Team Canada head coach Nick Nurse called previous reports saying point guard Cory Joseph would miss the upcoming FIBA World Cup “incorrect” — stating he'd spoken to the guard on Wednesday and he has his flight booked to China, according to John Casey of 7News Adelaide.
Nurse and the rest of Team Canada are in Melbourne, Australia, reading up for some exhibition games, all of which will include a late-month final tilt against Team USA on Monday, Aug. 26.
Canada has good depth at the guard position, but news of Joseph dropping out were somewhat surprising. Nurse's team has been playing well with Andrew Nembhard and Kevin Pangos, recently routing New Zealand 122-88 in an exhibition game prior to the second leg of the back-to-back, which saw them edge the Tall Blacks 103-100 in an overtime thriller.
As of now, this is kind of up in the air as Joseph could still have his flight booked only because he's yet to cancel. Joseph did not play in Wednesday's exhibition game against New Zealand.
If he has indeed pulled out of competition, he wouldn't be the only NBA player to do so for Team Canada, as the likes of Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexeander, and even rookie RJ Barrett have dropped out of consideration.
Canada might still have enough horses to finish among the top-two in the Americas, which would qualify the nation for the Olympics, but they could use Joseph for some depth considering the stakes.
Follow Us
Subscribe