Rudy Gay added to Team USA roster

#33
The thing though when playing for team USA is you can't just coast around and not play at 100%. They would have to give full effort or not play at all. In the team USA scrimmage, players will get cut and you can see players are really playing hard, too bad for Paul George on the freak accident. I couldn't eat and sleep that night, I even skipped basketball the next morning. Yeah Durant can go play in Drew league but you can see he is only playing at 20-30 % of his effort.

On another note, I don't think Cousins will make it, unless they play him high post and pass the ball like Divac or CWebb did. That pound the ball backing d0wn the defender won't fly in the FIBA. I sure hope he still make it and guard the bigs of the other teams though.
 
#34
I hope they both play their a**es off and make the team and play harder than anyone else. Last thing the Kings need are guys that pace themselves to prevent getting injured. Be tough, be on top.
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#36
The thing though when playing for team USA is you can't just coast around and not play at 100%. They would have to give full effort or not play at all. In the team USA scrimmage, players will get cut and you can see players are really playing hard, too bad for Paul George on the freak accident. I couldn't eat and sleep that night, I even skipped basketball the next morning. Yeah Durant can go play in Drew league but you can see he is only playing at 20-30 % of his effort.

On another note, I don't think Cousins will make it, unless they play him high post and pass the ball like Divac or CWebb did. That pound the ball backing d0wn the defender won't fly in the FIBA. I sure hope he still make it and guard the bigs of the other teams though.
The thing is, if you're screwing around at the gym, you're just as likely to injure yourself. All it takes is just one awkward landing, one incorrect cut through the lane. I'd posit that it's more likely to injure yourself when messing around with friends. You're not focusing on a lot, and your friends don't have the awareness to get out of the way. Add to that the fact that a premier athlete going half speed is more than our 100%, then I just don't buy the "afraid of injury" excuse. It's going to happen if it's going to happen.

Now, you could argue that more time on the court will lead to injury, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that someone like KD isn't just going to stay at home and play Chu Chu Rocket on his Dreamcast (that's what the kids play, right?) He's going to play pickup somewhere.
Ultimately, if he was exhausted, he should have said so at the start. To do it after the PG injury is suspect, even if honest.
That said, his loss is Rudy's gain, and I wish him the best.
 
#38
I just don't see this addition of Rudy to Team USA as a threat to Cousins.
In fact, I almost mentioned this, but in the training camp that they televised (Last Tuesday or Wednesday) I saw Rudy there talking with Cousins, Coach K, and the other Team USA teammates.
So he obviously has a good relationship with Team USA from his days playing there previously.

With all the talk that has been out there regarding the ridiculous notion of taking Plumlee over Cousins, I don't see how Colangelo invites Cousins' teammate as a late addition then shafts Cousins in the process. That just smacks of very bad taste.

In fact, having Rudy on the roster instead of Durant should increase Cousins' chances of making the roster (if there was any doubt in the first place) just due to the chemistry that they would have together.

And if we actually went into the World Cup with two participants from the Kings that would be fantastic. There is always the injury concern, but that will always exist to any player working out in the off-season. If both Rudy and Cousins end up contributing to a gold for Team USA, that combined with the rookies winning Summer League, would basically bring all the players into training camp on a mission to continue the winning that took place in the off-season, and that is what I'm hoping to see coming out of training camp to start the regular season.
Exactly. The more you win, the more you expect to win. The more you play with players who are winners, the more you learn the habits of being a winner.

Negativity is infectious and is terribly hard to get rid of. That's why PDA has let go the entire old team, regardless of their talent. It's critical that the new team members create their own positive experiences together without the dark cloud of the past hanging over them. It's only been a year, but this organization is creating that positive vibe. Playing for team USA and winning gold would do wonders for Cousins and the Kings desire to create a winning culture.
 
#39
Well, our players could get injured walking down the stairs at their homes so we should ban them from living in two-story homes. Also, a negligent chef could mistake the rat poison for salt and inadvertently murder one of our players so we should probably keep them from eating as well. And beds? What if someone rolls off in the dead of night and breaks his elbow?

Everything is dangerous in some form of the other. My advice? Stop worrying and just enjoy the show.
The only time you really "worry" about guys playing int'l bal is if they're on there way to a retirement home ala Manu/Pau, or if you're LeBron James and just got done with 4 straight finals appearances. Luckily, our 2 guys suffer from neither!

The PG incident is just a super unfortunate accident that you can never prevent happening whether you're an NBA player or playing at your rec league. And having 2 Kings represent the USA is SUCH a huge step forward with positive PR for our team and the whole "rebuild" movement
 
#41
There are two ways to look at this. If you are a glass half empty type of person then you are probably thinking:

- this could be disasterous for our chemistry if Gay makes the roster and Cousins doesn't
- this is bad as Gay is slowly rebuilding his reputation as a very good player and we will lose him for nothing in free agency
- we have two players in the team and we are risking a Paul George type injury to our best two players.

