Wall in, Griffin out for Team USA
Team USA’s training camp roster stands at 19, after it was announced that Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was added to the mix, while power forward Blake Griffin opted to pull out of international competition this year.
Just got word that the Wizards' John Wall WILL be in Team USA camp starting Monday in Las Vegas
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 24, 2014
Wall was natural invite for USA Basketball and joins Chandler Parsons and DeMar DeRozan as additions to initial Team USA roster from January
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 24, 2014
The speedy Wall drove the Wizards to the second round of the playoffs this postseason, before they fell to the Indiana Pacers. Wall joins his teammate shooting guard Bradley Beal, who was earlier named to the squad.
The Clippers announce that forward Blake Griffin will not participate on the USA Basketball Men’s National Team this summer.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) July 24, 2014
While appreciative of invite,Griffin said: "I want to focus & dedicate 100 % of my energy on improving & preparing for the upcoming season."
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) July 24, 2014
Griffin on the other hand released a statement via his team, the LA Clippers, saying that he wanted to “focus and dedicate 100 percent of my energy on improving and preparing for the upcoming season.”
So much for Griffin’s statement that he’d “keep an eye out on Gilas” in Spain then, huh?
In the case of Wall, he faces some tough competition at the point guard spot, what with Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry and Derrick Rose also competing for floor general minutes.
Meanwhile, Griffin’s exit solidifies Kevin Love as the starter at PF. I’d guess Anthony Davis is also a lock, which leaves DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond and Kenneth Faried as the guys looking to get noticed.
Earlier this week, USA Basketball also announced the Select Team that will help Team USA prepare for the tourney.
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