Lopez won't play in Olympics

Jazz backup point guard Raul Lopez has decided not to play for his native Spain in the upcoming Summer Olympics.

In Spain, the Jazz are being blamed.

In Utah, Jazz officials deny they pressured Lopez into opting out — and say the call was all his.

"We said to him, 'You have to make the decision on the Olympics,' " said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's basketball operations senior vice president.

"We told him, 'Here are the things you have to consider, ' " O'Connor added. "And we said we would back him in anything he wanted to do."

Lopez's American agent backs O'Connor's contention.

In fact, David Bauman said he's pleased Lopez will not play this August in Athens, Greece — and suggested Lopez's agents in Spain should not have faulted the Jazz like they did.

"I am very happy with the decision," said Bauman, who is based in Washington, D.C. "I think that in the long-term Raul's career will benefit from the rest he will get this summer."

Lopez — who recently finished his rookie season with the Jazz and has at least one season remaining on his current contract — was selected by Utah in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft.

He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing a short time later for Real Madrid in Spain, then tore the same ligament again playing for the Spanish National Team prior to the 2002 World Championships.

The 24-year-old Lopez played all 82 games for the Jazz this past season, and the need to rest the knee this offseason — O'Connor and Bauman both said — was the primary factor in opting not to play in Athens.

Lopez — who was on Spain's 2000 Olympic Team in Sydney, Australia — will play a few games for the Jazz in this July's Rocky Mountain Revue summer league.

That schedule's intensity, though, pales compared to an Olympic commitment.

"The Olympics," Bauman said, "are a very grueling six-to-eight week preparation process, followed by a two-week tournament with a lot of back-to-back games."

Lopez's knee, the agent added, is simply too "tired" to endure that much play.

Lopez's representatives in Spain issued a statement suggesting the "painful decision" not to participate was prompted by the Jazz's heavy hand.