FRA – Parker to meet with Spurs to discuss Turkey

SAN ANTONIO (FIBA World Championship) – France point guard Tony Parker will have a good idea of what his summer will be like once he has met with his San Antonio Spurs bosses this week.

Parker had believed he’d be getting ready for an NBA Western Conference finals showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers right now but instead, his season is over following the Phoenix Suns’ 4-0 sweep of the Spurs in the semi-finals.

“The national team will catch up with me quickly since the Spurs staff wants to meet me soon to talk about this summer,” he said on his official website, tp9.net.

“We’ll know more this week. I don’t know what the Spurs want to do. So I can’t tell what’s going to happen.”

France will be hoping to have Parker, one of their star guards, for the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

A host of other outstanding French talents are champing at the bit to make a dream first appearance at the FIBA World Championship, including Dallas Mavericks rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, Power Electronics Valencia’s Nando De Colo and Le Mans’ Antoine Diot.

De Colo and Diot were excellent at last year’s EuroBasket in Poland and helped France book a place in Turkey.

Parker missed a lot of games this year with San Antonio because of injuries but he returned to fitness and played well late in the campaign and in the post-season.

“It has been a complicated season,” Parker said on his website, tp9.net.

“But I have to put things into perspective since I have had the chance to be successful since I arrived at the Spurs.

“I remain positive and will work hard to come back stronger next year.

“I’m going to take some rest in San Antonio. I need to cut (the load) to get back on my feet.

“We’ll go on vacation at the end of June and right after that, I’ll go to my summer camp in Fécamp.”

France will take on Spain, Lithuania, New Zealand, Canada and Lebanon in Group D Preliminary Round games.

FIBA