After defeating Puerto Rico 112-86 in an exhibition match, USA Basketball finalized their roster heading into the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Team USA has played with 16 men on the roster for both of their exhibition games this week, as they evaluated which players would be making the trip to Spain with them. The last four players to be cut from the roster were Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Kyle Korver, and Damian Lillard.
The four players that were excluded were all predicted to be cut by our own Chris Sheridan. While it was necessary for the team to trim down to a roster of 12 players, it is surprising to see some of the names that didn’t make the cut. Korver and Lillard in particular provide three-point shooting that makes them ideal for international match-ups, but even in their absence the United States still looks to be by and large the front runner for the tournament.
Despite suffering some setbacks earlier in the week, Derrick Rose was able to play in the game against Puerto Rico and has also earned a spot on the final 12 man roster. One would assume that the questions surrounding Rose before were a bit overblown, as he’ll be playing several games in a condensed period of time once the World Cup begins. In any case Team USA certainly isn’t short of ball handlers with Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving available.
“Since taking over the USA Basketball Men’s National Team program in 2005, this was without doubt the most difficult selection process we’ve gone through,” said Colangelo. “I can’t stress enough the outstanding effort and commitment that has been given by each finalist. I also want to make it clear that this is not just about talent — each player is incredibly talented and each player offered us unique skills. In the end it was about assembling the best team, selecting guys who we felt would be able to best play the kind of style we envision this team playing.”
“The first thing is we are very pleased with the overall effort of every player who was a part of the process,” said Mike Krzyzewski, USA head coach and Duke University’s Naismith Hall of Fame mentor. “To select twelve was difficult, because our pool is so good. As we go forward, we not only go forward as twelve, we go forward as a pool for USA Basketball. As a staff we want to thank the players who are not going forward.
Team USA will compete in one more friendly exhibition against Slovenia on August 26 before kicking off their World Cup schedule on the 30th.
The complete list of names for the final roster will consist of:
DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors).
Other news around the league:
Klay Thompson is reportedly upset that the Warriors considered trading him for Kevin Love earlier this summer. According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report: Eventually, they passed on everything because there wasn’t a strong consensus in the organization that they’d definitively be better. And when it became clear that Love would be headed to Cleveland instead of a Western Conference rival, such as the Houston Rockets, it made the need to roll the dice even less enticing. Myers’ attempt to be as honest as possible is appreciated, but it has come with a price. While attempts to reach Lee or his representatives were unsuccessful, a source close to Thompson said the shooting guard is “pissed” that the Warriors legitimately considered moving him.
J.R. Smith wants the New York Knicks shooting guards to accept their roles in the 2014-15 season. From Ian Begley of ESPN New York: Unless they make a trade, the Knicks will enter the season with three players who can make a strong case for the starting shooting guard spot: Tim Hardaway Jr., J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert. It will be up to Derek Fisher to decide how to divide minutes among the three players. Fisher can play one at shooting guard while the others sit on the bench or mix and match combinations of the three guards in the triangle offense, as GM Steve Mills suggested earlier this month. “That’s for the coach to decide. All we’ve got to do is play,” J.R. Smith said Thursday. “Whatever they decide, we’ve got to just live with it. Hopefully everybody could put their egos aside and come together for one common goal.”
The Charlotte Hornets signed first round pick P.J. Hairston to his rookie contract. According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte Hornets have signed rookie P.J. Hairston, the former North Carolina shooting guard they acquired in a draft-night trade with the Miami Heat. The Heat chose Hairston 26th overall before dealing his draft rights to the Hornets. Under the NBA’s rookie pay scale for first-round picks, Hairston will get a guarantee the next two seasons totaling about $2 million. The Hornets would then hold two one-season options on Hairston before he’d become a restricted free agent.
- The Atlanta Hawks announced that they have re-signed free agent guard Shelvin Mack. Mack served primarily as a back-up guard for the Hawks, despite starting several games when injuries started to affect the roster. Per the official report: Mack averaged 7.5 points and ranked second on the team with 3.7 assists per game. He played in 73 games, including 11 starts, and ranked seventh in the NBA with his average of 3.04 assists per turnover. Ferry said Friday the 24-year-old Mack showed the “toughness and level of unselfishness that we truly value.” Terms of the deal were not released. As a starter, Mack averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 assists. He previously played with Washington and Philadelphia.
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