Team Canada Basketball Thread V3.0

[Kenter16]

So where do we stand 2 months before the qualifiers? Unfortunately, we lost our best player.

But there are many reasons to remain positive: Over the last month or two, a record number of Canadians (most of them, in fact) have been playing arguably the best basketball of their careers. Just take a look at the numbers:

* SGA since the beginning of February, before being forced to shut down: 26 points per game, shooting over 45% from 3.

* Dort in April (6 games): 26 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from behind the arc.

* Brooks in April (14 games): 18 points per game with 47%/45%/81% shooting splits.

* NAW on his last 9 games before his injury: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists per game, shooting 42% from 3.

* Boucher on his last 8 games before the injury: 18 points and 10 rebounds a game with 57%/40%/87% shooting splits.

* Barrett since the beginning of March: 19 points per game with 46%/42%/77% shooting splits.

* Olynyk since moving to Houston (18 games): Career highs of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, with career high shooting numbers: 58%/40%/88%.

* CoJo since moving to Detroit (16 games): Career highs 12 points and 5.5 assists, on career high shooting numbers from all ranges: 51%/39%/87%.

* Brissett since he’s been starting for the Pacers (last 5): 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal per game, shooting 48%/45%/74%.

* Birch since moving to Toronto: Career highs of 10 points and 8 rebounds a game, shooting 60% from the field.

* Wiggins and Mulder are starting for the Warriors. Wiggins looked great in March but cooled down in April. Mulder playing solid basketball.

Add to this Pangos, who’s also playing his best career basketball lately in the Euroleague (and a couple of other European guys who peaked this season), and things are looking quite sunny if we can get most of these guys to suit up.

The underlying message here is the unprecedented depth we have.
There are a ton of questions surround almost everyone in the NBA that could play. I would argue only Dort and Brooks will be there for sure. RJ is close, but the Knicks look good. Maybe they have a playoff run in them.

Mulder started last night and had 28 points. Him, along with Brissett and Pangos play as of late have me confident that we will field the best team we have ever had. There are so many good players to choose from and to your point, so many that are playing at the top of their game. Just WHO exactly is on it is completely up in the air.

[UcanUwill]

U19 draw for men and women, any insight on u19 mens team, will play in same group with Lithuania.

[Hair Canada]

Speaking of depth and Canadians who are playing at the top of their game this season:

Caleb Agada just scored 43 points (10/15 from 2; 3/5 from 3; 14/14 from the line), adding 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in just 30 minutes of play.

Agada led his team, Hapoel Beer Sheva to an upset again no other than perennial Israeli champion and Euroleague powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.

For the season, Agada leads the league in scoring (23 a game) and steals (2.5), while adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and great defense. If anyone still had any doubts about where Agada should be playing next year, they should be quickly dissipating. Maccabi has a tendency of grabbing players who excel against them, so maybe that's his next destination?

Oh, and one small anecdote: Agada in Hebrew means "legend". You can imagine the field day that the Israeli media are having with all of this (for some variation, they also use wordplay with his first name, which roughly means "dog")...

[Mirotic12]

Speaking of depth and Canadians who are playing at the top of their game this season:

Caleb Agada just scored 43 points (10/15 from 2; 3/5 from 3; 14/14 from the line), adding 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in just 30 minutes of play.

Agada led his team, Hapoel Beer Sheva to an upset again no other than perennial Israeli champion and Euroleague powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.

For the season, Agada leads the league in scoring (23 a game) and steals (2.5), while adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and great defense. If anyone still had any doubts about where Agada should be playing next year, they should be quickly dissipating. Maccabi has a tendency of grabbing players who excel against them, so maybe that's his next destination?

Maccabi isn't a EuroLeague powerhouse. They certainly used to be. But they have actually easily been one of the worst teams in the EuroLeague for the last 6 years. In fact, they only had one season in the last six that they didn't have a losing record, and they even had a losing record in the second level EuroCup in one of those seasons. They are far from being a powerhouse nowadays.

They still have a fairly big budget, but they have been a quite bad team for years now.

[Mirotic12]

According to Greek media:

1. Rick Pitino has been finalized as Greece's head coach for the Pre-Olympic tournament.

2. Kostas Papanikolaou will not play at the tournament, as he is still recovering from neck surgery.

3. The only players that Pitino has selected for the team, without them having to earn a place at the training camp are:

Tyler Dorsey
Kosta Koufos
Nick Calathes
Vassilis Spanoulis
Kostas Sloukas
Georgios Printezis

The other 6 players will be selected from a total of 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp. No names of the 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp have been released.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Kostas Antetokounmpo will not play at the tournament. That was stated as being a clear fact.

