Team USA has made their final round of cuts following a 112-86 exhibition victory over Puerto Rico, trimming the roster down to the 12 players that will represent the country at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Damian Lillard, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons and Kyle Korver will not make the final Team USA roster.
Lillard, Hayward, DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond all received DNPs in the win over Puerto Rico. With Derrick Rose looking healthy against Puerto Rico after missing the exhibition against the Dominican Republic earlier in the week, Lillard was the odd man out at point guard.
Hayward never really distinguished himself from the other wings throughout the training camp and exhibitions, while DeRozan's solid exhibition performances were enough to put him on the squad.
Friday's Game
Korver is one of the best shooters in the NBA and could have been a three-point specialist for Team USA, but they determined they had enough shooting and decided to go with more a more well-rounded player.
Parsons has nice versatility on the wing, but he was quiet in the exhibitions and didn't do enough to earn himself a spot on the final roster.
Coach K has narrowed the 12-man World Cup roster to Rose, Mason Plumlee, Cousins, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Drummond and DeRozan.
Team USA took a patient approach before making the final set of cuts, wanting to get a closer look at the roster through exhibition play following the loss of star power in Kevin Durant and Paul George. Coach Krzyzewski used different rotations throughout exhibition play, allowing the coaching staff to decide on the final spots on the roster.
Competitive play begins on Aug. 30 and will last until Sep. 14. Team USA's first game is on opening day, where they face Finland to begin play.