FIBA World Cup 2023 (FIRST thread)

[UcanUwill]

An All NBA 2nd Teamer missing the tournament somehow means their team is stronger. And this I'm guessing is somehow an indication that the World Cup means more than the Olympics, when you have all NBA team players from other countries not playing it.

Makes perfect sense.

Domantas is our biggest loss by far, super upset about that and it lowers our ceiling greatly. That said, he aint lying that SAbonis has sucked in FIBA for years now. But after seeing Giannis redeption, you should never question NBA star level players potential, it all comes down to coaching and ultimate fit, any NBA star with maybe extreme exception can eventually figure out FIBA game, at the end, dominating NBA is harder than dominating FIBA.

Really hoped this would be the year Domantas figures it out, he has been our most unused weapon yet, but this ain't happening. MAybe he would have been the same, just an ordinary starter and not a big loss, but we wont know now...

This Lithuanian generation always been Valanciunas' one tho, hes the man, just like Arvydas or Jasikevicius before him. If hes not playing, everything falls apart, he has always been our best player in recent years.

With each week loss of Sabonis (technically, according to federation, nothing is lost, he has 3 weeks to fix finger, give birth and sign new contract) looks less important. Compared to guards, frontline is stacked

Sabonis, Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Gudaitis, Birutis, Echodas
Kuzminskas, Sedekerskis, Kulboka, Bendzius, Tubelis, Zukauskas
Giedraitis, Ulanovas, Butkevicius, Radzevicius, Sirvydis
Grigonis, Brazdeikis, Normantas, Valinskas, Giedraitis
Jokubaitis, Lekavicius, Dimsa, Kariniauskas, Velicka

Not a single C who could guard pick and roll, and Lekavicius being out is major. Now team only has one good player who can dribble and playmake - Jokubaitis...
Is Kulboka coming? I know he was pissed.

[Mirotic12]

Speak for yourself, I always considered players picking and choosing national teams based on opportunity rather than genuine sense of national belonging to be a disgraceful breach of the very concept of national team.
Banchero might have an italian parent but he speaks no italian nor has never lived in Italy. I'd have picked present day Kobe over him.
He shouldn't even have had the ability to choose as far as I'm concerned.

Oh c'mon ... he's at least more italian than Lorenzo Brown is spanish, Anthony Randolph slovenian or A.J. Slaughter polish ...

Those naturalized players is just stupid to me. Maybe I am idiot, but if you dont considered naturalized by these arbitrary rules, I am fine. Like Nick Calathes, how much of a greek he really was, was up to the debate, but I am fine with him.

I am also very against my national team adopting naturalized BS player, but I am fine if Matas Buzelis plays for us, maybe its hypocritical, but to me it is still not the same.

In the case of Nick Calathes, the answer would be:

His grandparents were from Greece, and I can't remember exactly, but I think moved to the USA after his father was born. So he would qualify for Greek citizenship because of that. And supposedly, not long after he was born, his parents went to Greece and registered him in Greece, so therefore he was granted natural born citizenship.

He was born and raised in USA, and played high school and college basketball in USA. However, he did also play with Greece's junior national team program. After he left the NCAA and USA, he of course played many years in the Greek League. He didn't speak Greek when he first came to Greece, but supposedly now at least understands it. Which makes sense, because the Greek NT has had some coaches that only spoke in Greek, and Calathes was a part of those teams.

So, that's about what his connection is.

[Mirotic12]

Domantas is our biggest loss by far, super upset about that and it lowers our ceiling greatly. That said, he aint lying that SAbonis has sucked in FIBA for years now. But after seeing Giannis redeption, you should never question NBA star level players potential, it all comes down to coaching and ultimate fit, any NBA star with maybe extreme exception can eventually figure out FIBA game, at the end, dominating NBA is harder than dominating FIBA.

Really hoped this would be the year Domantas figures it out, he has been our most unused weapon yet, but this ain't happening. MAybe he would have been the same, just an ordinary starter and not a big loss, but we wont know now...

This Lithuanian generation always been Valanciunas' one tho, hes the man, just like Arvydas or Jasikevicius before him. If hes not playing, everything falls apart, he has always been our best player in recent years.

