Report: Irving, Faried Part Of Team USA’s “Core”; Cuts Could Come Thursday

The “core” group of USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup squad has finally emerged. According to ESPN, Kyrie Irving and Kenneth Faried have joined long-time sure-things Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, and James Harden as roster locks for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team. The remaining six spots of Team USA remain up for grabs in advance of final cuts that will likely come after the Americans’ exhibition against Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

The news is courtesy of ESPN’s Marc Stein. Though no official determination has been made on final roster spots or when cuts will be made, Stein points to various indicators supporting imminent decisions on each.

“Final cuts to the Team USA roster could come as soon as Thursday, according to USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.

Colangelo told ESPN.com that one scenario under consideration by USA Basketball officials is reducing the current 16-man roster to 12 or 13 players after Wednesday night’s exhibition game against the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden…

‘We’ve said we wanted to wait through the end of the week in New York before we made cutbacks,” Colangelo said Monday, “but that could still change.’

The appeal of making cuts after the game against the Al Horford-less Dominicans, Colangelo said, is setting up coach Mike Krzyzewski and the group that will ultimately represent the United States at the FIBA World Cup starting Aug. 30 in Spain for “one good practice together” before Friday night’s MSG exhibition against Puerto Rico.

…the following six players appear to have secure spots as what Colangelo and Krzyzewski have consistently referred to as the “core players” of the squad: Anthony Davis, Derrick Rose, James Harden, Kenneth Faried, Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.”

The wholly unsurprising status of that sextet leaves six spots available for the 10 remaining candidates. Though Coach K warned against reading too much into his rotation against Brazil, it’s difficult to do otherwise.

Klay Thompson and Rudy Gay were the first players off the bench on Saturday night, and it’s easy to see why. Thompson boasts this team’s best combination of size, shooting, and defense on the perimeter, while Gay offers athleticism and international experience other nominal interior players don’t. Their spots on the 12-man team bound for Spain seem all but set in stone.

Chandler Parsons’ is likely safe, too. He played just over five minutes against Brazil, but it’s likely Krzyzewski deems him a better fit as his team’s third “power forward” behind Faried and Gay than anyone else on the roster. Parsons leaves a lot to be desired defensively, but his shooting ability and underrated playmaking merit make him unique among this USAB pool of candidates.

That leaves just three positions available for the seven remaining players. At least one of them will surely go to Mason Plumlee or DeMarcus Cousins. Andre Drummond is theoretically in contention to backup Davis at center, too, though he didn’t leave the bench on Saturday night and could prove unplayable in some games due to his record-breaking struggles at the free throw line.

It shocked many when Plumlee supposedly supplanted Cousins in Team USA’s pecking order during training camp. The former’s two-way athleticism and threat as a pick-and-roll finisher is a better fit for Krzyzewski’s system than the latter’s heavy-footed, ball-dominant game, though, and Cousins’ looming injury only weakens his candidacy further. Regardless, don’t be surprised if Coach K and Colangelo deem it prudent to take both players to Spain. The Americans might need all the size they can muster against the Brothers Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and the local favorites in a potential championship match-up.

Damian Lillard, Kyle Korver, DeMar DeRozan, and Gordon Hayward are likely fighting for one of Team USA’s final spots, too. Though it’s debatable whether or not Irving is a more deserving candidate than Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers hero seems on the outside looking in given this group’s wealth of lead-guard talent and need for another perimeter player with size.

That’s where Korver, DeRozan, and Hayward come in. Each player offers differing skill packages that the United States could certainly use in a pinch: Korver knock-down shooting and smart team defense; DeRozan ballhandling, athleticsm, and individual defense; and Hayward the best amalgam of both. Deciding between this trio is splitting hairs, and could come down to how comfortable Coach K and Colangelo are with playing Gay and Parsons on the wing. DeRozan and Hayward are notoriously streaky shooters; if both were hitting from deep like they’re capable, paring down this group would be easier.

As it is, though, how each player performs against the Dominican Republic could loom large. And no matter Coach K’s protest, it certainly bears mentioning that DeRozan and Hayward didn’t play against Brazil while Korver managed three minutes of court time.

All of the above considered, here’s our final roster prediction (listed in order of confidence):

A. Davis, S. Curry, J. Harden, D. Rose, K. Faried, K. Irving, K. Thompson, R. Gay, C. Parsons, M. Plumlee, D. Cousins, G. Hayward.

The big questions that will help decide the final three roster spots:

Will Team USA feel the need to carry two backup centers?

Will Korver, DeRozan, or Hayward be the nominal twelfth man?

We think we know the answer to the former query; deciding the latter one is pure conjecture at this point. Either way, expect to learn much, much more about Team USA’s roster from Wednesday’s friendly, with cuts to come in its aftermath.

Competitive basketball is almost here – the World Cup begins on August 30. Get excited.

What do you think?

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