Players and Teams Dissent on Question of International Play
It’s risky business, but Luis Scola is obliged to do it. Last week the Houston Rockets centre reported for training camp in Buenos Aires, ready to play for Argentina in light of the FIBA World Championships that will take place later this month.
Scola leaves at a time when many other NBA players are denied the possibility of playing internationally during the off-season. For teams, players are valuable assets, liabilities that must be safeguarded at all costs. But Scola doesn’t seem to share this sentiment, or care much either way.
“I didn’t even think about a team not allowing me to play for the national team,” Scola said. “We didn’t even talk about it. I didn’t even think about it.”
Some weeks ago it was announced that Amare Stoudemire, recent superstar addition to the New York Knicks, wouldn’t be playing for Team USA due to insurance issues in his contract. Stoudemire was unable to get insurance for his knees, and a settlement could not be reached by Olympic deadlines, so the Knicks told him he could not play. He underwent microfracture knee surgery in 2005.
NBA teams have the power to prevent players from taking part in off-season events if they do not have the proper insurance. This is to ensure that they will not have to pay for injuries sustained during the off-season, and they will not lose players indeterminately due to unforeseen injuries. But the stipulation is meeting resistance from players such as Scola.
Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morley recently said: “With Luis Scola, it’s similar to Yao Ming. Anyone who knows him knows that playing basketball for Argentina is like oxygen for him. To ask him to not play would be extraordinarily difficult to do, even if we wanted to, and we don’t.”
That may be well and good for Houston and Scola, but with other players it’s not so cut and dry. Last month David Lee, the prized free-agent addition of the Golden State Warriors, had to leave team USA with a finger injury that will keep him sidelined for the duration of the off-season. The injury could have been worse, and it can still generate many new, unforeseen problems to his game.
The situation is like this: most players, if given the opportunity, want to represent their country; most team owners see that as a dangerous threat to the success and marketability of the team, not to mention a possible financial burden.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban put it succinctly, stating he thinks “there is zero upside” for the NBA to comply to players’ wishes. “We are allocating our best players to work for another corporation. I don’t see the logic. And as far as the argument that the World Championship builds demand, find me one fan who can name the players on the pre-Redeem Team squad.”
Cuban has argued in the past that NBA teams are foolish to loan players to other organizations—IOC, USOC, and FIBA—whom according to him make billions in profit from these players and give little to nothing back in return. While players’ contracts must be insured to participate, insurance does not cover games lost to injuries.
But the NBA is committed to supporting players’ rights to play during the off-season, and supporting its own national project, USA Basketball.
Joel Litvin, NBA president of operations clarified: “First and foremost, our players are very passionate about representing their countries in international competitions. Our players play nearly year-round anyway. They play for the love of the game and to stay in shape. Injuries can happen at any time. We have taken steps to limit the wear and tear on players that decide to play with countries by working with FIBA to establish limits on pre-competition training — no two-a-day practices and so on.”
He added the caveat, which has yet to be appropriately tidied up: “We understand the risk, of course. Some of the teams have expressed concern at the situation.”
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