With each week loss of Sabonis (technically, according to federation, nothing is lost, he has 3 weeks to fix finger, give birth and sign new contract) looks less important. Compared to guards, frontline is stacked

Sabonis, Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Gudaitis, Birutis, Echodas
Kuzminskas, Sedekerskis, Kulboka, Bendzius, Tubelis, Zukauskas
Giedraitis, Ulanovas, Butkevicius, Radzevicius, Sirvydis
Grigonis, Brazdeikis, Normantas, Valinskas, Giedraitis
Jokubaitis, Lekavicius, Dimsa, Kariniauskas, Velicka

Not a single C who could guard pick and roll, and Lekavicius being out is major. Now team only has one good player who can dribble and playmake - Jokubaitis...
Is Kulboka coming? I know he was pissed.

Is Lithuania really still relying on Kuzminskas? He's basically been an ex player for years.

[UcanUwill]

With each week loss of Sabonis (technically, according to federation, nothing is lost, he has 3 weeks to fix finger, give birth and sign new contract) looks less important. Compared to guards, frontline is stacked

Sabonis, Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Gudaitis, Birutis, Echodas
Kuzminskas, Sedekerskis, Kulboka, Bendzius, Tubelis, Zukauskas
Giedraitis, Ulanovas, Butkevicius, Radzevicius, Sirvydis
Grigonis, Brazdeikis, Normantas, Valinskas, Giedraitis
Jokubaitis, Lekavicius, Dimsa, Kariniauskas, Velicka

Not a single C who could guard pick and roll, and Lekavicius being out is major. Now team only has one good player who can dribble and playmake - Jokubaitis...
Is Kulboka coming? I know he was pissed.

Is Lithuania really still relying on Kuzminskas? He's basically been an ex player for years.

He had a good season in Turkey. They never really relied on him, he was never a top guy, just a role guy, and he still has some of it. If Kulboka and Tubelis joins the team, I am not sure Kuzminskas makes the final cut, but as you can see, not like PF position is stacked... At least we could have had twin towers with Domantas at the 4, even tho it never actually paid off.

[durden_tyler]

Any link to what actually Banchero said then about playing for the Italy NT? (did he commit? Half commit?). Want to understand how angry the Italians are

https://basketnews.com/news-188023-with-clock-ticking-doubts-arise-about-paolo-bancheros-commitment-to-italy.html

On June 24 last year, just before the draft, he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport:

"The support I have received so far from Italy has been fantastic. This summer, I won't be able to play with the national team, but next summer, I will be there".

In late October, Banchero visited his then-teammate RJ Hampton's podcast, emphasizing his choice of the Italian national team quite sharply:

"Team USA? No, I'm with Italy now."

In December, Banchero met with the higher ranks of the Italian federation and head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.

Even though the meeting was positive, the player asked for more time before making a final decision about his commitment to the Italian team.

However, since that meeting, the tone from the Italian Federation and Banchero has changed, becoming much more doubtful.

In February, during an official event, Pozzecco said, "Banchero? There is no news. We did what we could; now we await his answer."

Thank you. Looks like the interest was real… but i guess U$A brass swooped in after reading those interviews…

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Any link to what actually Banchero said then about playing for the Italy NT? (did he commit? Half commit?). Want to understand how angry the Italians are

https://basketnews.com/news-188023-with-clock-ticking-doubts-arise-about-paolo-bancheros-commitment-to-italy.html

On June 24 last year, just before the draft, he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport:

"The support I have received so far from Italy has been fantastic. This summer, I won't be able to play with the national team, but next summer, I will be there".

In late October, Banchero visited his then-teammate RJ Hampton's podcast, emphasizing his choice of the Italian national team quite sharply:

"Team USA? No, I'm with Italy now."

In December, Banchero met with the higher ranks of the Italian federation and head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.

Even though the meeting was positive, the player asked for more time before making a final decision about his commitment to the Italian team.

However, since that meeting, the tone from the Italian Federation and Banchero has changed, becoming much more doubtful.

In February, during an official event, Pozzecco said, "Banchero? There is no news. We did what we could; now we await his answer."

Now, if we females have to learn about this move, so do y’all. If a guy don’t call you back, well…

[Mirotic12]

Not a single C who could guard pick and roll, and Lekavicius being out is major. Now team only has one good player who can dribble and playmake - Jokubaitis...
Is Kulboka coming? I know he was pissed.

Is Lithuania really still relying on Kuzminskas? He's basically been an ex player for years.