5. Vassilis Spanoulis has been picked to be the teams' captain by Pitino, and he has now committed to playing at the tournament. However, it was also stated that he might not actually be able to play. Due to him being a free agent, and that he wants to stay with Olympiacos, but that they might not want him to play, after they offer him a new contract. So same crap as NBA free agents.

So basically, Pitino is now the confirmed head coach, five players are confirmed (Tyler Dorsey, Kosta Koufos, Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Georgios Printezis), a sixth player (Vassilis Spanoulis) is also confirmed, as long as his team doesn't try to stand in the way of him playing, during their contract negotiations, and Giannis and his two brothers will not play, which again was stated as being a clear fact.

[mojo13]

According to Greek media:

1. Rick Pitino has been finalized as Greece's head coach for the Pre-Olympic tournament.

2. Kostas Papanikolaou will not play at the tournament, as he is still recovering from neck surgery.

3. The only players that Pitino has selected for the team, without them having to earn a place at the training camp are:

Tyler Dorsey
Kosta Koufos
Nick Calathes
Vassilis Spanoulis
Kostas Sloukas
Georgios Printezis

The other 6 players will be selected from a total of 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp. No names of the 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp have been released.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Kostas Antetokounmpo will not play at the tournament. That was stated as being a clear fact.

5. Vassilis Spanoulis has been picked to be the teams' captain by Pitino, and he has now committed to playing at the tournament. However, it was also stated that he might not actually be able to play. Due to him being a free agent, and that he wants to stay with Olympiacos, but that they might not want him to play, after they offer him a new contract. So same crap as NBA free agents.

So basically, Pitino is now the confirmed head coach, five players are confirmed (Tyler Dorsey, Kosta Koufos, Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Georgios Printezis), a sixth player (Vassilis Spanoulis) is also confirmed, as long as his team doesn't try to stand in the way of him playing, during their contract negotiations, and Giannis and his two brothers will not play, which again was stated as being a clear fact.

Mirotic - this is good stuff, thank you.
Do you happen to have a source for this? I'd love to read more on it (even if in Greek and I need to Google Translate). It seems it would be big news if Giannis was not playing.

Edit: I did find this this from 2 days ago that pretty much agrees with what you are saying but much more "iffy" and with less detail. You are much more definitive than this.
https://www.sport-fm.gr/article/basket/ethniki-ola-deixnoun-proolumpiako-me-pitino/4175513

[Kenter16]

FWIW I received an email that the volunteer sign up has started for Victoria. Seems like they are still planning on hosting it in BC.


https://www.bcgames.net/vic2020oqt/VolunteerModule/register.aspx

[UcanUwill]

Pangos just dominated and forced final game 5 against number 1 seed Barcelona. Barcelona tried switch all defense, but Pangos completely cooked them, it was opposite of Real game yesterday, where Real's bigs shut down Efes star guards.

[mojo13]

Pangos just dominated and forced final game 5 against number 1 seed Barcelona. Barcelona tried switch all defense, but Pangos completely cooked them, it was opposite of Real game yesterday, where Real's bigs shut down Efes star guards.

22pts, 8a tonight.
He's been fantastic of late. Zenit was worse in the league last year and KP has pulled them into the playoffs and has them in a final game vs the best team in the league. Whatever went wrong for him in Barcelona the last two years (system, injuries etc.) he is well over it now.

Where you put him among the PGs in Europe? Top 5? Top 3?

[UcanUwill]

Pangos just dominated and forced final game 5 against number 1 seed Barcelona. Barcelona tried switch all defense, but Pangos completely cooked them, it was opposite of Real game yesterday, where Real's bigs shut down Efes star guards.

22pts, 8a tonight.
He's been fantastic of late. Zenit was worse in the league last year and KP has pulled them into the playoffs and has them in a final game vs the best team in the league. Whatever went wrong for him in Barcelona the last two years (system, injuries etc.) he is well over it now.

Where you put him among the PGs in Europe? Top 5? Top 3?

With Mike James gone, I would probably have him in the Top 5, I think only Micic and Larkin are clearly better.

