Delay Leaves Chis Paul's Olympic Future in the Air
Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe says he and IOC president Thomas Bach are agreeing to a one-year postponement of the Olympics. Monday IOC member Dick Pound said that postponement had already been decided shortly after that news broke USA gymnastics called for a delay till 2021.
As late as last week, Bach was saying, "Cancellation is not on the agenda." With Canada refusing to send it's athletes to Tokyo unless there was a one-year delay, other countries were sure to follow, giving the IOC no choice.
The question for the Thunder is where does this leave Chris Paul, Lou Dort, Shai Gilgous-Alexander and any other players that might be representing their countries. Barring injury Dort and Gilgous-Alexander will likely play in 2021.
Paul is a bit more of a dicey question, with another year on his body, and hopefully, another NBA season under his belt will he want the summer off to rest, or is the lure of a gold medal going to be too much to pass up?
I'm going to guess the latter. Paul says the change in his diet is helping him avoid injury; Paul says he hasn't had to ice his knees this season. Plus, he's been on the court for every game but one. That one was the day after Kobe Bryant tragically died in a helicopter accident.
Plus, we should be so lucky to have a Paul and Gilgous-Alexander go head to head. The trash talk between the two of them during each other's media scrums has become the best part of Thunder's postgame availability.
Just imagine how many times the Olympics would come up during that time, especially if Canada won. You know you want this to happen.
Jalen Rose Is Not Wrong?
Yesterday on Get Up, Jalen Rose said he thought even if the NBA were playing in September, the allure of seeing LeBron James take on other top talents would be enough to bring viewers to the television.
He's right that the die-hard basketball fans will continue to watch, but head to head with the NFL on Sunday will be a losing proposition. In states like Oklahoma, even for as popular as the Thunder are, Saturday belongs to the college game. Not that 18,000 plus wouldn't be at the Peake for a playoff game, but OU and OSU will get top billing that day.
What Do You Think?
Would you watch the NBA over the NFL or College Football in September? Just click the comment box below.
