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I truly love howJosh Hart was waitingto hate on Noah Lyles if the latter came up short in the men’s 100m. Then, Hart“admitted defeat”after Lyles took home the 🥇. It’s the Olympics, baby!
Goldmembers?
It’s elimination time in Olympic basketball!
That confusing, round-robin, group-style Olympic basketball malarkey is over! No more wondering about point differentials and lettered groups! We’re now down to thesingle-elimination portionof the tournament bracket at the 2024 Paris Games. If you lose? You’re out. If you win? You advance. You want a medal, you say? Better win atleast a couple games! Let’s break down what’s ahead in the men’s bracket, which begins action on Tuesday (all times Eastern). We’re also debuting our Olympic Pressure Progression meter, best known as the OPP meter!
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Bracket disclaimer:The winner of Germany/Greece plays the winner of France/Canada. The winner of Serbia/Australia plays the winner of Team USA/Brazil.
Germany (3-0, plus-47) vs. Greece (1-2, minus-8), 5 a.m.
Key for Germany:As long as theycontain Giannis Antetokounmpo, their talent should carry them.
Key for Greece:If they can’t shut down Dennis Schröder, they have no chance.
OPP Meter:⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ for Germany | 🥱 for Greece
Prediction:Germany should handle Greece.
3-0 in Group Play.
Goodnight from Lille. Sweep dreams. pic.twitter.com/LjzU5GXZKh
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 3, 2024
The joy!!!@usabasketball secures the #1 seed. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/mQokUW0PgW
— Peaco*ck (@peaco*ck) August 3, 2024
Serbia (2-1, plus-26) vs. Australia (1-2, minus-4), 8:30 a.m.
Key for Serbia:Turn Bogdan Bogdanović into Nikola Jokić’s new Jamal Murray. Let them cook.
Key for Australia:Get Patty Mills going. He shot horribly in their two losses.
OPP Meter: 🏇🏇🏇🏇for Serbia | 🐨🐨🐨🐨 for Australia.
Prediction:Jokić goes nuts as Serbia moves on.
France (2-1, plus-2) vs. Canada (3-0, plus-20), 12 p.m.
Key for France:Use their interior size to dominate Canada’s tiny front line.
Key for Canada:Use their speed and excellence on the perimeter to push the tempo.
OPP Meter: 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖for France | 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 for Canada
Prediction:One of these teams won’t get a medal. Canada wins, and France feels shame.
Team USA (3-0, plus-64) vs Brazil (1-2, minus-7), 3:30 p.m.
Key for USA:Just maintain the script andkeep dominatingas they have so far.
Key for Brazil:Invent time travel, go get prime Oscar Schmidt, head to the future, clone prime Oscar Schmidt, come back to 2024, give Team USA bus flat tires.
OPP Meter: 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇for USA | 😴 for Brazil
Prediction:There is no DeLorean available, so Team USA wins in a blowout.
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On the women’s side,this feels a lot less dramaticand even more one-sided. The women’s international competition has not come close to threatening Team USA. Their bracket begins playing on Wednesday with the winner of Serbia and Australia moving on to face the winner of Team USA and Nigeria (whispers: So … Team USA, right?). That matchup starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, so set your streaming devices accordingly.
Then, the winner of Spain and Belgium will play the winner of Germany and France. Thursday, we’ll break down what’s in store for the women’s final-four action.
ROAD TO GOLD 🥇
Women’s #Basketball Quarter-Finals are here 🔥#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/fRJCaPeLRI
— FIBA (@FIBA) August 4, 2024
Lauri Markkanen Day
Everything to know about the next trade domino
Tomorrow, Aug. 6, is Lauri Markkanen day! You must be thinking that means his birthday is Tuesday. Not even close! His birthday is May 22. Lauri Markkanen Day has everything to do with his potential contract extension andwhether he can be tradedbefore next summer upon signing. It has potentially big ramifications for the dwindling, current trade market. Here’s what you need to know about tomorrow, Lauri and the Jazz. And, yes, you guessed it … I’ll be talking to myself in this section.