[mojo13]

Both Cashius McNeilly and Emanuel Miller transfer for TCU in the last couple days .

That seems a little strange - I thought they were both rumored to Minnesota with Cashius's uncle becoming an assistant coach there? At the very least I thought Miller would be looking at higher profile programs.

[Hair Canada]

Both Cashius McNeilly and Emanuel Miller transfer for TCU in the last couple days .

That seems a little strange - I thought they were both rumored to Minnesota with Cashius's uncle becoming an assistant coach there? At the very least I thought Miller would be looking at higher profile programs.

All indicators are that Jamie McNeilly is going to eventually get the job at TCU. Which would explain this. Now I wonder if Javonte Brown is going to follow suit (committed to A&M mid-season). Should be noted that the TCU roster is full so not sure that's gonna happen.

Also still up in the air: Carr and Guerrier, who just entered the transfer portal and will not be coming back to Syracuse.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Kabengele signed one of those late season multi-year deals with the Cavs that a bunch of teams are giving out these days. It doesn't really give him much job security, because anything after this year isn't guaranteed, but it likely means that Cleveland saw enough there that they want to take a better look at him in their training camp next year, and didn't want other teams getting that same chance.

Hopefully we won't need to go so far down on the depth chart this summer as to require his services. I'm not sure how this would affect his availability anyway. Does anyone have a good sense of how insurance would work for these non-guaranteed contracts?

[mojo13]

Kabengele signed one of those late season multi-year deals with the Cavs that a bunch of teams are giving out these days. It doesn't really give him much job security, because anything after this year isn't guaranteed, but it likely means that Cleveland saw enough there that they want to take a better look at him in their training camp next year, and didn't want other teams getting that same chance.

Hopefully we won't need to go so far down on the depth chart this summer as to require his services. I'm not sure how this would affect his availability anyway. Does anyone have a good sense of how insurance would work for these non-guaranteed contracts?

Maybe someone else can confirm - but my understanding is the FIBA provided insurance covers up to the last years salary for FAs / non guaranteed.
That’s not great for the guys signing late season contracts as they won’t make too much this season.

Of course there is private insurance to supplement as well. But that would need to be paid for by Basketball Canada, the players or donors.

Edit:
Take a look at this Twitter thread from 2019. Leo Rautins is saying the NBA actually insures players and it is less costly to Basketball Canada if more NBA players play, as Canada Basketball has to foot the bill for non NBA players.
Read the entire thread - I don’t know what to make of it.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[TrueNorth31]

Kabengele signed one of those late season multi-year deals with the Cavs that a bunch of teams are giving out these days. It doesn't really give him much job security, because anything after this year isn't guaranteed, but it likely means that Cleveland saw enough there that they want to take a better look at him in their training camp next year, and didn't want other teams getting that same chance.

Hopefully we won't need to go so far down on the depth chart this summer as to require his services. I'm not sure how this would affect his availability anyway. Does anyone have a good sense of how insurance would work for these non-guaranteed contracts?

Maybe someone else can confirm - but my understanding is the FIBA provided insurance covers up to the last years salary for FAs / non guaranteed.
That’s not great for the guys signing late season contracts as they won’t make too much this season.

Of course there is private insurance to supplement as well. But that would need to be paid for by Basketball Canada, the players or donors.

Edit:
Take a look at this Twitter thread from 2019. Leo Rautins is saying the NBA actually insures players and it is less costly to Basketball Canada if more NBA players play, as Canada Basketball has to foot the bill for non NBA players.
Read the entire thread - I don’t know what to make of it.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

I've linked previously Fiba's insurance policy regarding free agents , basically they cover only what the player made in his last prior year. What Leo is referring to is NBA insurance. This covers most NBA players who have a guaranteed contract and his team signs off them playing Fiba - because of chronic injury some teams may not give their approval. Anybody who signs an NBA guaranteed contract gets paid ( now there's caveats such as not going skiing and certain players with bad chronic injuries such as Amare Stoudemire may have trouble getting insured, but in the end they all get their money). What Canada needs is private insurance for the players who have no guaranteed money. Canada Basketball, especially after the pandemic has no cash. They need benefactors to step up and to pay the bill.

What does it cost - who knows ? The media doesn't seem to comprehend this complex issue and they don't seem to pursue it. My understanding NBA insurance costs about 3-7 % of the contract, but that's for the entire year/ length of the deal and determined by the health of the player. What would 2 months of insurance look like for a young healthy player ?

