Team USA 2024

[ifmanis5]

The Olympic roster is close to set and people are already mad about no Jalen Brunson. I don't see Embiid being healthy enough to play but who knows.
View: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1780009778934394985

ESPN Sources: USA Basketball is finalizing its 2024 Paris Olympics roster with Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis. Team may initially keep one open spot.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I hope they bring someone like Scoot or Chet along, just to have the experience.

 

[InstaFace]

Team may initially keep one open spot.

Steve Kerr in 2 months:

Anyway looking at the depth chart:

G: Edwards, Booker, Curry, Holiday, Haliburton
F: James, Durant, Tatum
C: Embiid, Davis, Adebayo

They are definitely light on wing. Someone mentioned it in the other thread, but Banchero would be a great pick because he can soak up minutes that you want to rest James and Durant for, and can guard 1-5. Also he turned down Italy for us so we ought to at least give him a real look. Kawhi would be great too but he's been injured and will be coming off (probably) a long playoff run.

Also, at least one, possibly two of those centers will not be in Paris, I think we can say. Embiid will want to go, but Philly would be crazy to let him. Not sure what the US depth chart behind these three looks like, but it probably doesn't involve Chet. Myles Turner? Walker Kessler? You're down in the Mitchell Robinson / Jarrett Allen range after that, of players who can do at least one thing really well but aren't super well rounded. We lost to Germany on offensive rebounding, though, so you wouldn't be crazy to take an Allen or even a Kevon Looney.

Dunno about Brunson - who of those 5 guards does he push out? Curry is the most dangerous outside shooter the game has ever seen, and the other 3 can defend multiple positions. You're not going to carry 6 guards, so are you gonna drop Booker or Haliburton to get Brunson? Of course you're not. And if someone withdraws, I'm not even sure Brunson is first up, relative to Mikal Bridges or even (dfkm) Austin Reaves.

 

[the moops]

Not sure how it would shake out, but kinda wish they had like 1/3 the slots reserved for superstars (multiple time all stars + all nba team 1st team selection?), and another third for the new stars (1st or 2nd year all-stars, newly minter all-NBA, clear breakout guys) and rookies/recently graduated college guys/crazy talented highschool dudes

So you could get something like

superstars
G: Curry
F: James, KD
C: AD

new stars
G: Brunson, Haliburton
F: JW
C: Mobley

young stars
G: Amen
F: Cooper Flag, DJ Burns
C: Chet

 

[luckiestman]

James, Durant, Curry don’t want to pass the torch?

 

[Euclis20]

Steve Kerr in 2 months:

Anyway looking at the depth chart:

G: Edwards, Booker, Curry, Holiday, Haliburton
F: James, Durant, Tatum
C: Embiid, Davis, Adebayo

They are definitely light on wing. Someone mentioned it in the other thread, but Banchero would be a great pick because he can soak up minutes that you want to rest James and Durant for, and can guard 1-5. Also he turned down Italy for us so we ought to at least give him a real look. Kawhi would be great too but he's been injured and will be coming off (probably) a long playoff run.

Also, at least one, possibly two of those centers will not be in Paris, I think we can say. Embiid will want to go, but Philly would be crazy to let him. Not sure what the US depth chart behind these three looks like, but it probably doesn't involve Chet. Myles Turner? Walker Kessler? You're down in the Mitchell Robinson / Jarrett Allen range after that, of players who can do at least one thing really well but aren't super well rounded. We lost to Germany on offensive rebounding, though, so you wouldn't be crazy to take an Allen or even a Kevon Looney.

Dunno about Brunson - who of those 5 guards does he push out? Curry is the most dangerous outside shooter the game has ever seen, and the other 3 can defend multiple positions. You're not going to carry 6 guards, so are you gonna drop Booker or Haliburton to get Brunson? Of course you're not. And if someone withdraws, I'm not even sure Brunson is first up, relative to Mikal Bridges or even (dfkm) Austin Reaves.

