Caitlin Clark left off USA Roster

[Lockdown504090]

they really should have put jeremy lin on team usa 10 years ago as well?

[madskillz8]

they really should have put jeremy lin on team usa 10 years ago as well?

Not a good analogy unless you believe NBA or men's basketball needed to be promoted as much as women's basketball where players paid 50k annually because of lack of interest thus profit...

[r0drig0lac]

in other news: a player who is not among the best players was not called up to the team that in theory calls up the best players.

[sikma42]

I think if you bring Clark and don’t play her, than her cult like fans would actively root against the USA guards. That would be the dominate discourse. The entire Olympics would also be asking CC questions about playing time etc.

It’s fine to keep the focus on winning the gold medal, especially when her play hasn’t merited being on the team (high turnover guard that struggles on defense and has had some issues adjusting to the different offensive sets). The difference with Diana is that she can just lead from the back. They both bring different elements and it’s okay to not choose CC.


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[dockingsched]

She missed the tryout; this is a non-story

She was excused for missing the training camp since she was playing in the ncaa tournament...

According to what? And being excused doesn’t give you a red carpet to a team that others participated in manual training camps to be involved in.

I don’t think this is the argument you think it is when there’s a player on the roster who hasn’t played since November and doesn’t have a timetable for their return

[Hornet Mania]

She should have been on the team.

Women's basketball is not in a good place financially. The US women's team is going to win even if they have to sacrifice a roster spot for a rookie.

Clarke should be on the team due to the bigger picture of drawing eyeballs and boosting the popularity of the sport, it's as simple as that.

I get why veteran WNBA stars are prickly about all her attention, she's not better than any of them at this moment, but they need to get over it. Just be glad casual fans are starting to care about your sport for once and ride that wave as far as you can. They're cutting off their nose to spite their face with Clarke and it's so short-sighted.

[xdrta+]

I believe the airline industry has made negative aggregate profits since its inception.

That would be a little over 100 years.

Is this fact true?

And let's not compare the necessity of air travel required by many around the world to something most people don't even know anything about during most of their existence.

I forget how old the stat is, but it seemed authorative after one of the post-deregulation rounds of bankrupticies. I think it referred either to US airlines only or to non-government airlines, but at one time that was a distinction almost without a difference.

I'm sure the pandemic was a period of massive aggregate loss.

Mjor US airlines have generally gone bankrupt several times each.

The pandemic was a disaster for the airline industry of course, but the expected aggregate net profit in 2024 is $30.5 billion. I don't know about 100 years ago.

[sikma42]

She should have been on the team.

Women's basketball is not in a good place financially. The US women's team is going to win even if they have to sacrifice a roster spot for a rookie.

Clarke should be on the team due to the bigger picture of drawing eyeballs and boosting the popularity of the sport, it's simple as that.

I get why veteran WNBA stars are prickly about all her attention, but they need to get over it. Just be glad someone cares about your sport for once and ride that wave as far as you can. They're cutting off their nose to spite their face with Clarke and it's so short-sighted.

Should they all volunteer to give up their playing time for CC? Would it be best if all the point guards stepped down and just gave that time to CC. Maybe they should run the Iowa offense? More fans would watch and I guess we would win the gold anyway. When does this end, why can’t you just let a great player be great on the court and build their legacy like everyone else did.


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[cupcakesnake]

they really should have put jeremy lin on team usa 10 years ago as well?

Not a good analogy unless you believe NBA or men's basketball needed to be promoted as much as women's basketball where players paid 50k annually because of lack of interest thus profit...

USA Basketball and the WNBA are separate organizations. It's not this monolithic decision about the fate of women's basketball as a profitable enterprise.

[nbanflguy]

She's been struggling hard as a WNBA rookie and there's a massive hoopla wherever she goes which would be very distracting for Team USA. Honestly it would have felt kinda gimmicky to have her on the team. In 4 years she'll be at the Olympics but I get the decision to leave her off this time around.

She’s had a lot of turnovers with the ball in her hands immediately, but she was Rookie of the Month, the second player ever to average 15-5-5 in her first month, and tied the rookie three point record (7) last night in her 30 point game. They could have easily justified a spot.

But her impact goes far beyond her stats. Just like in the WNBA, the other players should be profiting from her popularity as she grows the league, not complaining about it. This was a massive blown opportunity to help the WNBA, and they have only emphasized their own pettiness.

USA Women's basketball has won like 500 gold medals in a row. They don't need or care about her popularity (or shouldn't imo). The team isn't NBC trying to get ratings. They are trying to win gold. Clark is just not at Olympic level yet as a player.

How can you do that first sentence and then come away with the completely wrong take? USA Women’s bball has won like 500 gold medals in a row. No one cares. So a smart organization would bring the most popular female player ever because that would sell jerseys, merchandise, and bring in millions of tv viewers. Growing their sport. USA woman have won 500 gold medals in a row. Bringing CC as the 12th player on the roster isn’t going to hurt them competitively at all. Either way they are light years above the competition.

