Mavs owner Mark Cuban cringes at the thought of the political and patriotic ramifications.
No, not Donald Trump running for president. His players representing their countries in International tournaments before NBA training camp.
Cuban doesn’t like his players risking their health and the status of their full-time employers to play for their countries for free, but over the years he’s learn to cross his fingers and swallow his frustration. No different this month, as J.J. Barea, Dwight Powell and, yep, even star Dirk Nowitzki again suit up for their national teams.
Powell, likely an end-of-the-bench reserve for Dallas next season, will play for Canada in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship as it tries to qualify for next summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Same for Barea, who will attempt to lead Puerto Rico to an Olympic berth. He had 20 points and 10 assists in his country’s opening-game loss to Argentina this week.
Powell and Barea will be opponents on Friday when Canada and Puerto Rico square off in the final game of the first-round round robin format.
And then there’s Nowitzki and his 37-year-old body, attempting yet again to lead Germany to the Olympics. The Germans missed out on the 2012 Games in London, and Dirk promised to help his country make one more run before hanging up his sneakers. He was the MVP of the 2008 qualifying tournament and was selected as Germany’s flag-bearer in the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing that summer. Their road to Rio, however, will be difficult as they try to qualify from a group of countries that include sudden basketball powers such as Spain, Serbia and Italy.
As Paul George and his knee injury during U.S. National Team tryouts proved last summer, career-threatening injuries can happen anywhere, anytime.
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We all – even Cuban – agree that there’s nothing like playing for your country. But here’s hoping the Mavs playing in the global tournaments are more healthy than successful.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