I mentioned Banchero in the other thread, his size and agility make him ideal as another big wing I think (presuming that Kawhi/Butler are too old/injured/disinterested). Plus if something happens to Embiid, he can play as a third center in a pinch.

The obvious guard to push out is Holiday. I love the guy, but the other 10 were all-stars this year, and 6-8 will be all-NBA (and obviously Embiid would have been were it not for injuries). Maybe his defensive versatility (and seniority/respect) keeps him in, and if so I'd be dropping Haliburton. It's tough to drop the only pure point guard on the roster, but there are tons of playmakers here (all of which play better defense), and with Curry there's really no chance that Haliburton is on the floor at the end of games anyway. Brunson would deserve it if he wanted, but I think a better answer (over Reaves or even Bridges) would be Derrick White. He's the ultimate role player, is super versatile defensively, and knows how to play off ball surrounded by all-stars. And he's got international experience (2019 FIBA). We really don't know how Jalen Brunson (or most of these guys) look when they are both in their prime and still the 4th or 5th best guy on the court. That's not the case with White.

 

[scottyno]

I mentioned Banchero in the other thread, his size and agility make him ideal as another big wing I think (presuming that Kawhi/Butler are too old/injured/disinterested). Plus if something happens to Embiid, he can play as a third center in a pinch.

The obvious guard to push out is Holiday. I love the guy, but the other 10 were all-stars this year, and 6-8 will be all-NBA (and obviously Embiid would have been were it not for injuries). Maybe his defensive versatility (and seniority/respect) keeps him in, and if so I'd be dropping Haliburton. It's tough to drop the only pure point guard on the roster, but there are tons of playmakers here (all of which play better defense), and with Curry there's really no chance that Haliburton is on the floor at the end of games anyway. Brunson would deserve it if he wanted, but I think a better answer (over Reaves or even Bridges) would be Derrick White. He's the ultimate role player, is super versatile defensively, and knows how to play off ball surrounded by all-stars. And he's got international experience (2019 FIBA). We really don't know how Jalen Brunson (or most of these guys) look when they are both in their prime and still the 4th or 5th best guy on the court. That's not the case with White.

If the goal is to build the best TEAM, and not just put the 12 best individual players on the floor, Holiday is a much better pick for the team than Brunson. Holiday has a clear role as the by far best defensive guard on that team if they ever need him to lock someone down, Brunson is great but there's nothing on that roster that he would be better than every other guard at.

 

[Montana Fan]

Out of those 11 players there’re like 4-6 that are consistently healthy. Don’t think this will be anywhere near the final roster.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

I mentioned Banchero in the other thread, his size and agility make him ideal as another big wing I think (presuming that Kawhi/Butler are too old/injured/disinterested). Plus if something happens to Embiid, he can play as a third center in a pinch.

The obvious guard to push out is Holiday. I love the guy, but the other 10 were all-stars this year, and 6-8 will be all-NBA (and obviously Embiid would have been were it not for injuries). Maybe his defensive versatility (and seniority/respect) keeps him in, and if so I'd be dropping Haliburton. It's tough to drop the only pure point guard on the roster, but there are tons of playmakers here (all of which play better defense), and with Curry there's really no chance that Haliburton is on the floor at the end of games anyway. Brunson would deserve it if he wanted, but I think a better answer (over Reaves or even Bridges) would be Derrick White. He's the ultimate role player, is super versatile defensively, and knows how to play off ball surrounded by all-stars. And he's got international experience (2019 FIBA). We really don't know how Jalen Brunson (or most of these guys) look when they are both in their prime and still the 4th or 5th best guy on the court. That's not the case with White.

Echoing what Scotty said, Holiday’s defense makes him pretty certain to be on the team. I think he’s been inconsistent defensively this year but I think in the playoffs his defense will be much more prominen. In the last Olympics, he really turned the team around when he showed up and he’ll be given the opportunity to do so again.

