Sunday, August 18, 2019

Drama at Team USA basketball

This was two weeks ago:



And this was after Friday's game:
Kings PG De'Aaron Fox becomes latest to withdraw from Team USA

...

losing Fox is still a tough blow for the squad. Fox was reportedly a “standout” during his work on the U.S. Select Team and garnered praise from multiple teammates.

Despite that promise, Fox only played six minutes during Team USA’s friendly against Spain on Friday. That was the lowest total of any U.S. player who saw the court.

It was instead San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White who saw more minutes behind Walker, which perhaps isn’t surprising considering the team is coached by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
He remains extremely popular with reporters:
Fox had been nothing but all in on the experience throughout Team USA camp in Las Vegas two weeks ago and again this week in Los Angeles. Both on and off the record, Fox expressed excitement about the process and the potential of playing for Team USA.

...

You need to be sure about what the commitment means before jumping in with both feet. Venturing on the road with no assurances of making the squad is a tall ask, but that's exactly what Popovich and Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo asked of Fox and others Friday night.

While the experience could help with Fox's development - and likely already has - it also would put a tremendous amount of wear and tear on the 21-year-old. Just in airline flights alone, he'd be looking at close to 20,000 miles with Team USA.