What is the significance of Aug. 6 for Lauri and the Jazz?Markkanen will be eligible for a four-year contract extension worth roughly $200 million. That’s right! $50 million per season for the Finnish-4. But if the 27-year-old signs this extension any day after Tuesday, he won’t be trade eligible by the February 6 trade deadline this coming season. So, Utah would have to wait until next summer to trade him.
Is that too much money for Markkanen?Maybe! It’s a lot. We’re talking roughly one-third of what the salary cap should be when the extension kicks in. If he plays like an All-NBA guy, it’s not a big deal.
Would Markkanen automatically turn a team into a contender?Not for most teams, but he could change the fortunes of several squads, who would be adding a dynamic scorer in any deal.
Which teams could and should be interested in trading for him?Some of the names thrown out there are Golden State, Sacramento, Miami and San Antonio so far. The Spurs (Victor Wembanyama) and Heat (Bam Adebayo) offer the most interesting fits next to their star big men. Miami’s future is too uncertain and doesn’t currently feature many trade assets. The Kings’ rumors made no sense and have gone away.The Warriors feel like a desperation play, but they can offer good young players and at least three unprotected firsts. The Spurs can pretty much offer the same as Golden State but have a lot more picks and swaps to use.
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What do we think the Jazz are hoping he’ll do?Sign on Tuesday and immediately get traded to Golden State or San Antonio. It’s best to get those assets now and start your own tank.
What happens if Lauri signs but can’t be traded until next summer?We see the Jazz in the same position as the last two seasons. In 2022-23, they refused to tank with Wemby on the horizon. Now, they have thisloaded 2025 draft classahead of them, and they might be too good to expect a top-five pick. Danny Ainge historically struggles with the tanking decision.
Prediction: Markkanen gets the max extension, but it comes after he’s no longer trade eligible this coming season. The Jazz can revisit a trade next summer.
All That Jazz!
Q&A with Tony Jones about Markkanen
Let’s bring in our Jazz beat writer and expert Tony Jones!Nobody knows the Jazzlike Tony does. Let’s ask him three questions about Lauri, his potential trade market and the Jazz’s upcoming plans.
What do we think is the baseline trade package to get into the Lauri trade market?
Tony:I think the baseline package starts at three tradeable unprotected first-round picks, a good young player, multiple unprotected first-round swaps and filler salary, if applicable. I don’t think the Jazz settle on this package. I think that’s the package that gets them to pick up the phone. Markkanen is extremely valuable to Utah, wants to be with the Jazz and is one of the most unique players in the NBA. The Jazz simply are not going to part with him easily, no matter what their circ*mstance is.
Does it benefit Lauri to get his extension after the deadline and then be traded next summer?
Tony:I actually think Markkanen signing a long-term deal makes him more tradeable from a value standpoint. I think teams will be less hesitant to go all in on Markkanen if his contract has multiple years remaining. But I also think if the Jazz have the year they want, and they get where they want in the 2025 NBA Draft, there will be a lot less reason for them to trade their star at this time next season.
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If Lauri doesn’t get traded, are the Jazz simply too good to have real dreams of Cooper Flagg in 2025?
Tony:This is the million-dollar question. Markkanen is good enough by himself to get the Jazz some wins this season. I do think Utah will prioritize its young players, namely Keyonte George and Walker Kessler. And I think Will Hardy is as good a young coach as there is in the league. The Jazz may want to de-emphasize winning this season, but they have, at the same time, done a good job of putting young pieces on the roster.
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(Top photo: Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)
Zach Harper is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the NBA. Zach joined The Athletic after covering the NBA for ESPN.com, CBS Sports and FRS Sports since 2009. He also hosts radio for SiriusXM NBA and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Follow Zach on Twitter @talkhoops
