David Aldridge - nba.com - "Dribbles" (about the tired Tony parker)

[Brazil]

Um, Tony has been earning a paycheck since he was a teenager without benefit of a guaranteed government job. Again, he owes France nothing.

Maybe but it is how he feels

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

1) You want to see the USOC pay the Cavs 25% of LeBron's salary?

2) You want to see Donald Sterling try to get the entire Clippers' roster on the national team?

Sure...why not?

What I'd really like to see is the return to the Olympics being truly for the amateur athlete. NBA teams should ban their players from playing in these types of compe ions due to a conflict of interest. Other professions have similar clauses in contracts, why not the NBA? I know attorneys who are allowed by their firms to take on certain pro-bono work on as long as it doesn't interfere with the job their getting paid to do. The NBA should just ban NT play because it obviously interferes with the job they're paid for.

[DaBears]

Thats whats wrong with these over paid pampered babies.. There's no hunger in them after they have been paid.....

[MmP]

What most americans don't see is what wearing your NT jersey means.
I guess that USA has underestimated so much NT problably since always that probably most of the users here see it just like an useless compe ion to increase your chances of getting injured. There is also pride and a lot of nationalism involved I guess, to represent your country at the highest level.
Probably generated from soccer-oriented countries, where playing at the soccer WC is the ultimate.

What it's also questionable but nobody brings up is the NBA schedule, 100 games in year? C'mon, playing in the NBA means giving up everything else in terms of bball?

[polandprzem]

What most americans don't see is what wearing your NT jersey means.
I guess that USA has underestimated so much NT problably since always that probably most of the users here see it just like an useless compe ion to increase your chances of getting injured. There is also pride and a lot of nationalism involved I guess, to represent your country at the highest level.
Probably generated from soccer-oriented countries, where playing at the soccer WC is the ultimate.

What it's also questionable but nobody brings up is the NBA schedule, 100 games in year? C'mon, playing in the NBA means giving up everything else in terms of bball?

I did


Funny thing is that when USA going for a war they use their flag and they are proud to be a military


Uhh I forgot - they got paid for this

[diego]

So what is richard jefferson's excuse for underperforming?


a) nba players that dont play for their NT get injured too, and unless someone can show me that players that play for their NT get injured at a higher rate than players that dont I will continue to call BS

b) players that only play for money are mercenaries, players that love the game will play during the summer anyway. is there a difference between playing in a rec league or for your NT? yeah, less doctors and worse refs.

c) the NBA schedule is too much. shorten the games, shorten the schedule, or reduce the number of teams. it will give you a better product across the board. why is it you seldom hear european bball clubs complaining about this stuff? right, because they dont grind their players through 82 48 minute games a season plus playoffs. and dont tell me "they dont pay 100 million dollar contracts". they spend as much as they can and are businesses too. teams make money on NT players because they get more publicity and more fans. and NT programs spend money developing those players, they have loyalty for a reason beyond their desire to play and win.

d) nobody is holding a gun to a teams head forcing them to sign NT players. its not like the spurs discovered TP or MG before their NT did. the rules clearly say that the team cannot prohibit them from playing. so flame pop RC and holt before going after the players. after all, they're just doing what they've always done, play basketball compe ively. Im sure if you go through the players that dont play for their NT (international or american), you'll find plenty of suitable replacements (that includes, jefferson, dyess, and that duncan guy, damn commies with no respect for the man paying the bills!). the good players always play for their NT, always have and always will.

[ShoogarBear]

Sure...why not?

What I'd really like to see is the return to the Olympics being truly for the amateur athlete. NBA teams should ban their players from playing in these types of compe ions due to a conflict of interest. Other professions have similar clauses in contracts, why not the NBA? I know attorneys who are allowed by their firms to take on certain pro-bono work on as long as it doesn't interfere with the job their getting paid to do. The NBA should just ban NT play because it obviously interferes with the job they're paid for.

You're pro bono analogy doesn't work for several reasons (and this is even ignoring the point that the whole ideal of the "amateur athlete" was based on the concept of keeping the nasty lower classes out of sports.):

1) First you said want the Olympics to return to the ideal of the "amateur athlete". That's equivalent to saying that lawyers who do nothing but pro bono work should be allowed to present cases in front of the Supreme Court.

2) It's one thing for lawyers to schedule pro bono projects on a flexible basis. It would be something else if you told lawyers that they could only do pro bono work during the months of July through September.

3) You're not telling the lawyers they can't do pro bono work on a specific project. You're telling them they can't do any pro bono work at all.

Personally, I'd rather not see the Olympics go back to the hypocrisy of the NCAA, where everyone makes obscene amounts of money except the people who do the actual work. One solution might be for the NBA to allow contact clauses for not playing for the NT. So Parker makes $10 million for playing for Les Blues, but $13 million for not playing for them. If he really loves his NT, then he can show how much.

[pjjrfan]

No, I think he's basically saying he's not going to play for the national team in the future.

I don't think so either. It's obvious what Pop's priorities are and it's like any other job, if your getting a pay check you have to earn it.

[Obstructed_View]

1) You want to see the USOC pay the Cavs 25% of LeBron's salary?

2) You want to see Donald Sterling try to get the entire Clippers' roster on the national team?

I'd like to see the college basketball players trying out for the Olympic team again, but the marketing machine has its claws too deep into what has no business being called "amateur" sports anymore.

I do enjoy how Europeans seem to think that Americans aren't patriotic just because they don't want to sell their souls for an extra Olympic medal.

[SpurNation]

This is only a problem if Parker was the only one playing for their international team. And though it has shown it can hurt an nba team with the consequences...it's still legal on their part to do so if they wish.

