?

The tireless Blake Murphy has a solid in-depth post up all ready.

https://theathletic.com/870615/2019/03/16/breaking-down-canadas-group-of-death-draw-for-the-2019-fiba-basketball-world-cup/

If you like quality writing on the Raptors and Team Canada , he's well worth the subscription cost alone.

[Tor_Raps]

This thread is fine - why spread out the topic?

The tireless Blake Murphy has a solid in-depth post up all ready.

https://theathletic.com/870615/2019/03/16/breaking-down-canadas-group-of-death-draw-for-the-2019-fiba-basketball-world-cup/

If you like quality writing on the Raptors and Team Canada , he's well worth the subscription cost alone.

This topic can get lost in such a big thread. A lot of people wouldnt even know the world cup selections happened.

And for Canada... I guess this is what happens when weve underperformed so often on the world stage.

[TrueNorth31]

Here's what the Aussie Mike Grange/ Blake Murphy is saying

Read on Twitter

[mintsa]

Ummmmmmm.......when did Canada qualify for the World Cup ? I haven’t seen one qualifier on tv or anything ?

Someone fill me in.

[XxIronChainzxX]

Anyone who thinks Wiggins is going to help a team by being on the court is not an opinion I’d trust.

[Patman]

Anyone who thinks Wiggins is going to help a team by being on the court is not an opinion I’d trust.

It depends. There's so many good players that we can field a solid team without Wiggins, but there will also be a lot of skill duplication. Wiggins can get a bucket in an isolation situation probably better than any Canadian. Not the most important skill, but would be nice to have in the tool set. BUT, the reason I would ultimately cut him is because he probably won't accept a Lou Williams type role on Team Canada. He would want to be the guy, and that's not what we need.

[TrueNorth31]

I doubt Wiggins is involved - the Americans are asking their players for a 6 week commitment starting on August 5/19.

https://www.usab.com/mens/national-team/schedule.aspx

For Canada I imagine we will ask for the same time frame from our players. I think this will preclude some of the more peripherally involved guys in the program as it's a pretty big commitment. Look for the final roster composition to be made up mainly of the most dedicated players who've been previously involved.

[TrueNorth31]

The Lithuanian Murphy/Grange is somewhat justifiably skeptical of so called FIBA , " balance of pool quality".

I guess this puts an end to the discussion of Iggy switching allegiance ( not that he would have made their 2019 squad).

Read on Twitter

[TrueNorth31]

Grange enters the fray with some speculation on the coaching staff who may be interviewed.

"Among them – according to multiple sources — are Ettore Messina, an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, longtime Italian national team head coach and twice the EuroLeague coach of the year and Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov who coached Slovenia to a gold medal at the European championships in 2017. Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was perhaps the leading candidate but had to withdraw due to health concerns."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/big-questions-remain-team-canada-ahead-fiba-world-cup/

[mojo13]

Here's what the Aussie Mike Grange/ Blake Murphy is saying

Read on Twitter

This guy also says Ben Simmons is “very, very unlikely to play”. The tweet is in that thread.


Also note Exum just tore up his knee again.

[Hair Canada]

Here's what the Aussie Mike Grange/ Blake Murphy is saying

Read on Twitter

This guy also says Ben Simmons is “very, very unlikely to play”. The tweet is in that thread.


Also note Exum just tore up his knee again.

Interesting. Without Simmons and Exum Australia will likely put a very experienced team, but slightly on the older side, with Bogut (35), Baynes (33), Ingels (32), Mills (31), and "the youngster" Dellavedova (29); (all ages come September). Not at all easy, but we can certainly win it at full strength.

[mojo13]

Here's what the Aussie Mike Grange/ Blake Murphy is saying

Read on Twitter

This guy also says Ben Simmons is “very, very unlikely to play”. The tweet is in that thread.


Also note Exum just tore up his knee again.

Interesting. Without Simmons and Exum Australia will likely put a very experienced team, but slightly on the older side, with Bogut (35), Baynes (33), Ingels (32), Mills (31), and "the youngster" Dellavedova (29); (all ages come September). Not at all easy, but we can certainly win it at full strength.

Add Bolden and Maker to an already very experienced squad.

[aminiaturebuddha]

I wonder if they'll give any consideration to matchup issues for the group stage when constructing the roster. For example, do you add a guy like Joel Anthony to try to counter Lithuania's size inside? If Simmons does play, who's the Canadian player best equipped to make things tough on him?

Or do they just say "screw it" and build a team with a clear philosophy and try to make the other teams match up with us?

[TrueNorth31]

For discussion purposes here's all the Aussie NBA players.

https://basketball.realgm.com/national/countries/2/Australia/nba-players

I think talent wise were better, but can we play better team cohesive basketball?

The group they had in Rio played well together. As most of us have commented - sometimes less is more when it comes to putting a squad together. Certainly interesting times.

[TrueNorth31]

I wonder if they'll give any consideration to matchup issues for the group stage when constructing the roster. For example, do you add a guy like Joel Anthony to try to counter Lithuania's size inside? If Simmons does play, who's the Canadian player best equipped to make things tough on him?

Or do they just say "screw it" and build a team with a clear philosophy and try to make the other teams match up with us?

I agree totally. I think with our opponents now known you need to construct the roster accordingly. The Aussies, Lithuanians and France all have huge bigs. Olynyk and Powell primarily guard fours ( although Powell has shown ability to guard bigs lately) in the NBA. I'm not a huge Tristan guy internationally, because he can't shoot , but his girth and toughness allows him to battle bigs quite well in the NBA which certainly has to be a Team Canada consideration. Anthony or Birch ? Birch is somewhat slight, but very agile - Anthony certainly has a lot better bulk and still has somewhat retained his athleticism ( he can't score a lick though).

One thing I worry about is our relative lack of big three's - certainly Ejim is a lock. I'd even consider Doornekamp and Scrubb as roster fillers.

Here's a spreadsheet Murphy put together;

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13T0uSaED8_0pPMycsAa6BrumGjvTe8KbM7_ouz9qYHU/edit#gid=0