Mamba in the Morning: End of Era for Team USA?

Good morning Lakers nation! It’s quickly turning to fall for us Midwesterners, making me envy the West Coast that much more.

Fantastic news reporter for Yahoo! Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a controversial column late Sunday night talking about Team USA.

"For all the inspiration the U.S. coaches and players tried to drain out of George’s injury, understand something: It was in vain. He lost a year of his career for the chance to play in a tournament that few watched back home, and even fewer felt mesmerized by across the world. The risk-reward for NBA stars participating in FIBA tournaments has never been so low, the gains of the Mike Krzyzewskis and Jim Boeheims on the bench so high.George will be the impetus to end the full participation of NBA stars, but far from the reason. After the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the World Cup of Basketball and Olympic Games are destined to become an under-22 developmental tournament."

While the points made here in Woj’s article seem to make sense, he did go on to further call out Krzyzewski in a manner seemingly unprofessional, claiming Coach K’s biggest reason for leading Team USA be for recruiting advantages.

Team USA could very well be moving toward an under-22 style format, where players continue to develop against international players. However, that fact was lost in the column as Woj spent as much time complaining about Coach K as he did talking of possible changes.

Woj did, however, pen another column yesterday about Ricky Rubio, which was a much better read.

"When the Love-Wiggins trade was finally notarized in late August, there was no telephone call. Rubio texted Love, and wished him well. Love texted back. Apparently, that’s how breakups go these days. And it was over. “I have to be thankful for everything he did for me,” Rubio told Yahoo. “Coming from Europe to the NBA, it is not easy. Having the superstar give you the head’s-up on things, look out for you … I appreciate it.“But in the end, it didn’t work out and we move on. He’s always going to be a great memory with me. Not just the way we played together, because it was fun but it’s the way he accepted me from day one.”So Minnesota president and coach Flip Saunders has to make a decision on his willingness to extend Rubio’s rookie contract with a deal that corresponds with a belief the T’wolves see him as franchise cornerstone. Saunders has had discussions with Rubio’s agent Dan Fegan and they’ll talk more between now and the Oct. 31 deadline. Without an extension, Rubio can be a restricted free agent next summer."

Rubio has always been considered a potential-laden point guard, but his time to tap that potential is starting to grow thin. While still 22 years old, Rubio has played professional ball since he was 16 and his improvements in the NBA were obviously not drastic enough to sway Kevin Love‘s decision.

Now, he was to convince ‘Wolves management and staff that he’s worth keeping around.

Do you guys think Rubio’s worth extending? What about Woj’s take on Coach K and Team USA? Let us know below!