George Injury May Have NBA Owners Think Twice About International Play

Photo Courtesy of The New York Post

The looks on the faces of NBA stars at Friday's Team USA Showcase in Las Vegas told the story.

As James Harden made his way down the court for a fastbreak lay-up, Paul George attempted to deny the Houston Rockets' star the basket. What happened next is something that no one, no matter how hard you try, will forget.



The Indiana Pacers' leading scorer broke the lower part of his leg near the base of the basket leaving fans and players in disbelief. Coach Mike Krzyzewski immediately called for a stoppage of the scrimmage after the gruesome injury.

"Everything is on hold right now, and it should be," Krzyzewski said. "It would be inappropriate to talk about anything else when there's a serious injury like this. It was a very emotional setting. There's a brotherhood in the NBA. To me, a family or brotherhood shows its heart and depth at a time like this."

Photo Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

It's not every year something like this happens. Freak accidents like these are a rarity in sports, but the impact they have will always raise questions about the safety of the sport. Moments after the incident, Shaquille O'Neal took to Twitter and brought up concerns about how far the basket should be placed from the baseline.

I hope now they will move da basket back, if paul wouldn't of hit the base of the basket. He would be ok, tell me what u think #moveitback
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) August 2, 2014

Regardless of what people feel about the basket stance, Paul George is still lost for the upcoming NBA season according to sources. The injury is enough to ask if Team USA will continue to hold these showcases. If so, you can probably expect NBA owners to be a little more leery about having their stars play for the Red, White and Blue.

Photo Courtesy of Rant Sports

These athletes are true investments for these businesses and, at the end of the day, that's why people come to their arenas. Nobody's coming to watch guys like Anderson Varejo or Mike Miller play ball. People want to see the best players play and they'll pay top dollar to do so. Owners don't want to see their chance to win a title fall by the wayside because a player wanted to take part in some exhibition. Yeah, it's good exposure for the league, but it's also a risk that owners may not be willing to take anymore. So, you may see owners urge players not to play in showcases like this or even Pro-Am Leagues like the Drew League just as a cautionary measure for the team's sake.

The Pacers may not have been the favorite to win the East, but surely they had to be among the top team despite losing Lance Stephenson to free agency. Now, the struggle to be among the top teams in the East will be even more difficult without their star.