Should the NBA Support International Play?

After Paul George left the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, he went into late night surgery. George had surgery to repair a tibia and fibula fracture on his right leg. There was no additional damage beyond the fracture, and the procedure was succesful. However, Paul George is still expected to miss the entire 2014-2015 NBA season. George's injury raises the question about how much control NBA teams should have whether or not their players participate in FIBA/Olympics.

The current agreement between the NBA and FIBA is that the players choose whether or not they wish to compete. However, the team they play on can block the player from participating if he is recovering from an injury or has a history of them. An example of this is the San Antonio Spurs restricting guard Manu Ginobili from playing for Team Argentina. Ginobili is recovering from a right leg stress fracture that he got during th 2014 NBA Finals.

As horrific as Paul George's injury was, U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird were correct when they said these injuries could occur at any time. NBA players are always playing. They don't only do it for a living, as they also enjoy doing it. They play in the regular season and the offseason. They play charity games. They play pickup games. Most even play right in their backyard. The injury to Paul George could have happened in any of those places just as easily as it did in Team USA's scrimmage. NBA teams pay their players millions of dollars but there is no way to prevent offseason injuries.

Some may say that the players are paid by the NBA and should preserve themselves for the NBA season. Some say that it was meaningless that George was injured and wasn't in a Pacers uniform when it happened. However, when this injury occured, George was representing his country, and that isn't meaningless. George took the injury risk to play for his country, and in some ways that's more meaningful than playing in the NBA.

All of this doesn't mean that players should feel the need to play. Deciding to sit out for any reason is the players personal choice and is understandable. Blake Griffin and Kevin Love decided not to play for Team USA this summer, and other players have decided not to in the past. The decision should always be up to the player and should not be taken out of their hands by an Owner/GM.

This injury will certainly frame future discussion about whether NBA players should be participating in international play. This injury will also have some owners advise their players not to participate. However, the final decision on whether the player participates should be up to the player.