What made De’Aaron Fox change his mind and decide to withdraw from the United States team to the FIBA Basketball World Cup? Based on the news Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes broke via Twitter, he seemed to have an epiphany and moved to “focus on upcoming season with goal of making playoffs” just hours before it was scheduled to fly to Australia for a series of tuneup matches. Considering how much he hitherto appeared to relish the prospect of suiting up for the red, white, and blue, the timing was, at the very least, suspect.
Certainly, Fox did all he could to make the cut. Originally part of the Select Team that served to act as a foil for the primary squad, he played well enough during scrimmages to be promoted and considered for the final roster. Teammates especially raved about his speed with the ball in his hand. “He makes fast people look not fast,” fellow hopeful Marcus Smart noted. And, indeed, it was on full display during the Blue vs. White set-to early this month; he finished the contest with 11, three, three, three, and two in only 15 minutes of exposure.
For some reason, though, Fox seemed far less enthused after Team USA met Spain last Friday. He wound up burning rubber for a mere six minutes and 11 seconds, the shortest time spent on the court by any player other than the injured Smart. Even supposed third-string backup Derrick White saw more action. Adding to the intrigue was the latter’s status as a Spur seen to be far more familiar with head coach Gregg Popovich’s system. In any case, he opted to stay behind while the rest headed Down Under.
Popovich couldn’t care less, to be sure. In fact, it has made his work easier. Before the unexpected turn of events, he spoke about the unenviable task of having to give bad news to those on the bubble. “When you cut people from your regular NBA team, it’s difficult,” he said, his words seemingly referring to White. Meanwhile, Fox unintentionally made Harrison Barnes look bad. If he was so keen on helping the Sac-town franchise go deep in the postseason as to set aside the opportunity to toil for flag and country, why can’t his Kings teammate as well?
There’s more to Fox’s exit than meets the eye, but, really, the US is a powerhouse with or without him. It remains heavily favored to win gold at the World Cup. And, moving forward, the “player equity” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo keeps underscoring may yet give the one-and-done Wildcat a handicap that keeping him from ever being a member of Team USA. Too bad.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