He had a good season in Turkey. They never really relied on him, he was never a top guy, just a role guy, and he still has some of it. If Kulboka and Tubelis joins the team, I am not sure Kuzminskas makes the final cut, but as you can see, not like PF position is stacked... At least we could have had twin towers with Domantas at the 4, even tho it never actually paid off.

I didn't mean relying on him to be the team's leader or anything, although in the past he was one of their best players, but relying on him for the PF position. I wasn't following what he did this last season in Turkey. But I just remember that he had several absolutely terrible seasons in a row in recent years.

Kulboka's a nice player. I like him. He was one of my favorite players to watch in EuroCup this season.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Huge bomb, Banchero decided he will represent USA! Good bye Azzurri hopes, huge disappointment for the Italians, obviously not only for this year, but next 10+ years coming.

The way he marketed himself as Italian and promised he was going to play for Italy all this time is really embarrassing.

As an Italian, I don't mind him choosing the USA, that's where he's born and raised. What I really despise is his cultural appropriation and his use of Italian flag (it's still on his Instagram profile right now) when he hasn't even been to Italy in his life and he doesn't speak a word of Italian.

And with his false promises and betrayal he's made sure he's never going to be liked by Italian fans.

That didn’t mean anything to y’all when you thought he’d play for the national team.

I agree that he strung y’all along and you have every right to be mad, but you guys gave him a lot of leeway when you thought he’s play.

[UcanUwill]

Is Lithuania really still relying on Kuzminskas? He's basically been an ex player for years.

He had a good season in Turkey. They never really relied on him, he was never a top guy, just a role guy, and he still has some of it. If Kulboka and Tubelis joins the team, I am not sure Kuzminskas makes the final cut, but as you can see, not like PF position is stacked... At least we could have had twin towers with Domantas at the 4, even tho it never actually paid off.

I didn't mean relying on him to be the team's leader or anything, although in the past he was one of their best players, but relying on him for the PF position. I wasn't following what he did this last season in Turkey. But I just remember that he had several absolutely terrible seasons in a row in recent years.

Kulboka's a nice player. I like him. He was one of my favorite players to watch in EuroCup this season.

Depth is just trash as you see. Sabonis, Grigonis and Ulanovas is no show, so we are left with irrelevant guys. early 00s days are over for LTU.

[Mirotic12]

He had a good season in Turkey. They never really relied on him, he was never a top guy, just a role guy, and he still has some of it. If Kulboka and Tubelis joins the team, I am not sure Kuzminskas makes the final cut, but as you can see, not like PF position is stacked... At least we could have had twin towers with Domantas at the 4, even tho it never actually paid off.

I didn't mean relying on him to be the team's leader or anything, although in the past he was one of their best players, but relying on him for the PF position. I wasn't following what he did this last season in Turkey. But I just remember that he had several absolutely terrible seasons in a row in recent years.

Kulboka's a nice player. I like him. He was one of my favorite players to watch in EuroCup this season.

Depth is just trash as you see. Sabonis, Grigonis and Ulanovas is no show, so we are left with irrelevant guys. early 00s days are over for LTU.

Yeah, but those names look so much more impressive than what they are actually offering. Sabonis is good in the NBA, and he has a lot FIBA experience. So in theory, he should be a huge loss. On the other hand, as already discussed in the thread, he's been a big disappointment so far for Lithuania's NT. It's actually a strange thing.

With Giannis for example, it's the most obvious thing ever why he is different in FIBA, than in the NBA. He finally had a good tournament at EuroBasket 2022, and even then, he was worse than he is in the NBA. And of course he has had some absolutely bad FIBA tournaments, and even some shockingly awful performances in elimination scenario games. But with Giannis, it's no mystery as to why.

Because Giannis has the most NBA like, and the least FIBA like game probably of any player in history. But with Sabonis, it's just weird. There really shouldn't be such a big problem for him in FIBA play, but he just is like a completely different and much worse player in FIBA.

So in theory, it looks like a big loss, but in reality it might be better to just have another good big man take his minutes. Lithuania still has big bodies like Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Gudaitis, and such. Not that Motiejunas and Gudaitis are that good or anything, especially Gudaitis, who is just a banger and nothing else. But still, it's not like they don't have some other bigs, and honestly it wouldn't take much for Motiejunas to perform better than what Sabonis has done with Lithuania.

