Starting Wednesday, Team USA will be practicing in Las Vegas in preparation for the FIBA tournament that kicks off on August 22. Joining the roster of 16 players is Seattle's Nick Collison.
Collison joins a team that lost Kirk Hinrich, Shane Battier, and Greg Oden on Monday, meaning the roster has been trimmed to 16, with the possible additions of Mike Miller and/or Tayshaun Prince at some time in the future. ESPN's Chris Sheridan figures Kevin Durant will be cut, leaving Collison a two in four shot of making it (he would be battling with Prince, Miller, and Michael Redd for two spots).
Nuss,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, I saw this too. I guess this puts an end to what is Collison's status on Team USA. I wouldn't be surprised if what the opposite of what Chris Sheridan suggests. In that team USA usually looks for an eye towards the future with it's last roster spot. I got a feeling that Durant is going to make the team. Where as, I do not see Collison making it unless and other PF or C isn't able to participate.
I totally agree, MCW. I'd be very surprised if Durant doesn't make the team. The only reason to leave him off is if they want more size b/c there seems to be alot of shooters/smaller players on the team and not as many rebounders and shot blockers.
ReplyDeleteCollison's stock is rising
ReplyDeleteRedd is valuable as a zone buster, and is one of the only pure shooters on the team, so i'd be suprised if he got cut. At the same time, I think both durant and collison would be good adds for the team. They are building for the future and both are young, smart players. Durant is good for obvious reasons, but collison is a good glue guy who has the potential to be pretty solid defensively, and especially on rebounding and hustle plays.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the NBA is deliberately casting some light on the Sonics. Durant is an obvious selection, but Collison? And PJ Carlisimo is coach of the opposing squad. Last year, Ridnour was invited.
ReplyDeleteMaybe NBA commissioner Stern is trying to stir up some interest amongst Seattlites.
Rock,
ReplyDeleteI love the conspiracy theory with Stern wanting more Seattlites to come out to games, but there is one major flaw in it.
DAVID STERN DOES NOT RUN USA BASKETBALL!!!
He has absolutely no influence over who plays, who's selected as players or as coaches. USA Basketball is governed by the USA Olympic committee. Check out this link: http://www.usabasketball.com/inside.php?page=inside
But as far as theories go, it does have a nice sound to it. Especially if you work in the part that Stern rigged the draft for both Portland and Seattle, and then purposely had the the ref gambling scandal come to light to make it as difficult as possible to have one of it's major franchises move and screw up the balance of the league's divisions as well as the Durant/Oden rivalry. Who knows for sure, but I'm thinking that these are just coincidences.
Oh, and by the way the home page of USA Basketball had an image of Collison wearing the number 9 on it's front page. I don't know if that means anything, but I just thought I'd mention it since this thread is about Collison.