Phoenix Suns veteran guard Eric Gordon is reportedly expected to be one of at least three NBA players on the Bahamian national team for its Olympic qualifiers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Team Bahamas will play two exhibition games later this month in Greece on June 25 against Montenegro and June 27 against Greece. They will then play in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain beginning on July 2 against Finland and then July 3 versus Poland.
Klay Thompson will join the national team for training camp in Houston, Charania reports, but is not expected to receive an official release from USA Basketball and approval from FIBA in order to be cleared to play in the Olympic qualifiers and further competition. Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton and Philadelphia 76ers guard Buddy Hield are expected to compete for Team Bahamas once again after all three helped the national team win a qualifying tournament against other countries from the Americas last August.
The timing will be difficult for Gordon if he elects to be a free agent this summer. He has until June 29 to decide whether or not he wants to exercise his $3.3 player option with the Suns for next season ahead of the free agency period which begins on June 30.
In his first regular season in Phoenix, the 35-year-old veteran averaged 11 points on 44/38/80 splits in 68 games. However, he only averaged 8.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 44 games off the bench after the Suns brought him last summer to be their main scoring option off the bench.
For now, Gordon will focus on trying to help the Bahamian national team reach its first-ever Olympic birth.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
