USA Basketball will be trimming its roster down to twelve players this month, and big man Andre Drummond might be left on the proverbial cutting room floor. Drummond, as you might imagine, has no intention to make the decision an easy one for Coach K and company. Per the Detroit Free Press and the Pistons’ team website:
Despite a knee injury to DaMarcus Cousins and the defection of Kevin Durant because of physical and mental fatigue, the Pistons’ center never got off the bench Saturday night in a 95-78 Team USA victory over Brazil at the United Center in Chicago. […] While Derrick Rose made a triumphant return, playing in front of his home fans for the first time since November 2013, Drummond sat, not even garnering mop-up minutes.
Apparently Mason Plumlee, a former Duke center under Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, is a better fit for the team than Drummond at this point. Plumlee played 15 minutes and hit all three of his shots from the field. […] ESPN reporter Marc Stein said Drummond is the 15th man on the roster. The final 12 will be selected before the team leaves for Spain for the Basketball World Cup, which starts Aug. 30.
Drummond, for his part, is blocking all of that out and focusing on doing what he does best and making it difficult, if not impossible, for his name to appear on the cut list. […] “I just control what I can do when I get on the floor and I’m going to contribute to the team,” he said. “Be an energy guy, run the floor, grab rebounds and finish strong around the rim when I do get the ball. … I don’t plan on going home,” he said of his ultimate fate with roster decisions looming. “I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job here these past couple of weeks really proving I could be a part of this team. We have a lot of great players out here. I’m not going to back down. I know what’s at stake. I want to win a gold medal.”
