Thanassis Stavrakis
In a season of uncertainty, the Canadian men's basketball team at least knows who stands in its way on the road to the 2012 London Olympics.
The 23rd-ranked Canadians have been drawn in a group with No. 16 Brazil, 22nd-ranked Venezuela, No. 30 Dominican Republic, and 76th-ranked Cuba for the preliminary round of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, the primary qualifying tournament for the Olympics.
But with the prospects of an NBA lockout looming, Canadian coach Leo Rautins said exactly who will be available to suit up for his team remains a question mark.
"The lockout can be extremely destructive and disruptive for everybody, or it could turn out to be something that's going to allow players to play and still have a lot of recovery time," Rautins said on a conference call. "Unfortunately nobody knows the insurance and other implications that could affect an NBA player participating or not."
The top two teams in the Aug. 30-Sept. 11 tournament in Mar Del Plata, Argentina qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Teams finishing third through fifth play in a second-chance qualifier.
Canada's men's team hasn't made an Olympic appearance since the 2000 Sydney Games, where Steve Nash led the team to a seventh-place finish.
Leo Rautins' son Andy, a rookie guard for the New York Knicks, and Miami Heat forward Joel Anthony, were Canada's two NBA players at last summer's world championships in Turkey, where the Canadians went winless through five preliminary-round games.
Leo Rautins is hoping San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner can join the team for Argentina. The New Hampshire native is married to a Canadian and is a permanent resident of Toronto, but his Canadian citizenship remains in limbo.
"We have been trying for I guess the past year and a half to expedite that process through the political channels," said Wayne Parrish, Canada's Basketball's CEO and executive director. "We were unsuccessful leading up to the eve of the tournament in Turkey in the fall, but we continue to work away at it."
Rautins said he spoke with Bonner last week in San Antonio and the former Raptors forward remains committed to the Canadian program.
"I have no doubt if this becomes a reality, he would be not only a great addition but somebody who would relish the opportunity to represent Canada," Rautins said.
Canada's team in Turkey was hit hard by injuries after a gruelling stretch of travel and exhibition games, but Rautins said this summer's schedule has been carefully thought out to allow for more time for recovery.
The summer will be split into two phases. The initial phase in July will include training in Toronto and exhibition games in Europe. The players will then gather again in Toronto for Phase 2 to train before playing a series of exhibition games, likely in Brazil, before travelling to Argentina.
"There's an excellent balance between practice and training time as well as the number of games that we're playing," Rautins said. "We think it's a very well-thought out schedule."
Teams that finish third, fourth and fifth will play in a 12-team wild card tournament with the top three going to the Olympics.
The other group for the FIBA Americas Championship has Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Panama, Argentina and Paraguay.