The last spot is for Kawhi if he’s able to play / wants it. If not, I wonder if they’ll give it PG instead.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

If the goal is to build the best TEAM, and not just put the 12 best individual players on the floor, Holiday is a much better pick for the team than Brunson. Holiday has a clear role as the by far best defensive guard on that team if they ever need him to lock someone down, Brunson is great but there's nothing on that roster that he would be better than every other guard at.

Personally I don’t think that either is their goal. It is to put the biggest names on the team to market with the established veterans getting the first call on a spot.

 

[BaseballJones]

Well it's the Olympics. I'd like to think their goal is to win the gold medal. If it's not, then that's a problem.

 

[Ale Xander]

Don't want to see Celtics there, but I'll get over it. Will feel better if they can go 16-0

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Well it's the Olympics. I'd like to think their goal is to win the gold medal. If it's not, then that's a problem.

The decision makers ego likely doesn’t calculate this as they still feel an NBA-laden roster with stars is going to win regardless. I mean ever since The Dream Team the assemblence has been all about NBA marketing. Losing in ‘88 was the NBA’s biggest moment in regards to The Olympics.

 

[lexrageorge]

The decision makers ego likely doesn’t calculate this as they still feel an NBA-laden roster with stars is going to win regardless. I mean ever since The Dream Team the assemblence has been all about NBA marketing. Losing in ‘88 was the NBA’s biggest moment in regards to The Olympics.

To be fair to the decision makers' egos, that roster is undoubtedly the best in the field, and I don't think it's particularly close to #2, assuming good health. Yeah, there could still be challenges in winning the gold between the 40 minute game, FIBA, officiating, shooting variance, and someone like Jokic going supernova, but those challenges remain no matter who is the 11th or 12th roster spot.

The lessons of 2004 have been put to good use, so a disappointing finish will likely be due to the other factors mentioned rather than a flawed roster.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Jaylen over Booker had to at least be a consideration, no?

 

[InstaFace]

France may not challenge us much this summer, but they did knock us out of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, led by Gobert and Evan Fournier, with sidekicks like Sex Pants, Batum and Ntilikina. And come the 2027 WC and 2028 Olympics, a squad led by Wembanyama, and their 2 top-5 picks next month, Alexandre Sarr and wing Zac Risascher, plus Tidjane Salaun (in the teens), could have a team that is very used to playing with each other and is a real threat.

Serbia finished runner-up to Germany at the 2023 WC last summer, without having Jokic at all. With him, they would be scary indeed, not least because of how many more national-team games European teams play together, to build familiarity and play patterns.

edit: Latvia, in their tournament debut without Porzingis, made the QFs and came as close to knocking off Germany (2 point loss) as we did. Add a healthy Porzingis and they get very interesting too. Canada fucking beat us for the bronze, behind SGA, Dillon Brooks, Norman Powell and RJ Barrett - they didn't have their full preferred squad, either. There are lots of teams that demand our respect at this point, or could if they bring a fully healthy first-choice roster.

So there are definitely reasons to not take it as some sort of marketing jaunt that we of-course-will-win. Should we be the best team there, even with various injury withdrawals? Yeah. But it's close enough that, if we're arrogant about it, we can easily lose. And losing would be a bigger negative story for the league than winning would be a positive one - lots of people out there rooting for us to fail.

 

[lexrageorge]

France may not challenge us much this summer, but they did knock us out of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, led by Gobert and Evan Fournier, with sidekicks like Sex Pants, Batum and Ntilikina. And come the 2027 WC and 2028 Olympics, a squad led by Wembanyama, and their 2 top-5 picks next month, Alexandre Sarr and wing Zac Risascher, plus Tidjane Salaun (in the teens), could have a team that is very used to playing with each other and is a real threat.

That 2019 team doesn't come close to the 2024 Team USA roster. No Steph, LeBron, KD, Tatum (DNP that game), Embiid, AD, ANT, et al. But, point taken, agree that facing France gets very interesting in the near future.

