Team USA started with 34 mini-campers vying for a spot in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Add Andre Iguodala. Don’t add Kobe Bryant.
That left 35 players in the pool.
USA Basketball trimmed the list to 30 today:
- LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks)
- LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs)
- Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors)
- Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
- Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls)
- Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies)
- DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings)
- Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
- Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
- DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors)
- Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
- Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets)
- Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings)
- Paul George (Indiana Pacers)
- Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
- Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers)
- James Harden (Houston Rockets)
- Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz)
- Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets)
- Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors)
- Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers)
- Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs)
- Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers)
- Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)
- John Wall (Washington Wizards)
- Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
The five cuts:
- Michael Carter-Williams (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Tobias Harris (Orlando Magic)
- Victor Oladipo (Orlando Magic)
- Chandler Parsons (Dallas Mavericks)
- Mason Plumlee (Portland Trail Blazers)
All five are fine players. But they were all longshots to begin with, and none are having a strong enough season to boost their candidacy.
That they’re such easy cuts speaks to the Americans’ depth.
The more difficult selections will come later. Team USA will pick a final roster in late June. It’s unclear whether the pool will be reduced again before that, but it’s already getting difficult to find names to drop.
It’s going to be unbearably difficult for USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo to make his final decisions for the 12-man team.