Team USA’s 2016 Olympics future uncertain after Kevin Love’s withdrawal.
With Kevin Love nearing an imminent trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he officially withdrew from Team USA Men’s competitive play. Training camp is set to open Monday morning in Las Vegas, as USA Basketball National Team Managing Director Jerry Colangelo revealed Love changed his Team USA status to unavailable – putting the team in a vulnerable state.
This comes just days after LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard and Blake Griffin all withdrew from the now depleted team. The roster is now down to 18 players and only 12 will be chosen in the next few weeks before the FIBA World Cup begins August 30th. USA Basketball’s first exhibition game is scheduled for August 16th , but they’re just down now to only four big men: DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond and Kenneth Faried.
Kevin Durant is slated to see a huge increase in minutes, which the staff of Oklahoma is dreading on seeing from legendary Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski. The winner of the 24-team FIBA World Cup automatically qualifies for Brazil’s 2016 Olympics, but a loss could see a rare Team USA collective fighting for a qualifier next summer.
USA Basketball announces @kevinlove unavailable for #USAMNT training camp in Las Vegas. http://t.co/6xY5NX2jlm
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 26, 2014