TASTIC wrote:SF88 wrote:Len is considering playing for the Ukrainian national team in EuroBasket, which will be held Sept. 5-20 with Ukraine's group playing in Latvia. Len is one of seven 7-footers on Ukraine's 22-man preliminary roster.
This is pretty disappointing to hear. Especially for a guy like Len who has a very hard time not getting injured. Suns need to do what's best for his professional career and prohibit him from it imo. It's not that uncommon, Pop did to Ginobili a year or two ago.
Yeah I'm with you guys - I get the playing for your country thing, but Steven Adams is from New Zealand and as basically our best player, easily.
He made the executive decision (with a whisper in the ear from OKC I've no doubt) - to forego playing for the NZ team, at least until his body etc adjusted to the rigors of an 82 game season.
Len should get through 1-2 full seasons without injury before even really thinking about playing for the Ukraine.
Seven 7-footers??? There wouldn't be that many 7-footers in all of New Zealand!!
I completely disagree with you guys, especially in light of the Chandler signing.
Len will be the centerpiece of that Ukrainian team this year if he plays. He needs time to be "the man" to develop his game. Look how much better Dragic got from leading the Slovenian team. Guys like Westbrook, DRose, etc. took their first major jumps to superstar status because of national team participation.
If we were competing for a championship this year and Len was a centerpiece, I wouldn't be excited about him getting the extra miles. The reality is that this team is still at least two years AND a LOT of growth away from being at that level.
This is a good opportunity for Len to grow as a player and I'm glad he's taking it.