Grigonis - again, in theory it seems like a big loss, because he is definitely one of the most known Lithuanian players. But in reality? I don't know how much you watched him this season, but my goodness was he absolutely horrible. Easily one of the most useless and downright terrible players in EuroLeague. His performance this season was just all around completely pathetic. Its's amazing how much his game completely cratered. If he was going to play like that for Lithuania, then you would not want him anywhere near the national team.

Ulanovas - again it looks like a big loss by the name of the player, and based on the depth issue as you said, might indeed be. Then again, he's a super inconsistent player. He is one of those guys that has a good season, then the next season is bad, that has a good tournament, then the next tournament is bad, that has a good week, then a bad week, a good game, then a bad game, etc. Going into a tournament, you never can count on him to show up and produce anything. He's like the opposite of a player like Maciulis, who was in theory a similar player, but who was so very dependable and almost always showed up when needed.

For me, those Lithuanian absences look way bigger than they actually are. I know it sounds weird to say it, especially with Sabonis not playing, but actually the Lekavicius absence might be the actual biggest one that could negatively hurt the team the most.

[UcanUwill]

I didn't mean relying on him to be the team's leader or anything, although in the past he was one of their best players, but relying on him for the PF position. I wasn't following what he did this last season in Turkey. But I just remember that he had several absolutely terrible seasons in a row in recent years.

Kulboka's a nice player. I like him. He was one of my favorite players to watch in EuroCup this season.

Depth is just trash as you see. Sabonis, Grigonis and Ulanovas is no show, so we are left with irrelevant guys. early 00s days are over for LTU.

Yeah, but those names look so much more impressive than what they are actually offering. Sabonis is good in the NBA, and he has a lot FIBA experience. So in theory, he should be a huge loss. On the other hand, as already discussed in the thread, he's been a disaster level player so far for Lithuania. It's actually a really strange thing.

With Giannis for example, it's the most obvious thing ever whey he is different in FIBA, than in the NBA. He finally had a good tournament at EuroBasket 2022, and even then, he was much worse than he is in the NBA. And of course he has had some absolutely bad FIBA tournaments, and even some shockingly awful performances in elimination scenario games. But with Giannis, it's no mystery as to why.

Because Giannis has the most NBA like, and the least FIBA like game probably of any player in history. But with Sabonis, it's just weird. There really shouldn't be such a big problem for him in FIBA play, but he just is like a completely different and much worse player in FIBA.

So in theory, it looks like a big loss, but in reality it might be better to just have another good big man take his minutes. Lithuania still has big bodies like Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Gudaitis, and such. Not that Motiejunas and Gudaitis are that good or anything, especially Gudaitis, who is just a banger and nothing else. But still, it's not like they don't have some other bigs, and honestly it wouldn't take much for Motiejunas to perform better than what Sabonis has done with Lithuania.

Grigonis - again, in theory it seems like a big loss, because he is definitely one of the most known Lithuanian players. But in reality? I don't know how much you watched him this season, but my goodness was he absolutely horrible. Easily one of the most useless and downright terrible players in EuroLeague. His performance this season was just all around completely pathetic. Its's amazing how much his game completely cratered. If he was going to play like that for Lithuania, then you would not want him anywhere near the national team.

Ulanovas - again it looks like a big loss by the name of the player, and based on the depth issue as you said, might indeed be. Then again, he's a super inconsistent player. He is one of those guys that has a good season, then the next season is bad, that has a good tournament, then the next tournament is bad, that has a good week, then a bad week, a good game, then a bad game, etc. Going into a tournament, you never can count on him to show up and produce anything. He's like the opposite of a player like Maciulis, so was in theory a similar player, but who was so very dependable and almost always showed up when needed.

For me, those Lithuanian absences look way bigger than they actually are. I know it sounds weird to say it, especially with Sabonis not playing, but actually the Lekavicius absence might be the actual biggest one that could negatively hurt the team the most.

Grigonis and Lekavicius loses are hugest, because no one can dribble the ball now... Grigonis was amazing 2 seasons ago, absolutely fantastic. Last season he was injured most of the time and he really hated the coach who was replaced post EL run. I would give him another shot with PAO.

Center rotation is fine, but none of these guys can play the four, Sedekerskis, Kulboka (if he actually shows up) must really play out of their minds to really impress.

Ulanovas has improved a lot, and hes just the guy with amazing ball protection skill. Kinda like Jasikevcius, ball handling itself is not amazing, but you just cant strip him, he is so good with the ball. He became very reliable and solid, but he havent played for National team since. LT also lost Butkevicius at SF position, who IMO was one of the best SF defenders in EUroleague this season.

