Team USA basketball has had a rough time getting players to commit to playing this summer, with most players preferring to rest and prepare for the upcoming NBA season. The latest name to withdraw from the USA Select Team was Landry Shamet of the Los Angeles Clippers.
That made him the target of criticism from Bill Simmons, who couldn’t understand why a player like Shamet thought he couldn’t benefit from the ability to train with some of the top players in the sport.
“Hey Landry Shamet — do you want to spend a week working out with some of our best NBA players and best coaches?”
“No, 6 months ago I was a throw-in in the Harris trade and I’ve played a total of 6 playoff games — not sure this Team USA experience can help me. Thanks though.”
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) August 2, 2019
Shamet fired back over Twitter, tweaking Simmons over not knowing who he was until very recently before citing injury concerns as the reason for his exit from camp.
You didn’t even know how to pronounce my name or who I was 6 months ago so it’s nice to see you know the name now . Chill out. I want nothing more than to be there this week. Health comes first and that’s that. Can’t push thru an injury in August. https://t.co/TAnTMCh7fc
— Landry Shamet (@landryshamet) August 3, 2019
It’s not the first time that a pro athlete has told Simmons to give it a rest. Players would prefer to be healthy for the NBA season, and if Shamet is nursing an injury, skipping USA Basketball camp is totally logical.
