Kawhi Leonard to skip USA Basketball mini-camp; George Hill, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added to the roster

By Brett PollakoffJul 16, 2013, 12:32 PM EDT
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USA Basketball will hold a four-day mini-camp in Las Vegas following the conclusion of Summer League beginning on July 22, and while the roster was originally set to include Kawhi Leonard, that will no longer be the case.

Leonard will miss the mini-camp “while rehabbing from a long season,” USA Basketball announced on Tuesday via official release. He started all 21 playoff games for the Spurs and played 36.9 minutes per contest in the postseason, so considering that the Finals wrapped up less than a month ago, sitting this event out to get some rest makes perfect sense.

The organization also announced that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and George Hill would be added to the roster, along with Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State University.

Hill was an important part of the Pacers’ playoff run this past season, while MKG and Smart come in with prior USA Basketball experience. Kidd-Gilchrist was a member of the 2011 USA Junior Select Team that won the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit, and was a part of the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team that finished 8-0 and captured the gold medal.

The mini-camp roster now stands at 29 players, and is reprinted below in its entirety.

2013 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Mini-Camp Roster

NAME                                    POS       HGT       WGT      DOB       NBA TEAM / COLLEGE

Ryan Anderson                        F            6-10        240      05/06/88    New Orleans Pelicans / California

Harrison Barnes                       F            6-8          210      05/30/92    Golden State Warriors / North Carolina

Bradley Beal                             G           6-5          207      06/28/93    Washington Wizards / Florida

Mike Conley                            G            6-1          185      10/11/87    Memphis Grizzlies / Ohio State

DeMarcus Cousins                    C          6-11        270      08/13/90    Sacramento Kings / Kentucky

Anthony Davis                        F/C          6-10        220      03/11/93    New Orleans Pelicans / Kentucky

DeMar DeRozan                      G            6-7          216      08/07/89    Toronto Raptors / USC

Andre Drummond                    C            6-10        270      09/10/93    Detroit Pistons / Connecticut

Kenneth Faried                        F             6-8          228      11/19/89    Denver Nuggets / Morehead State

Derrick Favors                       F/C          6-10        248      07/15/91    Utah Jazz / Georgia Tech

Paul George                            F/G         6-8          221      05/02/90    Indiana Pacers / Fresno State

Taj Gibson                               F            6-9          225      06/24/85    Chicago Bulls / USC

Gordon Hayward                      F           6-8          210      03/23/90    Utah Jazz / Butler

George Hill                               G           6-2          190      05/04/86    Indiana Pacers / IUPUI

Jrue Holiday                             G           6-4          205      06/12/90    New Orleans Pelicans / UCLA

Kyrie Irving                             G           6-3          191      03/23/92    Cleveland Cavaliers / Duke

DeAndre Jordan                       C           6-11        265      07/21/88    Los Angeles Clippers / Texas A&M

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist             F           6-7          232      09/26/93    Charlotte Bobcats / Kentucky

Ty Lawson                               G           5-11        195      11/03/87    Denver Nuggets / North Carolina

Damian Lillard                         G           6-3          195      07/15/90    Portland Trail Blazers / Weber State

Greg Monroe                            C          6-11        250      06/04/90    Detroit Pistons / Georgetown

Chandler Parsons                     F           6-9          227      10/25/88    Houston Rockets / Florida

Larry Sanders                           C           6-11        235      11/21/88    Milwaukee Bucks / VCU

Marcus Smart                           G           6-4          200      03/06/94    Oklahoma State University (2016)

Klay Thompson                       G           6-7          205      02/08/90    Golden State Warriors / Washington State

Dion Waiters                           G            6-4          215      12/10/91    Cleveland Cavaliers / Syracuse

Kemba Walker                          G          6-1          184      05/08/90    Charlotte Bobcats / Connecticut

John Wall                                G            6-4          195      09/06/90    Washington Wizards / Kentucky

Tyler Zeller                             F/C          7-0          250      01/17/90    Cleveland Cavaliers / North Carolina

 

Managing Director:  Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball

Head Coach:  Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University

Assistant Coach:  Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University

Assistant Coach:  Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls

Assistant Coach:  Monty Williams, New Orleans Pelicans

Athletic Trainer:  Gregg Farnam, Minnesota Timberwolves

Athletic Trainer:  Joe Sharpe, Oklahoma City Thunder

Athletic Trainer:  Jon Ishop, New Orleans Pelicans

Report: Warriors’ Patrick McCaw cleared, will be available for Game 6

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By Kurt HelinMay 26, 2018, 4:31 PM EDT
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We haven’t seen Golden State’s Patrick McCaw on an NBA court since March 31, when he was undercut by Sacramento’s Vince Carter and took an ugly, nasty spill.

