Kyrie frustrates because he refuses to get Love involved more in the Cavs offense, seemingly a joint decision with LeBron. How much of that can be pinned on him is debatable. Wall is a more traditional mold of point guard, though his team’s offense has struggled mightily this season. Kyrie gets more spotlight because he plays with LeBron and he’s prone to 50-point scoring outbursts. Both are electric with the ball in their hands, quicker than just about any other basketball players on Earth. Whether it’s an All-Star team, an Olympic roster or a friendly argument amongst friends, it always seems to come down to Wall and Irving. I went back and forth on these two a hundred times. There will be no “Hack-A” against Team USA.
#RUDY GAY CHOKES ANTHONY DAVIS PRO#
Jordan is in the midst of his best pro season, but similar to Howard and Drummond, his horrendous free throw shooting cost him. Klay was especially tough, but Butler and Harden beat him out by the slimmest of margins for me.
I had to cut two great shooting guards in DeRozan and Thompson. Blake and Cousins edge out Aldridge just barely. Love’s game has stagnated in Cleveland and Barnes, while a key cog in the Warriors’ machine, isn’t on the Olympic level at this point.Īldridge DeRozan Jordan Thompson Irving. Beal hasn’t shown he can stay healthy, while Love and Barnes are additional forward casualties. Conley is the first point guard out, as there are just too many stars at the position. He also has a future on the team I believe. Howard is past his prime but Drummond was a more difficult cut. I’m scared to see Howard and Drummond miss free throws in crucial moments. I love Hayward’s shooting and think he’ll be on this team in the future, but he’s not quite ready.
Iggy played well for the 2012 team and is an awesome role player for the Warriors but this is as far as I can advance him in 2016. However, they were easy cuts in a crowded group of forwards. I assume Faried and Gay were included because they have Olympic experience. Without further ado…įaried Gay Iguodala Hayward Barnes Love Howard Conley Beal Drummond. In 2012, the final roster included 5 guards, 6 forwards and 1 center, for reference, and the alternates were Anthony Davis, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon. Kobe Bryant mercifully announced he wouldn’t be trying out for the team, so he did not get a legacy spot in the 30-man group. Others with a case to be included are Damian Lillard (again a point guard casualty), Derrick Favors (injuries have hurt his case), Derrick Rose (injuries and declining play) and Paul Millsap.
Knock an extra forward out for Lowry (I’m looking at you Faried). But as the leader of a 30-15 Raptors squad who scores, distributes and defends I think he deserves a spot. Now, Lowry is a casualty of the loaded point guard group and wouldn’t beat out Curry, Westbrook, Irving, Wall, etc. Next up is Kyle Lowry, who saw his backcourt mate DeRozan make it, but not himself. Bosh is someone who could make a final 12-man roster and it wouldn’t be crazy. A future Hall of Famer in my book, it’s almost criminal to leave him on the outside looking in while Love, Faried, Iguodala, Gay and Barnes make it in as forwards. The most glaring omission to me is Chris Bosh, who can never get enough respect. There are a few players I think should have made it to this hallowed 30-man list. I am going to tackle this by making three cuts to get down to the final 12 roster. 18, broken down into guards, forwards and centers: Here is the 30-man roster that was announced on Jan. It’s good to be the basketball coach king. Besides, it will be a monumental surprise if the 2016 USA Men’s installment doesn’t roll to another gold medal. Any scorned player needs to get on his level before they’re allowed to pout. Then again, the USA Olympics team is 129-7 with him on the coaching staff, he’s collected two Olympic gold medals and a FIBA gold medal, and he’s won the NCAA tournament five times. The collection of talent below is truly astounding and it must be hard to tell NBA superstars “thanks, but no thanks…we won’t be needing you”. I only sympathize with the tough task he has ahead of him, cutting down this roster of 30 NBA stars to a final team of 12.