One of Canada’s strongest prospects for the 2016 Rio Olympics may never even take the court, and it could all come down to the insurance industry.
Canada Basketball has revealed that Tristan Thompson may not be eligible to compete in the FIBA Americas qualification tournament in Mexico because he does not have adequate insurance coverage, reports the Toronto Star.
Thompson is considered to be “one of the best rebounding big men in the NBA,” and recently rejected an $80 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 24-year-old basketball star looks as though he may sign a $6.8 million one-year qualifying offer and return as a free agent in 2016 when the NBA salary cap increases to $90 million. Since the Canadian national team cannot grant him insurance if he’s not officially signed to a team, if he chose that route, competing in Mexico City would require him to risk injury without coverage.
Canada Basketball coach Jay Triano will not allow that.
“We want what’s best for our players and without an insurable contract it doesn’t make sense for him to play this summer,” Triano told the Toronto Star.
The power forward was drafted fourth by the NBA in 2011, making him the highest drafted Canadian player in the league’s history. His absence in Rio “will be a blow,” since he scored an average of 11.4 points and 10 rebounds per game at FIBA Americas in 2013.
Canada Basketball is not the only team facing insurance difficulties, however. Earlier this week, ESPN reported that Joel Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers needed a second surgery on his right foot, following one that took place just a week before the 2014 draft.
Since the foot injury is considered a pre-existing injury, it is excluded from Philadelphia’s insurance policy. As a result, the team is required to pay $9 million to Embiid for two years where he never played a single game.
