Team USA trimmed their roster down to 13 by removing forward Jeff Green and center JaVale McGee from their World Championship Finalists roster.
With McGee being cut, Team USA is down to one traditional center with Tyson Chandler, which seems to be a concern amongst the media. However, USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski did not seem concerned due to McGee’s role with the team prior to being cut.
“McGee wasn’t playing before,” Coach K said. “So it’s the same concern we had with McGee.”
Green was also slated to handle some of the power forward duties which means Team USA has lost another big in favor of a guard with him being cut.
“I’m going to represent for him,” Kevin Durant said about continuing on without his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Jeff Green. “I love him as a brother. He knows the business type of deal. He’s perfectly fine with it. He’s going to come back in the season with a chip on his shoulder and ready to work. I know Jeff. I’ll be talking to him every day when I’m over there.”
Team USA needs to make one more cut before the World Championships in Turkey begin later this month. That last move was expected to be made with these two but the unbelievable competition for the final spot has forced a delay in the decision making process.
“Most definitely,” Coach K said about the final decision being extremely difficult. “The final decision will be one that we make because of our three exhibition games after this. And just what do we think at that moment we need a little bit more than the other guys. But we will select a strong quality and a good player, whoever that one guy will be. I think it will become more evident what we have to do when we go through these exhibition games.”
Before the Worlds, possible 48 hours before the first game is played, that final cut will have to be made. From what I am hearing, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, Stephen Curry and Danny Granger are all battling for the final spot and whichever one ends up losing out will be deselect, as Coach K likes to say. Of those guys, Granger may be the safest because of his six-inch height advantage on the rest of the guards and his ability to play anywhere from the two guard to power forward if need be.
If I were running the team I think I would let Westbrook go but I myself will need to see how this competition progresses throughout the final exhibition games, especially against Spain.