I can't blame him or any player for playing for their country and many nba players still play pick up games over the summer via international or other.

The nba and players association are the one's who need to address a change if it's so warranted or desired...but it hasn't happened nor have I heard of anything that is being brought to the table regarding changing the rule.

Parker has every right. It might not be advantageous for the Spurs or us fans. But expecting any player to rise to expectations soley for our peace of mind when it's allowed and practiced by all the other players is not being fair.

That said...I would love it if the nba and player's association make it law that a team can deny it's players from participating in extra coricular activities they deem as a risk to their investment.

[Pauleta14]

I'd like to see the college basketball players trying out for the Olympic team again, but the marketing machine has its claws too deep into what has no business being called "amateur" sports anymore.

I do enjoy how Europeans seem to think that Americans aren't patriotic just because they don't want to sell their souls for an extra Olympic medal.

They wouldn't have a shot!!
The change wasn't made only for marketing reasons, the whole BB level was getting higher, as good as US college BB is good, you need your NBA players!

[Cant_Be_Faded]

national team play

i wasn't even high on duncan playing for the U.S.

God only knows what this professional basketball team would have been capable of through these years if not for that cursed summer national team play.

[ajh18]

This is only a problem if Parker was the only one playing for their international team. And though it has shown it can hurt an nba team with the consequences...it's still legal on their part to do so if they wish.

I can't blame him or any player for playing for their country and many nba players still play pick up games over the summer via international or other.

The nba and players association are the one's who need to address a change if it's so warranted or desired...but it hasn't happened nor have I heard of anything that is being brought to the table regarding changing the rule.

Parker has every right. It might not be advantageous for the Spurs or us fans. But expecting any player to rise to expectations soley for our peace of mind when it's allowed and practiced by all the other players is not being fair.

That said...I would love it if the nba and player's association make it law that a team can deny it's players from participating in extra coricular activities they deem as a risk to their investment.

Why no one seems to see this is beyond me. I would love it if our players stayed home during the summer. But, like with any job, they are 100% free to engage in any activity they wish outside of work. No one can tell me I couldn't go drinking until 2 am on a work night. Would it affect my performance? Sure. But it is completely within my rights to do so. If my performance suffered enough, my employer could fire me.

Similarly, the Spurs are completely free to trade or cut Tony Parker, but they wont, so he has all the leverage here. That makes it 100% his choice. He chooses to risk dissappointing his employer in favor of not dissappointing his country. Until collective bargaining allows for clauses banning that activity, it is the way it is. Contracts really SHOULD account for this stuff, because it would allow players to actually place a monetary value on their desire to play for their country, and teams to know what they are getting into when they sign someone.

[Kori Ellis]

Parker got un-tired in the second half tonight.

[polandprzem]

Go figure thay got summer leauges

They do play in summer"? what!?

[ShoogarBear]

Parker got un-tired in the second half tonight.

Steroids.

[Bukefal]

I'd like to see the college basketball players trying out for the Olympic team again, but the marketing machine has its claws too deep into what has no business being called "amateur" sports anymore.

I do enjoy how Europeans seem to think that Americans aren't patriotic just because they don't want to sell their souls for an extra Olympic medal.

Well, I dont know how others think, but I do not think that its because you arent patriotic. Americans are in fact one of the most patriots for their country in the whole world. Maybe it is just because the fact that you 'are' very patriotic that you do not care about national teams, because you see your league as the WC

We've talked about this before, its just because you have such a strong national league, which you already see as a worldcup or the strongest league in the world, which it also is, plus team usa is only available for a small elite thus many fans have nothing to do with it, and well, its just different in Europe.

[Bukefal]

Steroids.

lol yeah that must be it

[Bukefal]

Tony only lived the 2 first weeks of his life in Belgium!
He grew up in France and spent some holidays in his US family in Chicago.

That has NOTHING to do with the naturalisations of guys that spent only a few years in a country...

You dont get the point what I was saying when I said that.

I know Tony only lived for 2 weeks in Belgium. I know he grew up in France and he is French. And we were talking about him being not even born in France. I was confirming it to Obstructed_View that he was born in Brugge and in a funny way i also responded to Obstructed_View I said ironic that he could have also played for Belgium, Netherlands or USA. It was meant funny.

But if you want to talk about it in theory;
It is also technically possible. Since he has rights to obtain belgium nationality if Belgium has a Ius Soli rule. He also has the right to obtain dutch nationality thru his mother and USA nationality thru his father, depending on USA having Ius Soli ( place of birth) rule or Ius sanguinis (bloodline) rule.

And then afterwards I mentioned that which country he could play for technically by his blood or birthplace or not doesnt even matter at all because in recent years with naturalizations process it made it possible for almost every player to play in any country they want to. MAny examples; one of them is Dwash playing for my country.

I was just saying...

[Obstructed_View]

They wouldn't have a shot!!
The change wasn't made only for marketing reasons, the whole BB level was getting higher, as good as US college BB is good, you need your NBA players!

Here's the thing, though: I don't really give a about the outcome; I'd be a lot prouder to see a team of kids that actually want a gold medal competing, even if they're competing against professional Europeans and losing, which is the only reason the rest of the world was able to compete with the US in basketball in the first place. The Dream Team pretty much proved that the US is the best at basketball. Everything after that has proven that the US can't manage once all the money-grubbers get involved. That horse is long out of the barn, though. Doesn't stop me from being bitter about it.

[ElNono]

Well, well, well.. I bring up Kobe Bryant as an example of a guy that plays on his NT and then has a great season in the NBA, and his back gets ed up the next game...

So'll be chewing on my crow over here...

I should really do this jinx more often...