{"id":750392,"date":"2026-06-02T09:27:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/750392\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:27:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:27:22","slug":"why-jamal-murray-was-excluded-from-canadas-next-olympics-cycle-nba-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/750392\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Jamal Murray was excluded from Canada’s next Olympics cycle | NBA Insider"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:<\/p>\n

NBA Insider<\/p>\n

Jamal Murray\u2019s future with the Canadian national team was thrown into question Monday.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets\u2019 star guard was excluded from Canada\u2019s 23-man roster for the upcoming Olympics cycle. Rowan Barrett, the father of Raptors wing RJ Barrett and the general manager of Canada\u2019s national team, offered an explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cJamal Murray is not committed to playing in the program going forward,\u201d Barrett said. \u201cHe\u2019s got tremendous desire to play for the country, but sometimes there are things going on with the athletes that prevent them from doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray has been involved with Canada\u2019s national team for more than a decade. The Kitchener, Ontario, native represented his country in the FIBA America\u2019s Under-16 Championship back in 2013 and again in the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2022, he committed to a three-year process ahead of the 2024 Olympics. He missed the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup after Denver\u2019s championship run but was still selected for the Paris games, where Canada lost to France, the eventual silver medalist, in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Despite coming off the best regular season of his career, including his first All-Star and All-NBA selections, Murray apparently will watch his compatriots from afar the next few seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be brutally honest with you, if guys don\u2019t commit this summer, they\u2019re not in,\u201d head coach Gordie Herbert said. \u201cWe got too short a period to bring guys in and out. \u2026 When I was with Germany, I think we had six or seven NBA guys, (and) we had three NBA guys not come. All of a sudden they wanted to come Year 2. Sorry. You can\u2019t be successful in anything without commitment. So that\u2019s kind of where we stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, Atlanta\u2019s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Toronto\u2019s Barrett, Indiana\u2019s Andew Nembhard, the Clippers\u2019 Bennedict Mathurin, Dallas\u2019s Ryan Nembhard, Phoenix\u2019s Dillon Brooks, Washington\u2019s Kyshawn George and Will Riley, Chicago\u2019s Leonard Miller, and San Antonio\u2019s Kelly Olynyk all committed to the program. Memphis\u2019s Zach Edey, Miami\u2019s Andrew Wiggins and Portland\u2019s Shaedon Sharpe were not included in the player pool for this summer\u2019s World Cup qualifiers, though Edey\u2019s out with an injury.<\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m thinking<\/p>\n

Those asking Peyton Watson to play through a hamstring injury should take a look at what happened to Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams.<\/p>\n

Williams was limited to 33 games in the regular season due to a series of hamstring strains suffered in January and February. He returned for the final couple of weeks of the regular season but missed the final two games of Oklahoma City\u2019s first-round series against Phoenix. He also missed all four games of the Thunder\u2019s second-round sweep over the Lakers.<\/p>\n

The Thunder\u2019s No. 2 option thought he was healthy enough to play in the conference finals and was on the court for 37 minutes of the Game 1 loss to the Spurs. Then, he played a total of 17 minutes in two of the final six games of the series.<\/p>\n

The difference between Williams and Watson\u2019s situation is the max extension earned by the Thunder wing after a championship run last season. Williams is due at least $239 million on his new deal.<\/p>\n

Watson has made a little more than $11 million over the first four years of his NBA career and is set to receive his first big contract this summer. <\/p>\n

If the signals that the Nuggets are prioritizing retaining Watson come true, it\u2019s best for the franchise he didn\u2019t rush back to help a team that didn\u2019t have enough to get past the Timberwolves without him.<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

Bill Simmons had Zach Lowe on his podcast Sunday to discuss the recent happenings in the NBA. The duo eventually made it to Peyton Watson\u2019s situation in Denver. Watson\u2019s a restricted free agent, meaning the Nuggets will have the opportunity to match any contract Watson receives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does Denver have to trade anybody to sign Peyton Watson,\u201d Simmons asked? \u201c(Expletive) off. You have Jokic on your team, (expletive). Pay everybody.\u00a0 \u2026 Just pay Peyton Watson and keep everyone else on your team, because your owner is super rich. What are we doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bill Simmons, executive producer of the HBO documentary film \u201cAndre the Giant,\u201d poses at the premiere of the film at the ArcLight Hollywood on Thursday, March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. The film explores the life of World Wrestling Entertainment legend Andre Rene Roussimoff. (Photo by Chris Pizzello\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n

\u2014After winning Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons, Oklahoma City\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deemed this season a disappointment. The Thunder failed to be the first team to become the first repeat champion since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a failure,\u201d Gilgeous-Alexander said after Oklahoma City\u2019s Game 7 loss to the Spurs. \u201cI failed at my goal. I didn\u2019t achieve what I wanted to achieve, but through my experiences, I learn the most about myself and I make the greatest amount of increases I have in my career when I fail at my goal and don\u2019t get what I want. I look at this no different. I didn\u2019t get where I wanted to go this season. There\u2019s a reason for that. Now, I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens (again).\u201d<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m following<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic, predictably, was spotted at a couple of sporting events last weekend. The first was Arsenal\u2019s loss in penalty kicks to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest, where Jokic supported the team that\u2019s also part of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment\u2019s portfolio. Then, it was back to Serbia to watch horse racing Sunday.<\/p>\n

Bruce Brown was still hanging around Denver last weekend. Brown, who will be a free agent this summer, was at the Rockies game Friday and attended the Morgan Wallen show Saturday.<\/p>\n

Orlando has found its new coach, though the Magic must to get him started. San Antonio\u2019s lead assistant, Sean Sweeney, will head to Florida after San Antonio\u2019s NBA Finals series is over.<\/p>\n

Warriors guard Stephen Curry agreed to a 10-year deal to represent Chinese brand Li-Ning moving forward. Curry was a sneaker free agent for much of last season after leaving Under Armour in November.<\/p>\n


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