Jose Calderon skipping EuroBasket, could play in 2016 Olympics
It's a good thing Spain is deep at point guard.
With FIBA EuroBasket 2015 set to tip off in September with two 2016 Olympic berths on the line, FIBA's No. 2-ranked team will be without their top two point guards.
It was already known Ricky Rubio would miss the tournament as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle. While Rubio could be back to impact work by July, the Minnesota Timberwolves have confirmed Rubio won't join the national squad.
Now, one of the team's elder statesmen - and their most steady floor general - will miss the tournament, as Jose Calderon is opting not to play.
The New York Knicks guard saw his season end prematurely due to an Achilles injury, an ailment that required platelet-rich plasma injections in March. Calderon told Eduardo Schell from Marca he wants to play in the tournament but can't justify it.
The translation from Spanish is a little rough, but Calderon's points are clear: he needs to recover from the injury, which still isn't allowing him to run, in order to enter the 2015-16 season in top shape and make playing for Spain in the 2016 Olympics a more realistic possibility.
It's the first summer since 2010 Calderon isn't playing for Spain, and he's been a fixture of their senior men's team since as far back as 2002. In 76 career games with the team, he's averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and one steal while knocking down 37.8 percent of his triples.
His role declined some at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, which speaks to Spain's depth at the one. Beyond Calderon and Rubio, Spain also has Sergio Rodriguez to run the point, while Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Llull capable of handling the ball, though none can distribute the way Calderon and Rubio can.
In 42 games with the Knicks this season, Calderon averaged 9.1 points, three rebounds and 4.7 assists. Over 676 career NBA games, the 33-year-old has averaged 12.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 8.3 assists while hitting 41.2 percent from long-range.