Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  83 responses

Team USA Cuts: OJ Mayo, Gerald Wallace, Tyreke Evans?

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

At a press conference this afternoon, the public will find out which four players will not be accompanying Team USA to camp in preparation for the World Championship in Turkey.

FanHouse has what it believes to be a sneak peak at three of the four names who were cut from the squad:

It’s not looking good for Tyreke Evans, O.J. Mayo and Gerald Wallace. Sources close to the situation told FanHouse on Tuesday they’re expected to be among the cuts when Team USA on Wednesday reveals the 15 out of 19 remaining players who will be invited to New York for the Aug. 10-16 training camp in preparation for next month’s World Championship in Turkey. As to who might be the fourth cut, sources said that was still being debated.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo would not confirm or deny any names as to who might be cut. He said the 15 players for New York would be announced during a 3 p.m. EDT conference call Wednesday.

“I still have to reach three of four people,” Colangelo said Tuesday, emphasizing that there has been no change in USA Basketball wanting to bring 15 players to New York, with the roster needing to be trimmed to 12 by Aug. 26 in preparation for the Aug. 28-Sept. 12 World Championship.

The linked article speculates that the Wizards’ big fella, JaVale McGee, is on the bubble.

Among those considered to be locks to make the team include Danny Granger, Eric Gordon, and Stephen Curry.

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  • Arek

    Evans got injured that’s why he’s being cut

  • http://www.shawnkemp.com brotherwithwisdom

    cosign JACO and catface but granger is like a very very poor man’s lebron.

  • chingy

    Co-sign T-Money…OJ needs to play the 1. His ceiling for playing the 2 is not very high due to his lack of athleticism. But I do like the pace he plays with. And KD is one of my fav players and no he’s not yet in the Kobe/Bron/Wade discussion yet. KD needs to be more well-rounded before we start those talks.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Jukai
    Once again, your reading comprehension has failed you.
    I wrote: “If he can transition to the one, I see him and have seen him as a better version of Chauncey Billups.”
    The first word in the sentence is “if.” As in, potentially.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I can see folks making the argument that KD is as good a scorer as Melo, and honestly, it’s not THAT stupid. I think Melo might be a smidge better, but I think KD will probably be better eventually.
    As for KD joining the Kobe/Lebron/Wade discussion, well he needs to improve his handle, defense, passing and rebounding before that’s even a possibility.

  • http://nationofmillions.ca ciolkstar

    I’ve been saying it since before last season: Eric Gordon will have a better career than OJ Mayo, no doubt in my mind. He’s a much stronger and more explosive player off the bounce, gets to the line a lot more. While OJ’s pull-up game is deadlier, EG is a far superior catch and shoot type (which is the kind of 3 pt shooting this US team needs desperately)

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    My pick for the starting 5:

    1.Rondo

    2.Iguodala

    3.Durant

    4.Chandler

    5.Lopez

  • http://nationofmillions.ca ciolkstar

    Right now Melo is more effective than KD on the block, but KD has better range and a more consistent J overall. I guess I’ll give Melo the slight edge for now, mostly because of his physical strength, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if KD locks up the title of “best pure scorer in the L” by the ASG next year. Right now they are very close though.

  • T-Money

    Everybody knows that KD can get his, he’s at this stage right where we need to see if he can make the game easier for his teammates (which doesn’t necessarily mean racking up huge assists numbers). That’s essentially the difference between Kob/Bron/Wade and Melo. The difference in talent is minimal but the first three can make the game easier for everybody else whereas Melo more or less operates in a vacuum.

  • http://nationofmillions.ca ciolkstar

    Big Rondo fan. But he does not appear to be a great fit on this US team. With so many slashing scoring types, I’d much rather have Steph or Billups available to catch and shoot.

    Also no way we play both Lopez and Chandler together.

