Team USA promises injured Paul George a spot on 2016 Olympic team
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com on Thursday that Indiana Pacers forward Paul George will have a spot on the Team USA roster competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
George injured his leg in a Team USA intra-squad scrimmage on Aug. 1. The forward had to be taken off the court on a stretcher, and the scrimmage was ended early.
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From NBA.com:
"We’ve told him we have a spot for him in ’16,” Colangelo told NBA.com at festivities Thursday in advance of the Friday enshrinement of the Hall of Fame class.
"We thought it’s the right thing to do,” Colangelo said. “That’s it…. We didn’t give thought to all the detail. Just that when a guy goes down and all these things, the circumstances, his career passes before him, he’s out for a year, a year-plus, he’s not able to participate now with us — we wanted to throw that out and say, ‘We’re counting on you. You’ve got a spot in ’16.’"
Colangelo also said there are plans to make sure George has a "visible presence: at the FIBA World Cup in Spain, which begins on Aug. 30.
GALLERY: RARE PHOTOS FROM THE 1984 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TRIALS
Rare shots: 1984 Olympic Basketball Trials
Bob Knight
Patrick Ewing
Charles Barkley
Chris Mullin
Charles Barkley
Patrick Ewing
Michael Jordan
Patrick Ewing
Steve Colter
John Stockton, Jim Master
Charles Barkley
Michael Jordan
Karl Malone
Dell Curry
Karl Malone
Michael Jordan
Chuck Person
Patrick Ewing
Michael Jordan
Charles Barkley
- Sarah Barshop