Wojnarowski: FIBA World Cup, Olympic basketball could become under-22 tournaments
The star-studded U.S. team cruised to gold at the World Cup of Basketball and Serbia's silver-medal-winning team was celebrated like royalty back home, but the biggest storyline from international basketball this summer was Paul George suffering a devastating injury during a televised Team USA scrimmage.
The right leg injury likely ended George's 2014-15 season before it even began, completely derailed the Pacers' hopes of contention and reignited the debate about whether NBA stars should be risking their bodies for international duty.
Well that debate might be coming to a head, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, with FIBA events poised to change in the coming years.
Via Yahoo! Sports:
George will be the impetus to end the full participation of NBA stars, but far from the reason. After the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the World Cup of Basketball and Olympic Games are destined to become an under-22 developmental tournament.
"We need to get our vets out and move our younger players in," one NBA general manager told Yahoo Sports. "The support's there for the change, and it's getting stronger."
With the on-court fortunes and off-court business of NBA teams depending on their stars, it's understandable why owners and team executives would want to protect their investments and, to a degree, their jobs.
Plus, the idea of FIBA events and Olympic basketball becoming a showcase for some of the game's young stars is exciting, though there will still be the possibility for a young franchise player to get hurt taking part.
Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond, who represent a quarter of this year's American team, are all 22 and under.