The Kabengele deal seems to be following the template of the Brissett contract. Instead of getting a small camp guarantee ( Brissett got $ 300,000 from the Raptors last season ) , they get paid this year for more than the league minimum for the remaining portion of this year as sort of a pre-paid bonus ( Brissett got an extra $500,000 from Indy ) so as the team has more flexibility next season.

We'll have to see about the fit with the Cavaliers. He's battling for the fourth post position next year unless something happens. Kevin Love may be traded , if someone would take his contract ( ? ) , and Jarrett Allen is a restricted free agent.

[TrueNorth31]

According to Greek media:

1. Rick Pitino has been finalized as Greece's head coach for the Pre-Olympic tournament.

2. Kostas Papanikolaou will not play at the tournament, as he is still recovering from neck surgery.

3. The only players that Pitino has selected for the team, without them having to earn a place at the training camp are:

Tyler Dorsey
Kosta Koufos
Nick Calathes
Vassilis Spanoulis
Kostas Sloukas
Georgios Printezis

The other 6 players will be selected from a total of 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp. No names of the 10 other players that will be invited to the training camp have been released.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Kostas Antetokounmpo will not play at the tournament. That was stated as being a clear fact.

5. Vassilis Spanoulis has been picked to be the teams' captain by Pitino, and he has now committed to playing at the tournament. However, it was also stated that he might not actually be able to play. Due to him being a free agent, and that he wants to stay with Olympiacos, but that they might not want him to play, after they offer him a new contract. So same crap as NBA free agents.

So basically, Pitino is now the confirmed head coach, five players are confirmed (Tyler Dorsey, Kosta Koufos, Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Georgios Printezis), a sixth player (Vassilis Spanoulis) is also confirmed, as long as his team doesn't try to stand in the way of him playing, during their contract negotiations, and Giannis and his two brothers will not play, which again was stated as being a clear fact.

Mirotic - this is good stuff, thank you.
Do you happen to have a source for this? I'd love to read more on it (even if in Greek and I need to Google Translate). It seems it would be big news if Giannis was not playing.

Edit: I did find this this from 2 days ago that pretty much agrees with what you are saying but much more "iffy" and with less detail. You are much more definitive than this.
https://www.sport-fm.gr/article/basket/ethniki-ola-deixnoun-proolumpiako-me-pitino/4175513

Reading the Greek story , I see no indication Giannis won't play if his team is eliminated early. He has a guaranteed long term contract and he's always been a willing participant in their program. Basically unless the Buck's aren't one of the two East finalists, I expect him to be in Victoria.

[Hair Canada]

So where do we stand 2 months before the qualifiers? Unfortunately, we lost our best player.

But there are many reasons to remain positive: Over the last month or two, a record number of Canadians (most of them, in fact) have been playing arguably the best basketball of their careers. Just take a look at the numbers:

* SGA since the beginning of February, before being forced to shut down: 26 points per game, shooting over 45% from 3.

* Dort in April (6 games): 26 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from behind the arc.

* Brooks in April (14 games): 18 points per game with 47%/45%/81% shooting splits.

* NAW on his last 9 games before his injury: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists per game, shooting 42% from 3.

* Boucher on his last 8 games before the injury: 18 points and 10 rebounds a game with 57%/40%/87% shooting splits.

* Barrett since the beginning of March: 19 points per game with 46%/42%/77% shooting splits.

* Olynyk since moving to Houston (18 games): Career highs of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, with career high shooting numbers: 58%/40%/88%.

* CoJo since moving to Detroit (16 games): Career highs 12 points and 5.5 assists, on career high shooting numbers from all ranges: 51%/39%/87%.

* Brissett since he’s been starting for the Pacers (last 5): 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal per game, shooting 48%/45%/74%.

* Birch since moving to Toronto: Career highs of 10 points and 8 rebounds a game, shooting 60% from the field.

* Wiggins and Mulder are starting for the Warriors. Wiggins looked great in March but cooled down in April. Mulder playing solid basketball.

Add to this Pangos, who’s also playing his best career basketball lately in the Euroleague (and a couple of other European guys who peaked this season), and things are looking quite sunny if we can get most of these guys to suit up.

