duncan228
01-13-2010, 12:28 AM
Free agents wary of talking Turkey (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Free_agents_wary_of_talking_Turkey.html)
Mike Monroe
As members of the gold medal-winning 2008 U.S. Olympic team pass through Phoenix to play the Suns, time is set aside for sit-downs with Jerry Colangelo, the former Suns executive who took over running Team USA after it finished third in Athens.
Colangelo is committed to getting members of the Beijing “Redeem Team” to commit to another run at gold in 2012, and part of that effort involves this summer's World Championships, scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.
A gold medal in Turkey brings automatic entry in the 2012 Olympics in London, and that means no competition next summer.
To put the best team together this summer, that's what Colangelo has to sell to players such as Dwyane Wade, who met with him when the Heat visited Phoenix last weekend.
Wade told the Miami Herald that he and Colangelo didn't talk Turkey when they met. He also said that after winning gold in Beijing, he had pretty much decided his participation on both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams was plenty enough; that he had paid his dues to USA Basketball.
Besides, Wade has other issues to deal with this summer, when he will be a free agent, and this is where the commitment to Team USA gets tricky for him and Colangelo.
Does a commitment to Team USA for this summer, and 2012, make Wade any less desirable for the Heat, or any other team that might seek to sign him?
“It's this summer that makes it difficult,” Wade told the Herald. “We all know the World Games are this summer. This is a very busy summer for me. I'm not trying to be selfish or make it all about me. I'm trying to make sure what I do is right for not only me, but for the organization I play for, as well as for USA Basketball.”
Colangelo isn't worried. He understands players such as Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh are likely to resolve their NBA futures in relatively short order once free agency begins. If contract issues mean they miss Team USA's training camp in July, he and head coach Mike Krzyzewski can wait.
Even a player such as Wade, certain to get a maximum contract this summer, understands his value will be marginally diminished if he commits to play in Turkey. It's not just the prospect he could be injured that bothers potential NBA employers. There's also the issue of long-term wear and tear.
Now you have a better notion of why the Spurs haven't begun talks with Manu Ginobili's agent, Herb Rudoy, about a contract extension for the ultra-competitive, ultra-popular Spurs star.
The contract Ginobili signed in the summer of 2004 expires on July 1. The Spurs can extend the deal before then, if they choose. As of yet, there has been no move in that direction, and if you think the injury Ginobili suffered while playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics isn't a factor, you're way too naïve.
Just as Wade wants to settle his free agency situation before committing to Team USA, Ginobili has gone on record saying he can't commit to Argentina's World Championship team before he gets a new NBA deal. A summer injury would be ruinous to him or any other unsigned player.
The flip side of that coin: The Spurs, and every other team, understand Ginobili will be a better value as a free-agent signee if he retires from international competition altogether.
Mike Monroe
As members of the gold medal-winning 2008 U.S. Olympic team pass through Phoenix to play the Suns, time is set aside for sit-downs with Jerry Colangelo, the former Suns executive who took over running Team USA after it finished third in Athens.
Colangelo is committed to getting members of the Beijing “Redeem Team” to commit to another run at gold in 2012, and part of that effort involves this summer's World Championships, scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.
A gold medal in Turkey brings automatic entry in the 2012 Olympics in London, and that means no competition next summer.
To put the best team together this summer, that's what Colangelo has to sell to players such as Dwyane Wade, who met with him when the Heat visited Phoenix last weekend.
Wade told the Miami Herald that he and Colangelo didn't talk Turkey when they met. He also said that after winning gold in Beijing, he had pretty much decided his participation on both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams was plenty enough; that he had paid his dues to USA Basketball.
Besides, Wade has other issues to deal with this summer, when he will be a free agent, and this is where the commitment to Team USA gets tricky for him and Colangelo.
Does a commitment to Team USA for this summer, and 2012, make Wade any less desirable for the Heat, or any other team that might seek to sign him?
“It's this summer that makes it difficult,” Wade told the Herald. “We all know the World Games are this summer. This is a very busy summer for me. I'm not trying to be selfish or make it all about me. I'm trying to make sure what I do is right for not only me, but for the organization I play for, as well as for USA Basketball.”
Colangelo isn't worried. He understands players such as Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh are likely to resolve their NBA futures in relatively short order once free agency begins. If contract issues mean they miss Team USA's training camp in July, he and head coach Mike Krzyzewski can wait.
Even a player such as Wade, certain to get a maximum contract this summer, understands his value will be marginally diminished if he commits to play in Turkey. It's not just the prospect he could be injured that bothers potential NBA employers. There's also the issue of long-term wear and tear.
Now you have a better notion of why the Spurs haven't begun talks with Manu Ginobili's agent, Herb Rudoy, about a contract extension for the ultra-competitive, ultra-popular Spurs star.
The contract Ginobili signed in the summer of 2004 expires on July 1. The Spurs can extend the deal before then, if they choose. As of yet, there has been no move in that direction, and if you think the injury Ginobili suffered while playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics isn't a factor, you're way too naïve.
Just as Wade wants to settle his free agency situation before committing to Team USA, Ginobili has gone on record saying he can't commit to Argentina's World Championship team before he gets a new NBA deal. A summer injury would be ruinous to him or any other unsigned player.
The flip side of that coin: The Spurs, and every other team, understand Ginobili will be a better value as a free-agent signee if he retires from international competition altogether.