Sounds like Rudy will play for France…

[Q-is-here]

By the way, I think it’s ridiculous that KAT and Kyle are playing this summer. They’re both vets with a lot of mileage who have had a recent history of injuries. Ant is a young durable guy with the chance to play for his country for the first time. That’s different. I’m not happy with the decisions of KAT, Anderson and Rudy. I’m particularly unhappy with Rudy because of his experience last season and is own comments about the impact playing last summer had on his play in the NBA.

I don't disagree with anything you are saying. I sort of feel bad for the players. I know we don't feel it but its an honor to support your country and Rudy is France best player. Its actually sort of crazy that the NBA has not embraced international ball like other sports have. I mean Hockey has a mid season break for it, Soccer the same, Baseball has a world baseball classic run by the MLB. I think people would have less issue with the Fiba basketball stuff if the tournament started in the middle of July.


Overall I get everyones feelings on this. The Wolves pay Rudy 40 million to play for them but I also get where players like Rudy especially are coming from. (I get it a little bit from Kat side, Slow Mo situation is interesting to say the least.

The problem is the NBA plays 82 games. The European leagues don't play nearly as many games and it has more of a soccer feel in that you have your club team and your country team, both of which are given importance. So yeah, it is definitely conflicting for the guys that play in the NBA.

[Lipoli390]

By the way, I think it’s ridiculous that KAT and Kyle are playing this summer. They’re both vets with a lot of mileage who have had a recent history of injuries. Ant is a young durable guy with the chance to play for his country for the first time. That’s different. I’m not happy with the decisions of KAT, Anderson and Rudy. I’m particularly unhappy with Rudy because of his experience last season and is own comments about the impact playing last summer had on his play in the NBA.

I don't disagree with anything you are saying. I sort of feel bad for the players. I know we don't feel it but its an honor to support your country and Rudy is France best player. Its actually sort of crazy that the NBA has not embraced international ball like other sports have. I mean Hockey has a mid season break for it, Soccer the same, Baseball has a world baseball classic run by the MLB. I think people would have less issue with the Fiba basketball stuff if the tournament started in the middle of July.


Overall I get everyones feelings on this. The Wolves pay Rudy 40 million to play for them but I also get where players like Rudy especially are coming from. (I get it a little bit from Kat side, Slow Mo situation is interesting to say the least.

The problem is the NBA plays 82 games. The European leagues don't play nearly as many games and it has more of a soccer feel in that you have your club team and your country team, both of which are given importance. So yeah, it is definitely conflicting for the guys that play in the NBA.

The chance to play for your country once is something I totally understand. The chance to play for your country in the Olympics once or even every four years I can also accept. But choosing to play for your country every single summer even when you’ve said doing so negatively impacted your NBA performance the next season under your $40+ million contract is something I can’t accept or provide any credence to. But it is what it is. Maybe Rudy will come to camp particularly NBA ready from his competitive play in Europe. If Rudy’s performance next season returns to the overall level it was at in Utah after his rookie season, then I won’t care.

[WildWolf2813]

Ant, Rudy, and possibly KAT and Kyle are going overseas to play.

Gotta deal with it, same way we wanted Rubio not to go to Europe and play.

The difference is that Ant, KAT and Kyle have never played overseas in the summer and then pointed to it as something that hurt their performance the following season.

Rudy says a lot of stupid stuff, which makes him a player not many people like. It's the path Connelly chose.

[AbeVigodaLive]

By the way, I think it’s ridiculous that KAT and Kyle are playing this summer. They’re both vets with a lot of mileage who have had a recent history of injuries. Ant is a young durable guy with the chance to play for his country for the first time. That’s different. I’m not happy with the decisions of KAT, Anderson and Rudy. I’m particularly unhappy with Rudy because of his experience last season and is own comments about the impact playing last summer had on his play in the NBA.

I don't disagree with anything you are saying. I sort of feel bad for the players. I know we don't feel it but its an honor to support your country and Rudy is France best player. Its actually sort of crazy that the NBA has not embraced international ball like other sports have. I mean Hockey has a mid season break for it, Soccer the same, Baseball has a world baseball classic run by the MLB. I think people would have less issue with the Fiba basketball stuff if the tournament started in the middle of July.


