The message is clear: The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games are nice, but in no way is it a priority for Canada Basketball.
Canada’s men’s Pan Am tryout roster was revealed on Friday, featuring only three NBA players, and, as expected, the nation’s biggest marquee hoops attraction, Andrew Wiggins, is not one of them.
That’s because, given the magnitude of this summer, the only goal Canada Basketball is focused on is qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. If that means sacrificing the Pan Am roster (which also appeases many of the program’s top players’ NBA teams) then it’s a no-brainer.
“We could be a very different team later in the summer than at the Pan American Games,” Canada’s head coach Jay Triano said in conference call Friday morning. “[NBA teams are] the ones who control the cards and determine when players are going to play.”
To Triano’s point, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics told Canada Basketball that they’d allow Wiggins and Kelly Olynyk to play during one event, but not both – making the choice clear.
In the case of Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson, the national program won’t be able to get insurance for them since they aren’t officially with a team yet, meaning the Pan Ams were never an option in the first place. A similar situation has arisen with Nik Stauskas as his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers hasn’t been made official yet, either.
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Tyler Ennis won’t be available all summer because of shoulder surgery.
And then there’s the problem of Summer League. Stauskas will likely be playing there, in addition to other Canadians like Trey Lyles, Dwight Powell, Kevin Pangos and Olivier Hanlan. Others, like Melvin Ejim, are playing in the Orlando Summer League that kicks off this weekend, but will make it back in time for Pan Am duties.
It’s inconvenient that Canada won’t be able to draw upon its full pool of player for the Pan Ams, sure, but Triano says staying within NBA teams’ good graces and encouraging homegrown players to chase their NBA dream is more important.
“We’ve got a handful of guys who all have to play on their summer league teams so that they can earn a spot to be an NBA player and, long-term, that’s more important,” Triano said. “The fact that they earn contracts in the NBA, keep playing at the highest level possible and then represent Canada when the tournaments count in the summer. So it’s not ideal for what we were hoping for but there’s not much we can do about it.”
In the meantime, looking at the Pan Am roster, though it skews toward youth there’s still quite a bit of talent throughout.
NBA players Andrew Nicholson, Sim Bhullar and Anthony Bennett may not be the sexiest names, but in international competition both Nicholson and Bennett, in particular, have proven themselves to be excellent contributors in the past.
What Canada does have going for it is an incredibly talented crop of under-20 talent with tons of international success playing for their country.
The kids on the team like Kentucky-bound point guard Jamal Murray and Oregon forward Dillon Brooks should provide lots of intrigue since both figure to be a big part of the senior national teams’ future. In fact, Murray, already considered the top-ranked Canadian on 2016 NBA Draft boards, was actually left off the under-19 national team that was playing in Greece with the thought of him playing at the Pan Ams in mind.
“[Murray’s] taking off as a basketball player and we want to introduce him to our national team and what better way to do that than have him participate in Toronto when we have a major event here,” Triano said.
Triano also believes it was important to bring Murray and Brooks into the fold so young to help from a developmental and pride standpoint.
“I think it’s huge, especially [because] we’ve had a history of young players representing Canada. Leo Rautins at an early age. Steve Nash at an early age. I think that the sooner that we get them involved in our national team program it really helps in your development of players and it really helps your passion for wanting to represent your country.
“They’ve represented Canada in the past and we know they’ll represent Canada in the future so to have them make this jump is an important thing for us.”
Looking at other Pan Am rosters, you see similar trends with teams being unable to get their top guys due to NBA obligations and other factors.
“I think we’re going to see a very similar thing from most of the teams and I think that’s why it’s good for us being able to get some of our young players at this stage as well,” Triano said.
Given how weak most of the competition looks, Canada remains poised for a chance to medal when the tournament kicks off on July 21, and, more significantly, build some steam towards the program’s true end-goal for this summer.
After failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, Canada Basketball re-introduced Triano as head coach of the national team. He stumbled when he was unable to get Canada into the 2014 World Cup, but now, three years into his tenure and with the the deepest talent pool to date, the pressure is really on.
But, despite the Pan Ams, Triano has positioned himself to have the roster he needs to take care of business in Mexico.
There’s nothing left to do now except go to work.