McCaw is finally cleared by the team doctors and will be active on Saturday night for Game 6 against Houston, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.

The Golden State Warriors are planning to activate swingman Patrick McCaw for Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

McCaw, on paper, would help the Warriors — he’s a 6’5″ switchable defender who can provide some offense in transition. That’s especially true if Andre Iguodala is out for Game 6 (his status is a game-time decision). McCaw played about 17 minutes a night for the Warriors during the regular season.

However, the idea of taking a second-year player who has not been on a court in six weeks and throwing him into Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals — a win-or-go-fishing game for Golden State — is risky, at best. Don’t expect him to get on the court unless this is a blowout.

Kevin Love in concussion protocol, listed as out for Game 7

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By Kurt HelinMay 26, 2018, 2:21 PM EDT
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As if winning a Game 7 on the road against a younger, more athletic team that has not lost on its home court all playoffs was not difficult enough, things just got harder for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kevin Love has a concussion and is not expected to play in Game 7 on Sunday.

While it is technically possible for Love to clear out of the concussion protocol in 24 hours, it is highly unlikely. He would have to pass a rigorous physical test and have no concussion-related symptoms, something cleared by both the team doctor and a league-approved neurologist. This is something that tends to take days if not weeks to get over.

Love was injured just five minutes into Game 6. Love had set up position in the midpost and was setting a screen for George Hill, who was curling out to the arc. Jayson Tatum was trailing Hill and he banged heads with Love. It wasn’t pretty.

Love spent a few minutes on the ground, went straight to the locker room, and did not return to the game.

LeBron James is going to have to carry even more load in Game 7, and now more pressure falls on George Hill (the bellwether for this Cavs team), J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and others to step up without Love there to space the floor and get buckets.

Report: Raptors interview Spurs’ assistants Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka for coaching job

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By Kurt HelinMay 26, 2018, 2:00 PM EDT
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It’s not officially a coaching search until some Spurs’ assistants are interviewed.

So it looks like the Toronto Raptors’ search is underway.

Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri fired Dwane Casey right after Casey’s peers voted him Coach of the Year for leading the Raptors to 59 wins and the No. 1 seed in the East. That said, after several frustrating years of running into the brick wall that is LeBron James in the East, maybe the Raptors did need a new voice and some changes to try to take the next step (especially with Boston and Philadelphia coming on fast in the East hierarchy).

But if you’re going to fire a 59-win Coach of the Year kind of guy, you better have an impressive replacement in hand or at least a clear plan.

Ujiri reportedly wanted Mike Budenholzer, but the former Hawks’ head coach took the job in Milwaukee after meeting with Toronto.

The leading candidate for the job is still considered to be Nick Nurse, the Raptors’ assistant who was in charge of their changed and improved offense last season. The Raptors also interviewed two other internal candidates, assistant coach Rex Kalamian and G-League coach Jerry Stackhouse.

Casey, by the way, is the target of the Detroit Pistons.

Despite injury scare, LeBron James will be ready to go in Game 7

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By Kurt HelinMay 26, 2018, 12:00 PM EDT
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It was the kind of injury that has felled many players — think of Rudy Gobert this season. Twice. A player falls into the side of another player’s leg, putting a strain on the ligaments.

That’s what happened in the fourth quarter of Game 6 in Cleveland Friday night, Larry Nance Jr. falls back and LeBron James‘ knee bent in a way it should not.

“After the game, I didn’t know who got me,” LeBron said. “But after the game, Larry asked me if I was I OK, so I’m guessing he was the culprit of it. I just felt someone fall into my leg and my leg kind of went in. I felt some pain throughout my entire right side of my ankle into my leg. I was just hoping for the best, obviously, because I’ve seen so many different injuries, and watching basketball with that type of injury, someone fall into one’s leg standing straight up. Luckily, I was able to finish the game.”

James scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting with a couple of dagger threes to secure the win after that scare, but he didn’t seem to have the same lift after that and was seen favoring his leg walking out of the building.

Of course, LeBron will be good to go for Game 7 in Boston Sunday. If Friday night was any indication, he’s not going to be slowed by it at all.

“As soon as I leave here, I’ll start to prepare (for Game 7),” LeBron said from the podium postgame. “I’m going to get in the car and head back to Akron. As soon as I get home, I’ll start my treatment. I’ll do the same all day tomorrow from before we leave to go to Boston, and then once we get into Boston I’ll do that as well. Try to get as much sleep as I can with tonight and with tomorrow and even on Sunday before the game. That’s the best recovery that you can possibly get, is when you’re sleeping. It’ll be around-the-clock treatment, and we’ll see what happens.”

What’s going to happen is a dramatic Game 7 in the Garden, and we know that for Cleveland to have any chance LeBron has to be superhuman. Again.