Dwayne Jones was technically a part of the trade that sent Hedo Turkoglu to Phoenix and Leandro Barbosa to Toronto, though you probably wouldn’t know it.
Team USA is filled with hyper-athletic and versatile players, but the squad’s greatest strength is not its speed, its leaping ability, or the varied skill sets of its players.
Though Washington first rounder Kevin Seraphin is on his way over to the States from France, the Wizards’ second round pick (or really, the Timberwolves’ second round pick that was then traded to the Wiz, if you want to be terribly specific), Rutgers big man Hamady N’Diaye, will likely be heading overseas for the upcoming season.
If the calls of NBA officials are curious, than those of FIBA referees are completely baffling; calls aren’t even consistent on a play-to-play basis, much less from game to game.
Though July’s trade between the Knicks and Warriors can be easily portrayed as a Lee-for-Randolph swap, New York’s other two acquisitions in that deal deserve more than a footnote.
Earl Barron, the seven-foot center originally out of the University of Memphis, was called up to the New York Knicks from the D-League’s Iowa Energy late last season.
It’s still a bit curious that Lou Amundson, a nice complementary big who rebounds, hustles, and defends, is a free agent, but he should find a new team pretty soon.
Both Team USA and the Spanish national team were reluctant to reveal their full arsenals, but today’s friendly between the two FIBA powerhouses was easily the Americans’ most entertaining exhibition yet.
