Jerry Colangelo: USA Basketball Needs Olympic Schedule Before Choosing Players

On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee officially postponed the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo to no later than the summer of 2021 amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

In response, thousands of athletes, coaches and governing bodies planning on taking part in the competition in some capacity must adjust to a new timeline.

In that respect, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that he'll need to know the dates of the new Olympics before forming a player pool of candidates for the team.

"There really are a lot outstanding players," Colangelo said. "We want to give the world our very best. You start with that and then you work however you need to. You make the adjustments as they're required. Internally, we'll be talking about all kinds of backup plans."

"Just give me the dates and we will know what to do," he added.

As Zillgitt noted, the timing of the new Olympics is everything, with the possibility that NBA players may not be available if the Games fall sometime during the 2020-21 season.

It's not uncommon for an American sports league to pause during the Olympics, with the WNBA and NHL notably doing so in past years.

That's never been an issue for the NBA, whose season is always over before the Games begin. But if it isn't this go-around, then the timing of when players are available could impact the team selection, per Zillgitt:

"If the Olympics fall in early spring, there's a chance no NBA players are available with its regular-season still in play. If the Olympics are later in the spring, players whose teams weren't in the playoffs or players whose teams have been eliminated from the playoffs will be available. Or, if they're in the summer, after the NBA Finals, USA Basketball could have its pick of top players."

With that in mind, Colangelo may have to choose the best college players, the majority of whom will see their seasons end by March. As Zillgitt noted, G League players could also be in the mix.

Regardless of what happens, Colangelo also said that this will be his last Olympics, ending a decorated career that saw him oversee gold medals for Team USA in 2008, 2012 and 2016:

“I've been told I can continue as long as I wanted to but it's time for someone else. I'm going to finish this role, and instead of 2020, it will be 2021 and that's fine. I'm totally committed to it. I want to finish strong. It's been a great run, a great experience for me and a lot of great things have happened with USA Basketball since 2005. It's time to pass the torch after the next Olympics."

Colangelo, 80, was also a four-time NBA executive of the year and former owner of the Phoenix Suns.