 

[TomRicardo]

I mentioned Banchero in the other thread, his size and agility make him ideal as another big wing I think (presuming that Kawhi/Butler are too old/injured/disinterested). Plus if something happens to Embiid, he can play as a third center in a pinch.

The obvious guard to push out is Holiday. I love the guy, but the other 10 were all-stars this year, and 6-8 will be all-NBA (and obviously Embiid would have been were it not for injuries). Maybe his defensive versatility (and seniority/respect) keeps him in, and if so I'd be dropping Haliburton. It's tough to drop the only pure point guard on the roster, but there are tons of playmakers here (all of which play better defense), and with Curry there's really no chance that Haliburton is on the floor at the end of games anyway. Brunson would deserve it if he wanted, but I think a better answer (over Reaves or even Bridges) would be Derrick White. He's the ultimate role player, is super versatile defensively, and knows how to play off ball surrounded by all-stars. And he's got international experience (2019 FIBA). We really don't know how Jalen Brunson (or most of these guys) look when they are both in their prime and still the 4th or 5th best guy on the court. That's not the case with White.

The international game begs for a guy like Holiday and away from smaller guards like Brunson. Honestly would seriously consider White over Brunson.

Jrue was the third most valuable player on USA in 2021 after Durant and Tatum.

Ideally you would go Embiid, Durant, LeBron, Ant, Curry with Tatum as the sixth man probably playing more minutes than LeBron in the end. AD and Holiday would be your tight rotation with some minutes from Booker. Bam and Haliburton would really only see some time against weaker teams.

Going with Tatum, Durant, and LeBron as your three wings gives you a ridiculous advantage especially when you pair them with Holiday, Curry, AD , and Embiid. France is going to be super tall with Wemby, Gobert, Coulibaly, Risacher, and Batum. With Curry and those wings you could spread them out and punish them if Wemby or Rudy decide to sit in the lane.

 

[TomRicardo]

Jaylen over Booker had to at least be a consideration, no?

My guess would be Haliburton was the 11th man and that was recognition for playing in FIBA World Cup.

 

[InstaFace]

That 2019 team doesn't come close to the 2024 Team USA roster. No Steph, LeBron, KD, Tatum (DNP that game), Embiid, AD, ANT, et al. But, point taken, agree that facing France gets very interesting in the near future.

Hey our team that year was no joke, and prominently featured 4 Celtics, plus one guy who probably landed on Brad's radar as a result of the tournament. Depth chart:

PG: Kemba Walker, Derrick White
SG: Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Joe Harris
SF: Khris Middleton, Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum, Harrison Barnes
C: Myles Turner, Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee

Healthy Kemba was an absolute terror that tournament, had been All-NBA that year... he just went cold in the QFs. Middleton also a statistical leader, also a defending all-star. Tatum getting a sprained ankle before the QF loss to France (where we had a 7-point 4th quarter lead before falling asleep and losing by 10) was unfortunate, but he'd been a major difference-maker all tournament to that point. Turner was going so well that we cut Adebayo, Griffin and Draymond to bring him (but then when it mattered, he got absolutely owned by Gobert).

Also Embiid wasn't yet eligible for the USA, Ant was 18 years old and yet to suit up for Georgia, etc. Yes, there were some stars who were healthy and declined to participate (AD, Harden, Lillard, DeRozan), but injuries are a thing, and they cost us LeBron, Steph, Kawhi and KD. So that may not have been the USA's A+ team, but relative to who was healthy, it was at least an A- team. We had the talent to win, just not the team cohesion. Reading post-mortems now is kinda interesting, to be reminded of the history.

 

[RorschachsMask]

Jaylen over Booker had to at least be a consideration, no?

Jaylen isn’t even on the list of possible players for the last spot, that surprised me a bit.

Teams are permitted to take 12 players to the Olympics. Kawhi Leonard is the leading candidate for the USA vacancy with Paul George, Paolo Banchero, Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson also under consideration, sources told The Athletic.

