Aldridge & Lillard selected to compete for Team USA roster

[BoBoBREWSKI]

from Casey Holdahl

It's official: both @aldridge_12 and @Dame_Lillard have been selected to compete for a spot on Team USA.

His blog:
http://forwardcenter.net/

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

I'm really hoping Aldridge can follow through this time. I'd love to see some Blazers on the team. Something always seems to go wrong when he has the chance to play for team USA.

 

[THE HCP]

Official Press Release.......

LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE AND DAMIAN LILLARD NAMED TO 2014-16 USA MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
Aldridge and Lillard are two of 28 players in the USA Men’s National Team Pool

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 23, 2014) – Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Damian Lillard were selected for the 2014-16 USA Men’s National Team Pool, from which the 2014 USA World Championship Team and, if the U.S. qualifies, the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team will be picked, it was announced today by USA Basketball.

“I’m truly honored to be selected to the U.S. Men’s National Team,” said Aldridge. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of making the team and grateful for the opportunity to represent my country.”

Aldridge, 28, is posting career highs of 24.2 points (47.6 FG%), 11.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists this season for the Trail Blazers. The two-time NBA All-Star became the third player in the league this season and second-fastest in franchise history to score 1,000 points, and his three games of 25 points and 20 rebounds are as many as the rest of the NBA combined.

“I'm honored to be selected for the 2014-16 USA National Team,” said Lillard. “It's been a dream of mine to have an opportunity to represent my country. I'm joining a talented group of players and l look forward to starting the program this summer.”

Last season’s unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year, Lillard, 23, is averaging 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists to go with a 43.0% (131-for-305) mark from 3-point range. He ranks second in the NBA in 3-pointers made, seventh in 3-point percentage and 13th in scoring. Upon registering his 200th assist earlier this month, Lillard became the third NBA player to register 700 points, 200 assists and 100 rebounds this season.

Lillard participated this past July in the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s National team mini-camp in Las Vegas.

A smaller group of U.S. National Team members will be selected to participate in the 2014 USA National Team’s opening training camp in July. Exact training dates and locations for the USA National Team training in 2014 will be announced at a later date.

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 14 in Spain.

 

[tlongII]

I think they both have a good chance of making the team. I don't think there is as much politics in who makes the team versus the All Star game selections.

 

[BlazerBeliever]

This is so awesome for those guys. It will make it much more interesting for us fans to watch for sure.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

http://www.nba.com/blazers/news/lam...d-named-2014-16-usa-mens-national-team-roster

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

28 players selected to compete for a roster spot:

Veterans
Carmelo Anthony
Tyson Chandler
Stephen Curry
Anthony Davis
Kevin Durant
James Harden
Dwight Howard
Andre Iguodala
LeBron James
Kevin Love
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams

Newcomers
LaMarcus Aldridge
Bradley Beal
DeMarcus Cousins
Andre Drummond
Kenneth Faried
Blake Griffin
Paul George
Gordon Hayward
Kyrie Irving
Kyle Korver
David Lee
Kawhi Leonard
Damian Lillard
Klay Thompson

 

[cmeese47]

The nomination loses some of its luster when your lumped in with the likes of Beal, and Korver but stil nice recognition.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

28 players selected to compete for a roster spot:

Veterans
Carmelo Anthony
Tyson Chandler
Stephen Curry
Anthony Davis
Kevin Durant
James Harden
Dwight Howard
Andre Iguodala
LeBron James
Kevin Love
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams

Newcomers
LaMarcus Aldridge
Bradley Beal
DeMarcus Cousins
Andre Drummond
Kenneth Faried
Blake Griffin
Paul George
Gordon Hayward
Kyrie Irving
Kyle Korver
David Lee
Kawhi Leonard
Damian Lillard
Klay Thompson

How many make the team? Is it 15? Going to be tough for both to make it (not that they aren't good enough).

The reason I say that is most players from previous years never turn down the chance to go again.

What really needs to happen is one of two things.

1. USA Olympic needs to start cutting some of the older players to give the new group a chance.
or
2. There need to be term limits on Olympic appearances. Can only go twice as an example.

 

[EGame]

That is so funny to me seeing Anthony Davis lumped as a vet and Aldridge as a newcomer. I understand why, though, just looks funny.

