At a press conference, Jean-Pierre Siutat today looked back on the summer competitions contested by the French team while looking ahead to the future of the Blues. The opportunity in particular to address the subject Joel Embiid and his choice to join the American selection.
A few days ago, Joel Embiid put an end to the (small) suspense surrounding his international future by announcing his desire to represent Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A decision which definitively closes the Embiid file with the French team. However, for several months, hope reigned to see Jojo join the Blues racket and Boris Diaw had even shown optimism about the final decision. Ultimately it won’t be the case. The opportunity for Jean-Pierre Siutat, the president of the FFBB, to return to this issue which has caused a lot of talk in France. Comments reported by Rémi Reverchon from BeIN Sports.
“Regarding the subject of Joël Embiid. I met him in 2022. But we never went looking for him. At his request we took the necessary steps. Today I am disappointed to have spent so much energy on a file which was not initiated at our request. This topic is behind. »
— Remi Reverchon (@SoFrenchProd) October 10, 2023
Unsurprisingly, Siutat expressed his disappointment but also explained that the approach came above all from the Embiid camp and not from the French staff. A point confirmed by Boris Diaw, who also explained that Embiid had changed his mind along the way even though he had initially shown a lot of desire at the idea of playing with the Blues.
Joël Embiid will not come with @FRABasketball “he changed his mind. He kept telling us he wanted to play for us. We were ready to welcome him.” @NBAFRANCE @franceinfo @France Inter @francebleu #basket #France pic.twitter.com/Zk25qutQDB
— Хаvier Monferran ⚽️????????????✈️???? (@xaviermonferran) October 10, 2023
The file is now closed and the Blues will be able to plan for the future without the uncertainty of the presence (or not) of Embiid next summer. Barring a last minute injury, it is Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert who will have the keys to the French racket next summer with Guerschon Yabusele.
It will take at least that (without forgetting the other executives) to face the gigantic war machine that Team USA is preparing, which will be able to count on a slew of superstars in all positions and therefore a Joel Embiid as a probable starting pivot. All that remains is to hope that the Blues will be able to stand up to the American ogre as they did at the last Olympic Games, but if possible with a different ending.
Text source: Rémi Reverchon / BeIN Sports
2023-10-10 13:05:00
#JeanPierre #Siutat #disappointed #Joel #Embiids #decision
