TORONTO (AP) 鈥 Canadian Olympic basketball team general manager Rowan Barrett said Friday that Golden State is blocking Andrew Wiggins from competing in Paris, while the Warriors countered it was a mutual decision between the team and Wiggins.
Wiggins was among the 20 players who received invitations to camp to determine the Olympic team.
鈥淔or us, Andrew was fine,鈥 Barrett said. 鈥淲e were talking to him consistently, he鈥檚 been training for weeks and weeks getting ready for this. And then I got a call from Golden State a day or two before camp saying that they鈥檙e holding him out.
鈥淪o, from what I see, this is not an Andrew decision, this is from the team. And so, he won鈥檛 be with us.鈥
The Warriors told The Associated Press on Friday night that it was a mutual decision between the team and Wiggins.
The 10-year NBA veteran last played for Canada in an Olympic qualifying tournament in 2021.
鈥淚鈥檓 disappointed for him,鈥 Barrett said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 gone through a lot the last couple of years and then, obviously, his mother was an Olympian and this is something he鈥檚 looking forward to and working toward and really on the uphill climb it seemed like in everything.
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