Paolo and Mikal? Nah lol.

 

[snowmanny]

The international game begs for a guy like Holiday and away from smaller guards like Brunson. Honestly would seriously consider White over Brunson.

Jrue was the third most valuable player on USA in 2021 after Durant and Tatum.

Yeah, I am pretty sure that awhile ago I read that Holiday was one of the locks for the team based on the 2021 performance.

 

[slamminsammya]

if they wanted cohesion they could just run out our four american starters plus horford. that team wins going away

 

[Smokey Joe]

Hey our team that year was no joke, and prominently featured 4 Celtics, plus one guy who probably landed on Brad's radar as a result of the tournament. Depth chart:

PG: Kemba Walker, Derrick White
SG: Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Joe Harris
SF: Khris Middleton, Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum, Harrison Barnes
C: Myles Turner, Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee

Healthy Kemba was an absolute terror that tournament, had been All-NBA that year... he just went cold in the QFs. Middleton also a statistical leader, also a defending all-star. Tatum getting a sprained ankle before the QF loss to France (where we had a conversation 7-point 4th quarter lead before falling asleep and losing by 10) was unfortunate, but he'd been a major difference-maker all tournament to that point. Turner was going so well that we cut Adebayo, Griffin and Draymond to bring him (but then when it mattered, he got absolutely owned by Gobert).

Also Embiid wasn't yet eligible for the USA, Ant was 18 years old and yet to suit up for Georgia, etc. Yes, there were some stars who were healthy and declined to participate (AD, Harden, Lillard, DeRozan), but injuries are a thing, and they cost us LeBron, Steph, Kawhi and KD. So that may not have been the USA's A+ team, but relative to who was healthy, it was at least an A- team. We had the talent to win, just not the team cohesion. Reading post-mortems now is kinda interesting, to be reminded of the history.

And I think that it contained one player who fell off the Celtics radar in Myles Turner. I always found it fascinating that Danny wanted nothing to do with Turner during the Hayward trade negotiation. I can’t imagine that his coach and his four best players weren’t fine with that.

 

[TomRicardo]

if they wanted cohesion they could just run out our four american starters plus horford. that team wins going away

That team probably would have been the last world cup team.

 

[InstaFace]

if they wanted cohesion they could just run out our four american starters plus horford. that team wins going away

I mean, other than the fact that Horford has been cap-tied to the Dominican Republic since before he won the bronze (And tournament MVP) at the 2011 FIBA Americas Cup, sure.

But I'm betting we could make things work with Anthony Davis or even Bam, if they stay healthy. Back in 2019, I was getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to watch the games in China because of how many Celtics it featured. That'd be fun as hell, just imagining it.

But in reality, this summer we may have some of our guys opting out of the team, if they have to play until mid June and then hit USA training camp a week or so later (Opening Ceremonies is July 26th). Will probably depend on the physical shape that Tatum and Holiday are in when the playoffs end, of course, because in general they'll kill to be a part of the team.

 

[RorschachsMask]

View: https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/1780356432468074854

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

View: https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/1780356432468074854

When he just doesn't show up like the end of his Spurs stint, they can pick a new 12th man. Seriously though, how uninspired is that pick. I'm in the "make a team" camp as opposed to a group of all stars.

 

[scottyno]

When he just doesn't show up like the end of his Spurs stint, they can pick a new 12th man. Seriously though, how uninspired is that pick. I'm in the "make a team" camp as opposed to a group of all stars.

He's still ridiculously good at both ends of the floor when healthy, what exactly is uninspired about that?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

He's still ridiculously good at both ends of the floor when healthy, what exactly is uninspired about that?

Yeah bashing the Kawhi selection seems weird. Sure he’s been injured a lot but he’s a huge name and had as good of a first half of this season as anyone in the league.

 

[Euclis20]

He's still ridiculously good at both ends of the floor when healthy, what exactly is uninspired about that?

