Hornets head coach Monty Williams sees no harm in Anthony Davis playing for Team USA – NBA Update
Nine days after getting cut out of team USA’s Olympic basketball squad for the London games, Anthony Davis was recalled into the lineup following the injury to Blake Griffin.
Even though nobody in New Orleans would have wanted Griffin to go out with injury but the prospect of having their number one draft pick playing alongside a team full of NBA superstars can have its benefits for the organization. Monty Williams for one believes in that.
Despite facing a disruption in their summer league plans, the Hornets head coach believes that getting to play for his country would be a very valuable experience for the young forward;
“The atmosphere will be good for him," coach Monty Williams said. "He figures to come back a more confident player and he will improve practicing against the best players in the world every day."
In an ideal world, Williams would have wanted to have Davis available for the whole summer just to make him gel in and understand the team system and chemistry, but considering the level of improvement he can make by playing along the like of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, he does hope that Davis would be an even better player after the Olympics.
"It's hard to predict long term," Williams said. "I don't know how you put a value on not being with your own team. But I see it as a win-win. He's such a good kid; he's not trying to impress anyone. He has great respect for those around him, and I'm sure it will be a positive experience for him and ultimately, for us."
Davis was named among the final selected players who had to go through camp in Las Vegas at the start of July before the squad for the Olympics was announced. After two days of camp, with the first nine places pre-decided, the final three slots were given to Blake Griffin, Andre Iguodala and James Harden. Davis was unable to make the final cut primarily due to an ankle sprain he suffered during a Hornets practice.
However three days earlier, Griffin went down with a torn meniscus thus giving birth to an opening for Davis to be called up. The young recruit did not disappoint at all in his first outing against the Dominican Republic and immediately got into the act with 9 points in the final quarter, a sort of performance the Hornets fans would love to see in years to come.
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