Overall I get everyones feelings on this. The Wolves pay Rudy 40 million to play for them but I also get where players like Rudy especially are coming from. (I get it a little bit from Kat side, Slow Mo situation is interesting to say the least.

Not anymore.

Actually... maybe it'll be his last chance to be the best player. Victor Wembanyama is NOT playing for France this summer to focus on his rookie season.

Maybe this is Gobert's swan song with the national team.

[Monster]

Let’s remember that pro athletes don’t sit around drinking beers in the offseason. They train a lot. NBA players play a lot of basketball some work out for hours in a day. I’m not saying that playing in FIBA this summer doesn’t have some sort of adverse effect on a guy like Rudy being ready but I don’t think it’s a huge deal either.

For a guy like Anderson this is a unique opportunity. Why not do it? These athletes only have so much time to do these things. Maybe they experience something new. Maybe they learn something they wouldn’t have otherwise. Maybe they get hurt. Maybe they would have slipped on a floor practicing at Mayo center. I think there is something commendable to guys that still give a crap about playing in these type of things to represent something other than themselves. How do they financially benefit? Maybe a little but probably not a ton. Could there also be an element of selfishness to playing? Sure.

Some players it’s probably good for their development to go play in these tournaments. Should they not go also? Who all should or be playing?

I’m not saying anyone is wrong in their stance in this thread. I totally get where people are coming from that want the Wolves players not to play. Like others I’m also a bit town. I’m just saying another side. I defended Rosas when he didn’t let Juancho play with the shoulder injury that summer. There was a problem with how Rosas went about that situation that is one thing I can think of that didn’t endear himself to the organization but I thought it was absolutely a fair position to take. Remember when people were all mad that Juancho was off playing like a fool making a movie with Adam Sandler? Turns out he was the star of the movie and was terrific in it. That was an awesome opportunity for Juancho. Did it hurt his basketball career? Maybe it did. I doubt he has any regrets.

When I think of Gobert and how things went down last year I think of another athlete last season. This is an imperfect comparison but I hope it makes some sense where I’m going. 2 guys got traded last offseason in different sports. They ended up with overall underwhelming seasons and the trades that brought them to their new franchises are considered bad deals now. I didn’t realize it as much with Rudy (or didn’t want to see it) but he is a guy that you can’t completely drop into a system and just go. Maybe if the system was exactly the same yeah sure maybe but the Wolves were not that team and I think Finch thought he could do more with Gobert than was reasonable.

The other guy that isn’t a drop into a team and go is Russell Wilson. He is a great player a HOF but he isn’t a guy that is gonna jump into a new system and be ready to win games through the ball 35-45 times a game. That’s not him. He needs a system a OC thats good. That doesn’t mean he sucks it’s just not his strength. His strengths are being an excellent athlete who can keep plays alive make a lot of good decisions and win with a few plays and not lose games. Last year it all went off the rails over a cliff and exploded in the canyon below. Lol I didn’t expect it to go THAT bad but I wasn’t surprised he struggled. Maybe Wilson is simply done. With a new coach in Sean Payton who has a legit rep as a good offensive coach we will probably find out.

Back to Gobert? Even if he is gone for a couple weeks he will have much more familiarity with the roster and the other players with him and the coaches and also Mike Conley as his PG. Its not a guarantee things will go better this year but assuming the team isn’t a MASH unit of injuries it seems likely to be better with Gobert in a system and players around him to make him better. also other players around him to take advantage of his gifts and strengths. I’m probably more concerned about whether the coaching staff and the front office will have retooled the roster and their systems to get the most out of what they have here than Gobert, Anderson, Towns and Edwards playing in that tournament this summer.

[TheFuture]

I am all for people taking pride in representing their country. Something recently sorely lost in the USA. If there was a stipulation in a contract stating it isn't allowed, then it wouldn't happen. And I don't hope for that to happen.