I never knew what to think of Rokas Giedraitis, he is a shooter but his percentages are never that amazing, but his release is so quick, there is always use for that, and even tho he is a guard basically, but he is like 6'9 who improved rebounding numbers, so he basically could have played PF on this team and spread the floor for Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Birutis - whoever ends up Val's back up.

If I ranked Lithuanians now, I would say 3 out of top 4 guys are missing (Sabonis, Ulanovas, Grigonis), and Lekavicius, Giedraitis are easily in top 10, so this is just a major stinker of a roster.

[Mirotic12]

Grigonis and Lekavicius loses are hugest, because no one can dribble the ball now... Grigonis was amazing 2 seasons ago, absolutely fantastic. Last season he was injured most of the time and he really hated the coach who was replaced post EL run. I would give him another shot with PAO.

Center rotation is fine, but none of these guys can play the four, Sedekerskis, Kulboka (if he actually shows up) must really play out of their minds to really impress.

Ulanovas has improved a lot, and hes just the guy with amazing ball protection skill. Kinda like Jasikevcius, ball handling itself is not amazing, but you just cant strip him, he is so good with the ball. He became very reliable and solid, but he havent played for National team since. LT also lost Butkevicius at SF position, who IMO was one of the best SF defenders in EUroleague this season.

I never knew what to think of Rokas Giedraitis, he is a shooter but his percentages are never that amazing, but his release is so quick, there is always use for that, and even tho he is a guard basically, but he is like 6'9 who improved rebounding numbers, so he basically could have played PF on this team and spread the floor for Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Birutis - whoever ends up Val's back up.

If I ranked Lithuanians now, I would say 3 out of top 4 guys are missing (Sabonis, Ulanovas, Grigonis), and Lekavicius, Giedraitis are easily in top 10, so this is just a major stinker of a roster.

Grigonis' bad play this year with PAO had nothing to do with their coaches. I watched a bunch of their games, and he was just an embarrassing player. Probably he was extremely lucky to have the coaches he did if we want to be fair and honest. Because 90% of the coaches in EuroLeague would have cut him. Not too long ago, he was one of the best two guards in EuroLeague. Now he is easily one of the worst. You are dodging a big bullet if he does not play.

And the issue about him being able to dribble.....to do what? I am telling you, he was a disaster level player all season. Give him the ball and let him dribble and create, and you will lose every single game against any decent team.

[lars_rosenberg]

Huge bomb, Banchero decided he will represent USA! Good bye Azzurri hopes, huge disappointment for the Italians, obviously not only for this year, but next 10+ years coming.

The way he marketed himself as Italian and promised he was going to play for Italy all this time is really embarrassing.

As an Italian, I don't mind him choosing the USA, that's where he's born and raised. What I really despise is his cultural appropriation and his use of Italian flag (it's still on his Instagram profile right now) when he hasn't even been to Italy in his life and he doesn't speak a word of Italian.

And with his false promises and betrayal he's made sure he's never going to be liked by Italian fans.

That didn’t mean anything to y’all when you thought he’d play for the national team.

Yes because he was going to do something for Italy, which you have to appreciate and respect. If you give something, you get something back. Respect and gratefulness in his case.
If you only take and don't give anything back, don't expect anyone to say thank you.
If Paolo decided to play for Italy he would have shown with facts that he cared about Italy and his Italian heritage. That's more than enough for most people.

And btw on social media a lot of people used to say he shouldn't play for Italy because he's not Italian even when he claimed he was going to. That he had it easy with the passport when normal people who were born in Italy from immigrant parent have it much harder (we don't have ius soli in Italy).

[Dr Aki]

Any link to what actually Banchero said then about playing for the Italy NT? (did he commit? Half commit?). Want to understand how angry the Italians are

https://basketnews.com/news-188023-with-clock-ticking-doubts-arise-about-paolo-bancheros-commitment-to-italy.html

On June 24 last year, just before the draft, he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport:

"The support I have received so far from Italy has been fantastic. This summer, I won't be able to play with the national team, but next summer, I will be there".

In late October, Banchero visited his then-teammate RJ Hampton's podcast, emphasizing his choice of the Italian national team quite sharply:

"Team USA? No, I'm with Italy now."