[cupcakesnake]

Is it annoying to listen to people who know nothing about the Olympics? Or would that be condescending?

The fact that there aren’t other younger players on the team is not a plus, and is something both the men and women’s team have actively tried to avoid. Were you up in arms when Christian Laetner made the Dream Team. In the two previous Olympics, the women’s team had three 24 year olds, and the one before that, they selected a 21 year old. These teams want promising young players in the system, feeling like part of the team so they sign up for the next Olympics, and getting experience for future games. This should be especially true this year, when Team USA is so heavily favored, with or without Clark.

Name the player who should be left off this year for Caitlin Clark, especially with the context that she missed the Team USA practices taking the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four.

In case you weren’t aware, Clark has played for Team USA for years in younger age group competitions. She only missed try outs because she was carrying a mediocre Iowa team to the Final Four, and that success should be rewarded, not be punished. Finally, Team USA already said that missing the try outs was fine, and they would use her first month of WNBA play as the try out.

So if you're upset in general about young players being left off, why not make noise about Cameron Brink or Angel Reese or players who are better WNBA player at the moment?

There's definitely a great argument for including Clark. But it's not indefensible to leave her off, when their goal is clearly to bring the very best players. You can disagree with that strategy, but it's not specific to Clark. There are a lot of young stars in the W that got left off this team.

[Hornet Mania]

She should have been on the team.

Women's basketball is not in a good place financially. The US women's team is going to win even if they have to sacrifice a roster spot for a rookie.

Clarke should be on the team due to the bigger picture of drawing eyeballs and boosting the popularity of the sport, it's simple as that.

I get why veteran WNBA stars are prickly about all her attention, but they need to get over it. Just be glad someone cares about your sport for once and ride that wave as far as you can. They're cutting off their nose to spite their face with Clarke and it's so short-sighted.

Should they all volunteer to give up their playing time for CC? Would it be best if all the point guards stepped down and just gave that time to CC. More fans would watch and I guess we would win the gold anyway. When does this end, why can’t you just let a great player be great on the court and build their legacy like everyone else did.


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If they want to put the integrity of the game above increasing their collective earning potential, sure, make her earn it. If they want the WNBA and women's basketball generally to become as popular as possible as quickly as possible put her on the team,

I think it's a no-brainer to add her because the WNBA and women's basketball desperately needs to capitalize on this opportunity.

As far as playing time goes, I'd give her a little run every game just for the buzz and extended minutes during the beatdowns. It's not like the USA won't be involved in a ton of blowouts.

[dockingsched]

The arguments I’ve seen for why Clark was left off the roster don’t line up with why Taurasi made it ahead of her. Clark should be in instead of Taurasi.

Right you can argue merit in either direction but these are pretty different issues. Taurasi is on the team as a legend a 6-time gold medal winner. Neither Taurasi or Clark are really high-level WNBA players right this second, but leaving off young players and including older players, there are different reasons for that and often one comes at the expense of the other.

The NBA analogue here is like when they included broken down Larry Bird but no Shaq. Except Shaq was a dominant player, so it's more like if Lebron was more washed and they included him instead of Scoot Henderson?

Clark is struggling in the W so far.

I agree with you, however arguments I’m seeing is that it should be about who are the “top 12 players” or some version of that. If that is the case then Taurasi doesn’t belong. If other factors are being considered which they obviously are otherwise Taurasi wouldn’t be on the roster, then people should be open about it when arguing against Clark and be open to considering other factors are well.

[shrink]

I think if you bring Clark and don’t play her, than her cult like fans would actively root against the USA guards. That would be the dominate discourse. The entire Olympics would also be asking CC questions about playing time etc.

What do you think her cult of fans will do when she doesn’t actually make the team?

I expect that there will be a big focus by the national media over the next month to get an explanation why Clark was excluded. If the story leaks that the (wnba) players voted to not add her, this would kill a lot of the “Caitlyn Cult’s” newfound interest in the WNBA. Viewers want to root for players they like, and keeping Clark from her dream to represent the US in the Olympics would cause a lot more “actively rooting against” than a couple guards at the Olympics.

[cupcakesnake]

The arguments I’ve seen for why Clark was left off the roster don’t line up with why Taurasi made it ahead of her. Clark should be in instead of Taurasi.

Right you can argue merit in either direction but these are pretty different issues. Taurasi is on the team as a legend a 6-time gold medal winner. Neither Taurasi or Clark are really high-level WNBA players right this second, but leaving off young players and including older players, there are different reasons for that and often one comes at the expense of the other.