As Brissett continues to impress (16, 13, 3 assists, and 4 blocks today, 3 of 6 from 3), we can add another Canadian to the list of "playing the best basketball of their careers":

Mulder over his last 5 games (23 minutes a game): 16 points per game, taking 7.5 threes per game, making nearly half of them, and shooting a 72% effective field goal. Could be a valuable piece in Victoria.

[Kenter16]

So where do we stand 2 months before the qualifiers? Unfortunately, we lost our best player.

But there are many reasons to remain positive: Over the last month or two, a record number of Canadians (most of them, in fact) have been playing arguably the best basketball of their careers. Just take a look at the numbers:

* SGA since the beginning of February, before being forced to shut down: 26 points per game, shooting over 45% from 3.

* Dort in April (6 games): 26 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 46% from behind the arc.

* Brooks in April (14 games): 18 points per game with 47%/45%/81% shooting splits.

* NAW on his last 9 games before his injury: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists per game, shooting 42% from 3.

* Boucher on his last 8 games before the injury: 18 points and 10 rebounds a game with 57%/40%/87% shooting splits.

* Barrett since the beginning of March: 19 points per game with 46%/42%/77% shooting splits.

* Olynyk since moving to Houston (18 games): Career highs of 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, with career high shooting numbers: 58%/40%/88%.

* CoJo since moving to Detroit (16 games): Career highs 12 points and 5.5 assists, on career high shooting numbers from all ranges: 51%/39%/87%.

* Brissett since he’s been starting for the Pacers (last 5): 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal per game, shooting 48%/45%/74%.

* Birch since moving to Toronto: Career highs of 10 points and 8 rebounds a game, shooting 60% from the field.

* Wiggins and Mulder are starting for the Warriors. Wiggins looked great in March but cooled down in April. Mulder playing solid basketball.

Add to this Pangos, who’s also playing his best career basketball lately in the Euroleague (and a couple of other European guys who peaked this season), and things are looking quite sunny if we can get most of these guys to suit up.

As Brissett continues to impress (16, 13, 3 assists, and 4 blocks today, 3 of 6 from 3), we can add another Canadian to the list of "playing the best basketball of their careers":

Mulder over his last 5 games (23 minutes a game): 16 points per game, taking 7.5 threes per game, making nearly half of them, and shooting a 72% effective field goal. Could be a valuable piece in Victoria.

Those two have been awesome as of late. Didn't have them on my version of team Canada at the start of the season. But, I gotta assume that they have a real chance. Brisset for sure and Mulder has a chance.
We won't be short of guards so Mulder is definitely not a lock. Should take the guys playing the best at this point though. Short tournament, don't have time for anybody to be slumping. To steal a soccer term, you must use the players that are in form.

Today my starting five is:
Pangos
Barrett
Brooks
Olynyk
Birch

Oshae first guy off the bench.

Ask me tomorrow, it might change.

Sent from my SM-G973W using RealGM mobile app

[TrueNorth31]

According to the organizers, the tournament is still a go.

https://www.vicnews.com/sports/olympic-basketball-qualifier-on-target-to-host-games-in-victoria-this-summer/

As well CBC will be broadcasting the event on its various platforms.

https://wethewestfest.com/blogs/news/cbc-to-broadcast-this-summers-fiba-olympic-qualifying-tournament

[Kenter16]

According to the organizers, the tournament is still a go.

https://www.vicnews.com/sports/olympic-basketball-qualifier-on-target-to-host-games-in-victoria-this-summer/

As well CBC will be broadcasting the event on its various platforms.

https://wethewestfest.com/blogs/news/cbc-to-broadcast-this-summers-fiba-olympic-qualifying-tournament

I really hope that this gets played in Canada. However, I don't think the organizer have any say. I think this will come down to a government decision. Then if FIBA likes that decision or at least finds it acceptable then it will happen in Victoria.

The recently cancelled womens world hockey championships had a government mandated 14 day quarantine. Which was also going to be played in a bubble. FIBA won't accept that, IMO. So, there has to be some give on the BC and Federal government levels to allow these players a 7 day or less quarantine.

Today, being an Albertan, I can't imagine that in 8 weeks everything will just be fine and we won't need to have anybody quarantining before they enter the country. I really hope we get this all sorted out in time, but I am skeptical. I would like to see Canada basketball have a backup plan with in the country. For example, if the federal government says ok but the BC gov says no, they better be looking at every other province in the country to find a new host city. If this tourney gets moved to China (or any other country that is slated to come to Victoria) we will see participation fall.