I don't know if uninspired is the word I'd use, but he's just about the most unpredictable superstar playing today. You put up with that because he can be the best player on a title team, but do you put up with that when he's one of like, 6 superstars on an olympic team in which everyone is going to have to sacrifice? Without giving it real thought he was probably the best player eligible for the team that didn't make the initial list of 11 (I guess that's what makes it uninspired) and the team did seem slightly short of big wings if anything, but really this team didn't need anything in particular. I still would've taken Banchero for the reason above (he could play some 4, it's good to get the young guys some olympic experience wherever possible, and 2/3 of our center rotation are serious injury risks so it's good to have another guy on the roster that could play there in an emergency), but whatever, it's the 12th spot.

Tatum/Lebron/Durant/Kawhi is an absolutely unbelievable forward rotation.

 

[Justthetippett]

When he just doesn't show up like the end of his Spurs stint, they can pick a new 12th man. Seriously though, how uninspired is that pick. I'm in the "make a team" camp as opposed to a group of all stars.

He's still awesome when he's right and there's no way he's selected without USA basketball being convinced he's motivated and wants to be part of this. I've always liked his game and approach. The injuries have been a real bummer.

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

Like I said, I want more of a red-ass for a 12th guy and a clearer hierarchy on the team, but this is more of a preference. Does it change how Team USA performs in the grand scheme? Probably not. But when you have a short period of preparation I'd prefer to make things just a little easier for the coach rather than making hockey shifts all game to see who plays best together.

But as others have mentioned, the potential injuries coming out of the playoffs may clear things up anyway.

 

[InstaFace]

Yeah, I'm not looking for "inspiration" from my roster selections, I'm looking for talent and team fit. Kawhi has both. Creativity is often synonymous with stupidity with these national team rosters, you can start talking yourselves into silly moves for silly sports-radio reasons.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

The Kawhi criticism also seems off to me. If he wants to play, there's no way team USA isn't going to have him on the team. He's earned that.

 

[CreightonGubanich]

Yeah, it's not like they're taking, say, Trae Young over Jrue Holliday or something - an empty calories scorer whose points they don't need, at the expense of a guy who fits the roster better. Kawhi can defend and play off the ball. He can be the world's most elite role player. I agree that roster fit matters, but I don't think Kawhi is an example of not prioritizing it.

 

[TomRicardo]

Kawhi is 100% the guy you take for the 12th spot. Haliburton over White, Brown, and Brunson is the tough one but you need to reward people for playing the World Championships on off years.

Bam and Haliburton are getting the FIBA nod and probably the 11th and 12th guys.

 

[InstaFace]

Kawhi is 100% the guy you take for the 12th spot. Haliburton over White, Brown, and Brunson is the tough one but you need to reward people for playing the World Championships on off years.

Bam and Haliburton are getting the FIBA nod and probably the 11th and 12th guys.

Brunson played the 2023 World Cup, in fact he was the Team Captain.

So did Mikal Bridges, Bobby Portis, Josh Hart and Austin Reaves - 4 guys who probably aren't that far away from getting a call as an injury replacement.

And of course White and Brown were on the 2019 team, and only weren't on the 2023 team because they had played through the NBA Finals and declined late.

Something I just learned: In 2021, Trae Young wanted to play on the Olympics squad, but Grant Hill promoted Keldon Johnson from the Select Team instead (the B-team scimmage squad that helps the A-team get ready). Likewise, Mikal Bridges made the 2023 World Cup team (and Joe Harris the Tokyo squad here!) after playing on the 2019 Select Team. I wonder if that will be a thing for Paris, using Select Team participation as a possible backdoor onto a roster that your talent might not otherwise merit your inclusion on. The 2023 World Cup Select Team included Cade Cunningham, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams (J-Dub) and Naz Reid (plus Payton Pritchard, of course). But I could see any of those 4 getting the call, they wouldn't be out of place on the back end of the Olympic roster.