In December, Banchero met with the higher ranks of the Italian federation and head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.

Even though the meeting was positive, the player asked for more time before making a final decision about his commitment to the Italian team.

However, since that meeting, the tone from the Italian Federation and Banchero has changed, becoming much more doubtful.

In February, during an official event, Pozzecco said, "Banchero? There is no news. We did what we could; now we await his answer."

Thank you. Looks like the interest was real… but i guess U$A brass swooped in after reading those interviews…

By switching sides, he is now even more Italian than before

[RookieStar]

https://basketnews.com/news-188023-with-clock-ticking-doubts-arise-about-paolo-bancheros-commitment-to-italy.html

Thank you. Looks like the interest was real… but i guess U$A brass swooped in after reading those interviews…

By switching sides, he is now even more Italian than before

Lol!!! Ok this made my day!

[THE J0KER]

Victor Wembanyama says he won't play for France in FIBA World Cup

BTW, Team USA trying to recruit Joel Embiid who is from Cameroon but also has French citizenship.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10080551

Right now Team-Canada seems world #2! (SGA-Murray-Wiggins-RJ-Olynyk)!

[Rainwater]

The way he marketed himself as Italian and promised he was going to play for Italy all this time is really embarrassing.

As an Italian, I don't mind him choosing the USA, that's where he's born and raised. What I really despise is his cultural appropriation and his use of Italian flag (it's still on his Instagram profile right now) when he hasn't even been to Italy in his life and he doesn't speak a word of Italian.

And with his false promises and betrayal he's made sure he's never going to be liked by Italian fans.

That didn’t mean anything to y’all when you thought he’d play for the national team.

Yes because he was going to do something for Italy,which you have to appreciate and respect. If you give something, you get something back. Respect and gratefulness in his case.
If you only take and don't give anything back, don't expect anyone to say thank you.
If Paolo decided to play for Italy he would have shown with facts that he cared about Italy and his Italian heritage. That's more than enough for most people.

And btw on social media a lot of people used to say he shouldn't play for Italy because he's not Italian even when he claimed he was going to. That he had it easy with the passport when normal people who were born in Italy from immigrant parent have it much harder (we don't have ius soli in Italy).

Aren't you proven her correct though? Nothing else mattered because he was doing something for Italy aka playing for the national team.

This is not embarrassing for Paolo because the dude is not even Italian. It's more embarrassing that Italians will be booing a guy who chose to play for his home country.

[Rainwater]

Huge bomb, Banchero decided he will represent USA! Good bye Azzurri hopes, huge disappointment for the Italians, obviously not only for this year, but next 10+ years coming.

Speak for yourself, I always considered players picking and choosing national teams based on opportunity rather than genuine sense of national belonging to be a disgraceful breach of the very concept of national team.
Banchero might have an italian parent but he speaks no italian nor has never lived in Italy. I'd have picked present day Kobe over him.
He shouldn't even have had the ability to choose as far as I'm concerned.

Oh c'mon ... he's at least more italian than Lorenzo Brown is spanish, Anthony Randolph slovenian or A.J. Slaughter polish ...

Honestly, those guys are Americans and shouldn't be playing for any other team except American teams.

[LuDux1]

Not a single C who could guard pick and roll, and Lekavicius being out is major. Now team only has one good player who can dribble and playmake - Jokubaitis...
Is Kulboka coming? I know he was pissed.

Is Lithuania really still relying on Kuzminskas? He's basically been an ex player for years.

He had a good season in Turkey. They never really relied on him, he was never a top guy, just a role guy, and he still has some of it. If Kulboka and Tubelis joins the team, I am not sure Kuzminskas makes the final cut, but as you can see, not like PF position is stacked... At least we could have had twin towers with Domantas at the 4, even tho it never actually paid off.

Whoa, lots of things have to go right for that to happen. LIke Brazdeikis and Sabonis playing and Ulanovas or Giedraitis changing their minds right.

[Pachinko_]

Honestly, those guys are Americans and shouldn't be playing for any other team except American teams.

Personally, as a Greek... I don't care. These guys have no hope of playing for Team USA, so if they want to play for some other team and that other team is cool with it, then I'm cool with it. The more good players the better, I just want to watch some hoops in the summer.

If a national team or their federation feels that it harms their own players or their spirit of their team or whatever to bring in nationalised players then I respect that too, but that's entirely up to them to decide and draw the line somewhere.