    I doubt it’ll be our starting lineup but I expect our best group to be something like:
    PG: Steph Curry SG: Iggy SF: Granger/Rudy PF: Durant C: Chandler/Brook

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    Allenp:
    I took your word and assumed I misunderstood you, but then you said the same thing.
    If Mayo could SOMEHOW play the one, he wouuldn’t be as good as Billups. Defense, leadership, it’s not there.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    I think this give a good balance of scoring and defensive presence inside, Chandler and Lopez in the frontcourt should own the boards. Let Rondo run the show, he will be throwing lobs for Iggy and setting up pick and rolls/pops for Durant. Curry could be the guy who could come in and give you a spark off the bench with his shooting ability. Gordon, Odom, Gay, Mcghee, and Billups could be the second 5. I think thats their best shot at taking gold, no doubt they have the team to do it, though they are young. Should be an exciting young team mixed with a couple wily vets. Can’t wait to see how it plays out, even if I have to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to watch some of the games.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    Also you put Rose in the game and tell him to go to the hole as much as possible, he can make some amazing plays at the rim. @ciolkstar yeah Coach K probably won’t put chandler and Lopez in the frontcoart together, but I thought it would be a good idea, the lineup I picked would be a really good defensive team and they would mown the boards and block a lot of shots in the international game. I agree with what you said about Gordon also, I’ve always though Mayo was overrated. And I can see where you are coming from in your argument for who should start. The team does need a PG who consistently knocks down jumpers, Curry or Billups could be that guy. Your lineup poses a lot of matchup problems for the international teams, most of their Sf’s aren’t 6’8″, 6’9″. I still say Mghee needs to see the court the way hes playing right now. When do the games start? Anybody know?

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ The Promise

    **own the boards** please excuse the typo there.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    LETS KEEP IT REAL, OJ Mayo should be over Billups and Evans should be over Rondo and Wallace should be over Jeff Green and McGee should be over Tyson Chandler. Team USA officals messed up. Billups is on his last leg with those bad three point attempts, Rondo was exposed in Finals-can’t shoot, Jeff Green doesn’t rebound or defend like Wallace and Tyson is injury prone, so he could be out with an injury soon. McGee can dunk on you and play solide defense inside. BOOK IT!!!

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    If Mayo transitioned to the one, I think he could be better than Billups. By transitioned, I mean truly understood how to play the one and did it correctly. Not just play the one sometimes.
    Chauncey’s defense is overrated, honestly. As is his ability to get to the rack, and his shooting percentage isn’t the greatest either. Dude is a leader, to a degree. I mean, that Detroit team was full of talent and they kept falling short because of a lack of leadership. And, while the Denver team improved under Billups, they completely collapsed against the Lakers two years ago because of a lack of poise, and Billups was a serious culprit. Then, they do the exact same thing this year in the first round.
    So, those are my thoughts.

  • http://slamonline.com mike

    @Allenp: It doesn’t really matter what Mayo could potentially be because this team is playing in the present time.

  • http://nationofmillions.ca ciolkstar

    I’m with AllenP here on Chauncey. IMO his numbers have held up better than his game has. He got to the line A LOT last year, mostly on ticky-tack calls he won’t get in FIBA ball. He really helped the 08 Denver team realize their talents but his I feel like he’s now perceived as a caricature of the “wily vet PG” who makes all the right decisions and Ds up. But… he takes a lot of tough shots, doesn’t create in the lane much anymore and would be very inefficient without the huge FT attempt and % numbers. He’s tough on D but no longer has the ability to really stay in front of guys the way Westy/Rondo/Rose can.
    I really think tis team is better off with Rose/Steph and to a lesser degree Westbrook/Rondo/Gordon… And the only guys in that 5 who can really shoot the ball are Gordon and Curry.

  • http://www.shawnkemp.com brotherwithwisdom

    @ThePromise i like that lineup alot.

  • Charles Kirk

    As a Grizz fan I’m just extremely disappointed for OJ. I was just sure he was gonna make it to New York after the scrimmage. He played so good.

  • Overtime

    I dunno what the Seed has been watching.
    McGee is on the rise, now hes healthy, he put in a lot of effort in the summer league and impressed, really wouldnt be surprised if he makes a name for himself by being an energy guy cleaning up Wall’s misses etc

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Mike
    I think in the present time Mayo is better than Gordon. I said that.
    Jukai had a problem with my comment about Billups and Mayo potentially surpassing him.
    Keep up if you’re going to jump in.

