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Tristan Thompson to play with Team Canada in the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup

What offseason? Tristan Thompson continues to compete throughout this summer for Team Canada.

By Justin Rowan
USA TODAY Sports

The rosters have been announced for The Tuto Marchand Continental Cup and, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Tristan Thompson has made the final cut. The tournament begins August 22nd and is a five day, round robin event, that will see Canada face off against Puerto Rico, Argentina, The Dominican Republic and finally Brazil. This is the final stop before the team travels to the 2013 FIBA Americans Championships where the top four teams receive entry into the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

Thompson headlines a Canadian Roster that also features fellow NBA players, Joel Anthony, Cory Joseph, Andrew Nicholson. Former Knicks draft pick Andy Rautins and NCAA sniper Brady Heslip will play on the team as well.

This should be a welcome step up in competition from what the team saw in a two-game exhibition event against Jamaica. There will be less roster tinkering and more minutes will be given to the starters. It should prove to be a grueling test for all those competing, as they will be playing 4 games in 5 nights.

It's convenient for the Cavaliers that Thompson is receiving a fair amount of "real game" experience after making the unprecedented move of changing hands. Competing against other professional players will give Thompson many opportunities to become more comfortable with the change and find out what he is really capable of doing at full speed. While Thompson's offensive game has been limited in his first two seasons in the NBA, I have often admired his shot selection and ability to understand his own limitations. By testing things out in international competition there will hopefully be a reduced transition period once he returns to the NBA game.

It does not appear as though these games will be televised, however, there are often ways to view FIBA competitions online. It is not going to be live streamed on the FIBA website.

What do you guys think of Tristan playing so much organized basketball this offseason? Do you believe that it will help him? Or is this demanding schedule going to wear him down?

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