Would I rather a player spend a few hours a day with a trainer in a closed gym focusing on a few things, or spend a few hours a day doing the same shit in preparation to play against the best available real competitive basketball? My answer is the latter.

[60WinTim]

I am all for people taking pride in representing their country. Something recently sorely lost in the USA. If there was a stipulation in a contract stating it isn't allowed, then it wouldn't happen. And I don't hope for that to happen.

Would I rather a player spend a few hours a day with a trainer in a closed gym focusing on a few things, or spend a few hours a day doing the same shit in preparation to play against the best available real competitive basketball? My answer is the latter.

Nice take, Future. Nice Take.

[Lipoli390]

I like national pride and admire athletes wanting to compete for their countries. But the issue with Rudy is a simple one. Rudy himself claimed that playing for France last summer wore him down and negatively impacted his play for the Wolves. The team that pays him $40M believes Rudy was worn down from playing for France and they told him they’d prefer it if it didn’t play for France this summer. If it negatively impacted his play last year at age 30 it’s reasonable to believe it will do so again at age 31.

Personally I don’t believe playing for France last summer contributed to Rudy’s subpar season with the Wolves, but Rudy and the Wolves organization both believe it did. If Rudy had never competed for France before or we were talking about the Olympics, then I’d feel differently. But I see Rudy’s decision as selfish, not admirable patriotism. He’s playing basketball - a game - for his nation’s team. He’s not serving in his nation’s military or national guard.

[TheFuture]

I like national pride and admire athletes wanting to compete for their countries. But the issue with Rudy is a simple one. Rudy himself claimed that playing for France last summer wore him down and negatively impacted his play for the Wolves. The team that pays him $40M believes Rudy was worn down from playing for France and they told him they’d prefer it if it didn’t play for France this summer. If it negatively impacted his play last year at age 30 it’s reasonable to believe it will do so again at age 31.

Personally I don’t believe playing for France last summer contributed to Rudy’s subpar season with the Wolves, but Rudy and the Wolves organization both believe it did. If Rudy had never competed for France before or we were talking about the Olympics, then I’d feel differently. But I see Rudy’s decision as selfish, not admirable patriotism. He’s playing basketball - a game - for his nation’s team. He’s not serving in his nation’s military or national guard.

Yeah, he is one of the top players from his country and feels compelled to compete for them for the couple of months a year he can. He competes for Minnesota the rest of the year. I don't see the issue. I think it is a shame more of our top players don't feel compelled to do the same.

[Lipoli390]

I like national pride and admire athletes wanting to compete for their countries. But the issue with Rudy is a simple one. Rudy himself claimed that playing for France last summer wore him down and negatively impacted his play for the Wolves. The team that pays him $40M believes Rudy was worn down from playing for France and they told him they’d prefer it if it didn’t play for France this summer. If it negatively impacted his play last year at age 30 it’s reasonable to believe it will do so again at age 31.

Personally I don’t believe playing for France last summer contributed to Rudy’s subpar season with the Wolves, but Rudy and the Wolves organization both believe it did. If Rudy had never competed for France before or we were talking about the Olympics, then I’d feel differently. But I see Rudy’s decision as selfish, not admirable patriotism. He’s playing basketball - a game - for his nation’s team. He’s not serving in his nation’s military or national guard.

Yeah, he is one of the top players from his country and feels compelled to compete for them for the couple of months a year he can. He competes for Minnesota the rest of the year. I don't see the issue. I think it is a shame more of our top players don't feel compelled to do the same.

It’s interesting that you don’t see the issue, Future. Rudy Gobert actually sees the issue and that’s all that matters. It was Rudy who said competing for France last summer wore him down and contributed to what he acknowledged was a subpar season for him. The Wolves front office has said the same. The issue couldn’t be more simple or more obvious. If I’m right and Rudy was just using last year’s Euro competition as an excuse, then I don’t care that he’s playing in Europe again. But if Rudy and the team are, in fact, using last year’s Euro competition as an excuse for Rudy’s sub part performance last season, then that’s a whole other issue.