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Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Chris Paul out of Rio Olympics

By John Woodcock

Mar 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard D.J. Augustin (12) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half at Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Nuggets 105-90. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard D.J. Augustin (12) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the second half at Staples Center. The Clippers defeated the Nuggets 105-90. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Wake Forest Demon Deacons alum Chris Paul will withdraw his name from consideration for the 2016 Olympic Team.

Former Wake Forest Demon Deacons star guard Chris Paul will be bypassing the Olympics this year in order to get healthy for next year’s NBA season and spend time with his family according to reports from Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated.

Paul’s decision may be considered odd if you believe that he is still the dean of NBA point guards. That idea has come under fire this year due to the play of at least two and maybe more guards in the league. If Paul was once the most likely man to get a triple-double, that mantle has passed to Russell Westbrook. If Paul was once the most dangerous offensive guard, that mantle has passed to Stephen Curry.

Yet it is easy to believe that Paul is still a top 3 point guard in the league and that the US National Team would need three point guards. As an American, if you want the best players representing the country then you would want Chris Paul.

However Paul is following a pattern that seems unique to American basketball. That idea is that the United States National Team is not routinely made of the very best the sport has to offer but instead the most available. This was an issue as early as Dream Team II in 1996.

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    • Players who opt out do so for different reasons. One is injury, which is why Anthony Davis will not be in Rio.

    Two is that players have had their time and it is someone else’s turn. Paul cited this, noting that that the point guard position is rich in the NBA right now. This is not Spain losing Ricky Rubio, Paul’s spot could be taken by Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, or John Wall.

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    The only problem with this idea is that it seems restricted to America. Other National Teams routinely send out their best players until they are too old. These teams do not have the depth of talent that the USA does, but their mentality toward the sport and the Olympics is more closely associated with national pride than the membership of the US team.

    That idea is that of course you are going to play for your country. It is an obligation. It is fair to note that Olympic basketball is the highest level of the sport that many of the participants will ever see. That is still not considered to be on the level of NBA basketball since international players come to the US to make it big in the sport.

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    NBA players however may view the Olympics as a step down in competition and therefore beneath them. US dominance in the sport has been tested. A loss in 1988 led to the conclusion that we weren’t sending our best to deal with more competent foreign competition. Thus came the 1992 Dream Team. A loss in 2004 led to the conclusion that we weren’t preparing enough (playing our best) so we got the Colangelo-Krzyzewski regime and new commitment from the league’s best.

    If the National Team continually had the commitment of the biggest talent pool it could draw from, then there would be no excuse for failure. Adjustments would not need to be made. You would not need resets like in 1988 and 2004.

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    Yet we are America and individualism is something we value highly and no doubt there are people who will support Chris Paul’s position because of it. He’s got look out for himself some will say. He’s got to fulfill his contract obligations to the Clippers and win a title, others will say. Just don’t believe that he’s doing what is best for America. Because if he is then he is truly not one of the NBA’s top point guards anyone.

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