I am generally a glass half full type of guy and I think this is phenomenal news for a number of reasons:

- when was the last time we had two players representing team USA? It puts Sacramento back on the basketball map
- Gay and Cousins playing together in real games during summer is a great opportunity to build even more chemistry with each other and pick up things from other great players on that team
- Both of our guys could just be planting some seeds with other players about joining them in Sacramento.
- this is a superb endorsement for the Kings organization, coach Malone and our two players. Think about it, 12 months ago, Cousins was considered to be a cancer, uncoachable, a headcase. Rudy Gay was a laughing stock of the NBA. This summer they are both represending team USA and are a good chance to both make the team. This speaks volumes about the Kings and coach Malone who managed to rebuild Rudy's image in the NBA and prove to others that Cousins is a super competitive beast and a good guy. Furthermore, this might be another positive for us when it comes to re-signing Rudy, we helped him rebuild his reputation to the point where he is representing team USA at the world cup later this month. That will count for something in his mind, especially if both Rudy and Cousins walk away with a World Cup Gold Medal. It's a brilliant opportunity for our two best players to go into war together and walk away winners.

I really think this is great news for us and such a great opportunity to build upon for our two best players. I love it! :)
 
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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#43
You really shouldn't go to these things if you are in line to win a title next year. We can make excuses all we want, but it IS an additional risk, and its several months of wear and tear when you should be resting up and getting ready to go. You don't have to suffer a horrible double compound fracture, just a lingering sprain, developing some plantar faciitis, taking a whack on the hand and getting a hairline fracture, whatever can damage your chances. Its a cleaner look for guys from teams not in the running for anything. There would be a real tangible benefit for DMC to make the team, for us to win the gold, and for him to finally be let in from the cold accolades wise. That has to trump theoretic risks. But ask me again when Boogie is coming off 5 straight All Star seasons and played 95 games the season before as we lost in the Conference Finals and my answer would be radically different.
 
#46
I think this is great news as I believe it signifies that Cuz is also gonna make the roster and play an important role. Bringing in Rudy then makes even more sense from the chemistry standpoint. Awesome!
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#47
The thing is, if you're screwing around at the gym, you're just as likely to injure yourself. All it takes is just one awkward landing, one incorrect cut through the lane. I'd posit that it's more likely to injure yourself when messing around with friends. You're not focusing on a lot, and your friends don't have the awareness to get out of the way. Add to that the fact that a premier athlete going half speed is more than our 100%, then I just don't buy the "afraid of injury" excuse. It's going to happen if it's going to happen.
For those who may have forgotten or not known:

1. Francisco Garcia - injured by an exercise ball
2. Francisco Garcia - injured when jumping up to free a ball wedged between the hoop and the backboard (couldn't find a link)
3. Brad Miller - what the article didn't say is that Miller initially injured his leg when he shot a jumper over a chair in practice.
4. Greg Ostertag - Ostertag, who was getting settled in his Sacramento home after being traded to the Kings, tripped over a box in his home and broke his hand.

It appears our Kings can find a myriad of ways to get injured. If we are going to start focusing on the potential for injury, we might as well encase them all in bubble wrap.
 
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#48
For those who may have forgotten or not known:

1. Francisco Garcia
2. Francisco Garcia - injured when jumping up to free a ball wedged between the hoop and the backboard (couldn't find a link)
3. Brad Miller - what the article didn't say is that Miller initially injured his leg when he shot a jumper over a chair in practice.
4. Greg Ostertag - Ostertag, who was getting settled in his Sacramento home after being traded to the Kings, tripped over a box in his home and broke his hand.

It appears our Kings can find a myriad of ways to get injured. If we are going to start focusing on the potential for injury, we might as well encase them all in bubble wrap.
Don't forget Cisco breaking his wrist while lifting weight on the exercise ball that happened to explode while he was doing it!
 
#49
For those who may have forgotten or not known:

1. Francisco Garcia
2. Francisco Garcia - injured when jumping up to free a ball wedged between the hoop and the backboard (couldn't find a link)
3. Brad Miller - what the article didn't say is that Miller initially injured his leg when he shot a jumper over a chair in practice.
4. Greg Ostertag - Ostertag, who was getting settled in his Sacramento home after being traded to the Kings, tripped over a box in his home and broke his hand.

It appears our Kings can find a myriad of ways to get injured. If we are going to start focusing on the potential for injury, we might as well encase them all in bubble wrap.
Breaking news- Jason Thompson injured in freak bubble wrapping suffocation. :).
 
#50
For those who may have forgotten or not known:

1. Francisco Garcia
2. Francisco Garcia - injured when jumping up to free a ball wedged between the hoop and the backboard (couldn't find a link)
3. Brad Miller - what the article didn't say is that Miller initially injured his leg when he shot a jumper over a chair in practice.
4. Greg Ostertag - Ostertag, who was getting settled in his Sacramento home after being traded to the Kings, tripped over a box in his home and broke his hand.

It appears our Kings can find a myriad of ways to get injured. If we are going to start focusing on the potential for injury, we might as well encase them all in bubble wrap.
And for the all time best non sports related kings injury.

"Nintendo pain hit the pro basketball court in February this year when star rookie Lionel Simmons of the Sacramento Kings sat out two basketball games because his wrist was so inflamed from a daylong session of the video game that he could not grip the ball or shoot, according to a Kings spokesman."


http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-21/business/fi-1052_1_repetitive-stress
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
#51
And for the all time best non sports related kings injury.

"Nintendo pain hit the pro basketball court in February this year when star rookie Lionel Simmons of the Sacramento Kings sat out two basketball games because his wrist was so inflamed from a daylong session of the video game that he could not grip the ball or shoot, according to a Kings spokesman."


http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-21/business/fi-1052_1_repetitive-stress
Ah the L-Train and Nintendonitis. Good times.