Team USA 2016 secret footage (2of10): Melo calls Klay "light-skinned" 😂+ KD + DeMarcus Cousins
43CHICAGO, IL, JULY 28, 2016 -- This is the second in a ten-part series of videos from USA Basketball training camp before the 2016 Olympics in Rio:
1of10: Klay heating up https://youtu.be/3QOZqAwjMUI
2of10: USA runs "regular" inbound, Melo calls Klay "light-skinned" (this)
3of10: Draymond drills "regular" side inbound https://youtu.be/VZQbkzq9vVY
4of10: (coming soon)
5of10: (coming soon)
6of10: (coming soon)
3of10: (coming soon)
8of10: (coming soon)
9of10: (coming soon)
10of10: (coming soon)
It is now being released to the public due to the fortunate timing of DeMarcus Cousins' free agent signing with the Golden State Warriors on July 2, 2018, nearly two years later, and the fact that this is a Warriors-related channel.
For two summers, without any follow-up USA Basketball talk, there was never really an opportunity for this "lost" footage to become relevant once more. We thought we would have to wait until perhaps 2020 Tokyo training camp.
We are calling these "secret files" because:
1) to our knowledge, the contents of a Team USA practice have never been filmed for the public before,
2) we were probably not supposed to be filming that day, but at the same time, we were never asked to stop filming and we were never asked to vacate our position on the floor until the end of the recording -- in fact, we're lucky we had enough iPhone storage left over.
3) we decided not to release this video to the public for the past two years -- and certainly not that summer -- because it contains plays that Coach K ran. We are hopeful but confident that, with Coach Popovich taking over the reins this summer, there will be an entirely new system installed, and
4) we only have 48k subs, which hardly pays the bills, so anything we can do to market these clips, we will still shamelessly do. 🤷♂️
Now, back to the issue of Cousins integrating with the Warriors. First of all, Steph Curry was out recovering from the MCL injured during the Houston Rockets series -- also the infamous inability to get a shot off in the closing seconds vs Kevin Love in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
But, back to "Boogie": Anyone who watches these videos should come away with the conclusion that chemistry is not going to be an issue. See for your own eyes.
Other overall observations (from all ten clips):
a) Klay Thompson only missed one three-pointer all practice,
b) Carmelo Anthony blended in nicely (even affectionately called Klay "light-skinned"!),
c) Team USA's practices were fluid, professional, and sharp,
d) Tom Thibodeau is a great motivator,
e) in general, a lot of cheering and motivating each other on, such as Kyrie Irving telling Klay, "Don't miss" after making 3s, and
f) yes, this was in Chicago and not, say, Washington DC where Verizon used to be the name sponsor of its NBA arena there -- Verizon was a camp sponsor and therefore got a lot of signage.
Finally, in parallel perhaps with DMC's signing with GSW, we make no apologies for each of these videos being about only 2-3 minutes long. We would do less and less of that and just post whatever length videos, if our subscriber total started to approach 100k -- about what you'd need to earn a minimum living here on YouTube. #facts
The remaining clips will be released, time-permitting, with Warriors coverage currently ongoing for this channel at Sacramento Summer League 2018.
Previous video: Willie Green morning shootaround https://youtu.be/YMPiN6HozUQ
Next video: Sacramento Summer League pregame warmups https://youtu.be/SlJMrEiq7LY