The NBA analogue here is like when they included broken down Larry Bird but no Shaq. Except Shaq was a dominant player, so it's more like if Lebron was more washed and they included him instead of Scoot Henderson?

Clark is struggling in the W so far.

I agree with you, however arguments I’m seeing is that it should be about who are the “top 12 players” or some version of that. If that is the case then Taurasi doesn’t belong. If other factors are being considered which they obviously are otherwise Taurasi wouldn’t be on the roster, then people should be open about it when arguing against Clark and be open to considering other factors are well.

Yeah if you strip it down to a purist argument that's fine and true. I just think whether CC should be on whether Taurasi should be on are separate arguments. Another argument about "who are the top 12 American WNBA players" would be fun too.

Taurasi has been one of the leaders of team USA for a long long time so i'm not in the least bit surprised to see her name on the initial roster despite her being a pretty mediocre WNBA player now at age 42.

Very different from the argument that people are making here that CC should be brought along because she's insanely popular.

[Optms]

:o

Nope, and your petty decision will be the lead story on your team throughout the Olympics, regardless of how you play.

Why petty? Looks like it was a basketball decision. Don't follow women's basketball but I do know one thing and that's that she's a rookie.

And unless she is already a top 12 player in the league, or flirting to be, I'm not sure what the uproar is for. Kyrie didn't make the men's team and no one was saying it was petty. And he's clearly a top 12 talent on the US side.

Their claim is that they want to grow the women’s basketball game and the WNBA, and they are intentionally keeping the WNBA’s most popular player off the world’s biggest stage.

The NBA does not need the Olympics as a showcase. These players are being petty.

So it's essentially popularity reasoning. I'm guessing there are 12 to 15 players who are better and more deserving.

Still don't get where the pettiness is kicking in. I checked and the team she plays for has the most televised games despite being awful. So the narrative you are trying to spin doesn't hold water. The league is doing everything to push her.

[dockingsched]

Right you can argue merit in either direction but these are pretty different issues. Taurasi is on the team as a legend a 6-time gold medal winner. Neither Taurasi or Clark are really high-level WNBA players right this second, but leaving off young players and including older players, there are different reasons for that and often one comes at the expense of the other.

The NBA analogue here is like when they included broken down Larry Bird but no Shaq. Except Shaq was a dominant player, so it's more like if Lebron was more washed and they included him instead of Scoot Henderson?

Clark is struggling in the W so far.

I agree with you, however arguments I’m seeing is that it should be about who are the “top 12 players” or some version of that. If that is the case then Taurasi doesn’t belong. If other factors are being considered which they obviously are otherwise Taurasi wouldn’t be on the roster, then people should be open about it when arguing against Clark and be open to considering other factors are well.

Yeah if you strip it down to a purist argument that's fine and true. I just think whether CC should be on whether Taurasi should be on are separate arguments. Another argument about "who are the top 12 American WNBA players" would be fun too.

Taurasi has been one of the leaders of team USA for a long long time so i'm not in the least bit surprised to see her name on the initial roster despite her being a pretty mediocre WNBA player now at age 42.

Very different from the argument that people are making here that CC should be brought along because she's insanely popular.

At least for me, it’s that she’s insanely popular AND better than Taurasi. The team actually gets better imo.

[madskillz8]

they really should have put jeremy lin on team usa 10 years ago as well?

Not a good analogy unless you believe NBA or men's basketball needed to be promoted as much as women's basketball where players paid 50k annually because of lack of interest thus profit...

USA Basketball and the WNBA are separate organizations. It's not this monolithic decision about the fate of women's basketball as a profitable enterprise.

This is from USA Basketball webpage:

Our Mission
As the governing body for basketball in the United States, USA Basketball is a worldwide leader in the sport through competitive excellence in international competition and by promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels while ensuring that athletes and other participants compete and develop in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.

https://www.usab.com/about/our-mission-values

[sikma42]

I think if you bring Clark and don’t play her, than her cult like fans would actively root against the USA guards. That would be the dominate discourse. The entire Olympics would also be asking CC questions about playing time etc.

What do you think her cult of fans will do when she doesn’t actually make the team?

I expect that there will be a big focus by the national media over the next month to get an explanation why Clark was excluded. If the story leaks that the (wnba) players voted to not add her, this would kill a lot of the “Caitlyn Cult’s” newfound interest in the WNBA. Viewers want to root for players they like, and keeping Clark from her dream to represent the US in the Olympics would cause a lot more “actively rooting against” than a couple guards at the Olympics.

Are you making up a hypothetical story that could leak? what the grounds for that…


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[JustBuzzin]

in other news: a player who is not among the best players was not called up to the team that in theory calls up the best players.

It's sad so many people think this girl deserves everything for free.

She's simply not good enough right now to get that spot. Watch the games and you will know this.

People need to stop this hype with Clarke. They are just making her road more tough the more they complain.