  • http://slamonline.com mike

    @Allenp: I think I’ll choose not to keep up in the future as I see your comments aren’t worth my time. You commented on Mayo’s weaknesses then proceeded to state that you like his game better than Gordon’s. It might be worthwhile to actually mention why you don’t like Gordon’s game as much after only detailing Mayo’s flaws.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    ACtually, my comment at 12:07 explained why I liked Mayo better than Gordon. His ability to play with pace and poise, which I think is important in the international game. As I said, Gordon is more explosive, and maybe slightly better than Mayo as shooter, but I prefer O.J.’s demeanor, defense and overall game.
    But, by all means, ignore my comments and never respond to them. I’m quite all right with that.

  • http://slamonline.com mike

    @AllenP: I can see why you’d appreciate his poise considering in the two games Mayo played the 1 consistently in the Vegas summer league he averaged 7.5 turnovers per game. Nice insight though.

  • JTaylor21

    Who the hell would put KD at PF and on the block. Dude is 180 pounds with tims on. Don’t think that because coach K played bron at pf a lot in the olympics that he would even entertain the idea of letting KD play PF. That was the reason the redeem team was so good on offense and defense. Because bron was too quick for the forwards guarding him and he could guard both the post and perimeter on D. There’s no one on this current team that posses both qualities.

  • JTaylor21

    The redeem team also had wade and bosh beasting coming of the bench. the both were the first and third best players on that team in terms of performance. This team doesn’t have anyone remotely close to both guys of the bench. Maybe DRose can try to play the role of DWade and there’s really no one that can fill bosh’s role due to their lack of big men.

  • http://sdfkjlf.com Jukai

    Good job, Mike.
    I don’t like the phrase “if Mayo can learn to play the one”
    What does that mean? Drop his turnovers? Control tempo better? Create, rack up more assists? What in the world does that mean? Yes, if OJ Mayo drops his turnovers, controls tempo better, and racks up more assists, he’d be a ‘true one’ but he needs a boatload of work.. and even THEN he’s not better than Chauncy.
    Chauncy is an overrated offensive player. True.
    Chauncy is NOT an overrated defensive player. Patently false.
    Chauncy is superior in every facet of the game except scoring. That’s the ropes. Even if OJ Mayo miraculously turns around his point guard troubles (which, in fairness, Billups did) he wont have as much control over the game as BIllups has.
    And Billups leadership is not overrated. The 2003 Pistons were a bunch of prissy premadonas who immediately imploded once Chauncy left. It’s miraculous they held together so long WITH Chauncy.

  • Grizz Fan

    @ Jukai and Mike
    Do not disrespect OJ you guys obviously don’t know what you’re talking about.

  • Ali

    Like I said previously. Looks like Jerry Colangelo/Coach K and staff are looking to take more fundamentally sound players.

    No matter how you look at it, Mayo and Gordan are similar players, stats/numbers wise, but Gordon has that PG intangible Mayo doesn’t. Bottom line! No reason to get all bent outta shape, we all know the world has just about caught up with us (USA Basketball). Can’t afford to have another LeBronze slip up in London 2012!

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    Trump fires Mayo, Crash, and Reke after 5 hour boardroom

  • total scrotal implosion

    Eric gordon can truly play either guard positions well, and a great shooter off the dribble or spot up, plus he attacks the rim. Great game for fiba, and nba too obviously. Rondos offense will be a liability, but him and westbrook will be taking cookies all tourney long. K and jc have made the right moves. Imagine rudy, kd and granger out there in 4th qtr. You cant help off any of them. I like this team

  • http://facebook.com/tronjohnson CHIEF

    Really K? The G-Force is cut?
    Had mad respect for you, but your losing a leader, blocker and rebounder. All are in short supply on your squad. Screw Durant, does he wear jordans? Does he have an impact on the game as far reaching as Wallace? Is his hustle as hard on D as it is when the balls in his hands?

    The Correct Answer is NO.
    Anyone could redeem with wade,bosh,lebron,Melo,paul,williams,kobe,dwight,amare.
    Have fun proving your coaching “pedigree” without the best out there.
    Starts to feel like you guys are trying to win a final four one of the many shotty duke teams.

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