Hair Canada wrote:I've watched quite a bit of Mulder this year and I guess I think a bit more highly of him (certainly more than someone like Darling). He's a very good shooter. Not a sure thing (then again, who is?), but when he's in his element he can knock them down even with a hand in his face. The other thing he does fairly well is move without the ball and cut to the rim. Had some nice athletic finishes on where teammates found him on the cut. Would certainly not put the ball in his hands to create, but that's not what he's supposed to do for Team Canada anyway. The defense was also not bad in the games I've watched, especially the point-of-attach defense. He has decent size and athleticism and can apply some pressure on the ball and stay with his man.
In short, I would definitely consider him as a specialized shooter from the bench, who can space the floor playing next guys who can also create like SGA, Pangos, CoJo, Brooks, Barrett, Wiggins, Dort, or NAW (more versatile but a less reliable shooter at this point). To be clear, I would take any of these 8 before Mulder. But if a few of them bail (or are still playing in the NBA post-season), then Mulder can fill the role that we once thought Stauskas would have on the team. Now, I can understand preferring someone like Aaron Best or Phil Scrubb for this role. The difference in contribution would probably not be that big and these guys already have a rich history with the NT and are in a sense more deserving. But Mulder should certainly be in the mix.
It is not as much deserving (but that is a small consideration), but I think there is added value in guys that are most familiar with FIBA, the Team Canada system and coaching. Further I think there is added value with some of the Euro guys being team leaders and having much more experience in high pressure, game on the line situations than end of the rotation NBA players on mediocre or bad teams. Mulder did play one 2019 WC Qualifier window so he is not a complete neophyte to the SMNT.
I can agree that Mychal Mulder in a vacuum is a better player than his role comparables in Phil Scrubb, Aaron Best or Kassius Robertson. But I think each brings something more to the table with their SMNT experience, FIBA experience, big-game/high-pressure experience and leadership capabilities. I am not really advocating for any of them - but just saying I somewhat put them in the same bucket. I'm not sure I'd have a concern whether one made the team over the other (throw Stauskas into that pool too). We have less than two weeks from camp starting (est. June 15) to the first Qualfier game - unless there is a overwhelming talent gap I think they really need to put a premium on the players that they can most quickly blend into a cohesive team.
I still think one of the better team building strategies here would be to take the 2019 WC team and swap out the bottom 4-6 Euro players for the best 4-6 NBA players we can corral. Maybe Boucher, Brissett, Olynyk who all trained with the WC team. Brooks who was hanging out with the team while injured and bring in a fresh face in Dort and (fingers crossed) Barrett/SGA.
