PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - Several of the biggest stars at the Rio Olympic Basketball tournament will start the upcoming NBA season with new teams and increased roles.

The biggest change of all is, of course, the highly publicized move of Olympic MVP, Kevin Durant, to Golden State. Everyone seems to have an opinion about KD's choice but fellow USA star Klay Thompson hit the nail on the head when he said "Durant wants to win but he also wants to have fun doing it".

KD and Klay played fine together in the elimination round in Rio and along with Draymond Green got a head start on getting to know each other better off the court, too.

Warriors Durant, Thompson and Green were USA teammates in Rio

KD replaces Harrison Barnes in Golden State, the only other Team USA member who changed teams this summer. Don't feel sorry for Barnes, who signed a max contract with Dallas, a team that has already announced that he will be a go-to player this coming season. He rejoins former Warrior giant Andrew Bogut in Dallas and they already have some useful experience together as the Australia center is an excellent passer who kicks smart passes out to spot-up shooters like Barnes!

The player with the best overall evaluation in Rio, Spain's Pau Gasol, has left Chicago for San Antonio and this represents a big shake-up for both teams. Pau is the perfect player to replace Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw in San Antonio and this is not just because he's one of Tony Parker's closest friends! His post-ups, intelligent passes, rim protection and even 3-point shooting will all fit in quickly and efficiently with the game-plan of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

Not too many centers in the NBA are good at chasing and defending their man out beyond the three-point line! Pau and the Spurs? it's a marriage made in heaven if you ask me.

Just as Gasol arrives in San Antonio, Diaw leaves

Diaw is a great trade for Utah because the Jazz play team ball like the Spurs. Boris told the Spurs he wanted to go there and he will score more (Utah needs that) and will continue his mentoring of Rudy Gobert, who needs to work on catching the ball in traffic and finishing strong at the rim. He and Joe Johnson will add needed experience to a young roster and the Jazz will make the play-offs.

Same thing for Matthew Dellavedova in Milwaukee, where a rich new contract means he'll get more playing time after his brilliant play in the first round in Rio for Australia.  

Two players intrigue me - Sergio Rodriguez with Philadelphia and Yi Jianlian with the Lakers. Both guys are making their return to the league after disappointing experiences the first time around.

Rodriguez will be great at setting up his young, athletic teammates (alley-oop time!) and the 76ers will no longer be the laughing stock of the league because now, they will be playing to win! And now that Yao Ming is in the Hall of Fame, Yi can step out from his shadow and play his game with the equally young Lakers.

China's Yi is returning to the NBA after signing for the Lakers

Like Gasol, he's a center who can shoot threes. He finished fifth in evaluation and third in scoring in Rio. He's big, mobile and can shoot. If he takes the pressure off himself, he should do just fine!

I'll finish this round-up with three players who stayed put this summer but who will have increased responsibilities and much more important roles this season. Nikola Jokic was already last season's big rookie surprise with Denver. He scored 25 points on Team USA in the first round of the Olympics for Serbia, the surprise finalists. With Joffrey Lauvergne traded to Oklahoma City, Jokic will be the chosen one in the paint for the Nuggets this season.

Same deal for Nikola Mirotic, who killed France in Rio with 23 points. He will be getting a lot of touches in Chicago now that Gasol and Joakim Noah are gone. Fred Hoiberg will be able to play his preferred brand of small ball.

What about Rio's leading scorer, Bojan Bogdanovic, who averaged 25 points a game for Croatia? He will bring some sorely needed scoring punch to Brooklyn, a team that should replace the 76ers as the worst franchise in the NBA this season. The difference will be that Brooklyn and its new coach, Kenny Atkinson, will be playing to win and to inculcate a "Spurs-like" culture to build upon in the next few seasons.

So there you have it, a nice list of international players we'll be following closely this season as they make their climb up the hierarchy in the NBA!

George Eddy
FIBA

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