Wall, Beal and Millsap all understood to be set for release by Team USA…
Washington Wizards pair John Wall and Bradley Beal are reportedly set to be left off the Team USA World Cup roster, with an announcement expected on Tuesday.
USA Basketball has scheduled a press conference at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon which will see chairman Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski make the roster moves official, with the team set to be cut down to 16 ahead of the final cut for the 12-man World Cup team.
Practice will continue next week in Chicago, and according to ESPN, there are only five players that are considered certainties for the final party leaving on August 23; Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Golden State’s Steph Curry.
As a result, that leaves 11 players fighting for the remaining seven spots on the roster, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Kyle Korver, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, Chandler Parsons, Kenneth Faried, Gordon Hayward, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond and Mason Plumlee.
It is also reported that despite speculation after George’s injury that a number of players were concerned with playing on after witnessing the Indiana Pacers star suffer a compound leg fracture, they are focused on staying together and showing support rather than pulling out.
Despite the loss of key players such as Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and George, as well as not having the likes of LeBron James and Chris Paul available for selection, Team USA are still considered the strong favourites for the tournament despite the threat posed by hosts Spain.
Meanwhile, the likes of France and Argentina have been significantly weakened after both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili opted against featuring, and so the United States will be the general pick to repeat as world champions when the competition gets underway on August 30.
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