 

[TheBlueDoggy]

Didn't Aldridge make the team last time, but had to bow out due to surgery? My memory is a bit foggy on that.

 

[DUB]

Didn't Aldridge make the team last time, but had to bow out due to surgery? My memory is a bit foggy on that.

Yep.

LaMarcus Aldridge Out Of Olympics

LaMarcus Aldridge is a no-go for the Olympics as he recovers from right hip surgery

 

[Boise Blazer]

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/1281/breaking-down-team-usas-roster-for-spain

Acknowledging yet again that injuries can and will almost certainly affect most (or all) of USAB’s decisions, I see Damian Lillard as a virtual certainty to make the 12-man roster. You could legitimately make the case that he should have been right there with Curry and Irving in the previous category, such is the progress Lillard has made in just a season and a half in the NBA, along with the fact that so many top point guards are ailing these days.

If Lillard indeed proves as lock-y as he looks, that likely throws Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Kyle Korver into the tiniest of three-man steel cages to fight it out for the final roster berth. That would force USAB officials to make the very unappealing choice between Iguodala’s experience and four-position versatility in the international game and the need for either Thompson or the fast-rising Korver (who is said to be increasing popular within USAB’s chambers) as an extra perimeter threat off the bench.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/1281/breaking-down-team-usas-roster-for-spain

Interesting... Hope this guy is right!

A Trio Of Locks

Colangelo tried in vain to tell reporters on the call that USAB officials never “talk about locks,” but Kevin Durant and Kevin Love formally pledged to be on the World Cup squad last July. And Colangelo went on to reveal that he’s secured a similar commitment in recent months from LaMarcus Aldridge, giving us three knowns with the World Cup still some seven months out.

The Race For The Last Two Spots

There are seven names on the 28-man roster that you can safely rule out for World Cup participation thanks either to their veteran status or health concerns.

LeBron, Melo and Chris Paul all consented to be included in the player pool that was announced this week with the understanding that they’re only candidates for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Deron Williams and Tyson Chandler likewise hope to be considered for the 2016 squad even though they’re expected to take this summer off to rest their bodies. And star guards Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook are bound to be left home by USAB for their own good – even if they’re healthy and willing to go to Spain – after the knee traumas both have endured this season.

However ...

Even if Westbrook – one of Coach K’s faves – really does stay away in the wake of his three surgeries since last May, that still leaves 11 players vying for what appears to be the last two tickets available on the Team USA charter to Espana.

Acknowledging yet again that injuries can and will almost certainly affect most (or all) of USAB’s decisions, I see Damian Lillard as a virtual certainty to make the 12-man roster. You could legitimately make the case that he should have been right there with Curry and Irving in the previous category, such is the progress Lillard has made in just a season and a half in the NBA, along with the fact that so many top point guards are ailing these days.

If Lillard indeed proves as lock-y as he looks, that likely throws Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Kyle Korver into the tiniest of three-man steel cages to fight it out for the final roster berth. That would force USAB officials to make the very unappealing choice between Iguodala’s experience and four-position versatility in the international game and the need for either Thompson or the fast-rising Korver (who is said to be increasing popular within USAB’s chambers) as an extra perimeter threat off the bench.

And that would still leave a talented group of seven outsiders to try to defy these projections. Those seven (in alphabetical order): Bradley Beal, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Gordon Hayward, David Lee and Kawhi Leonard.

So based on all of the above, this is how ESPN.com’s depth chart looks for the Yanks exactly 219 days before the tournament starts in Spain (with the names again listed in alphabetical order):

Guards: Curry, Harden, Irving.

Forwards: Aldridge, Durant, George, Griffin, Love.

Centers: Davis, Howard.

Last Two Spots: Lillard and one of the following three: Iguodala, Korver and Thompson.

 

[Boise Blazer]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ounced-28-player-team-usa-214335830--nba.html

7. A shot at Spain: The 28-man pool will be winnowed down to 12 for the World Cup, and based on the guys we know are unlikely to play this summer, those who have already given a verbal commitment to do so, those who have made rumblings about wanting in and some general guesswork, here's one idea of what Team USA might look like:

Guards: Curry, Lillard, Irving, Westbrook/Rose (depending on health)
Wings: Durant, George, Harden
Bigs: Love, Howard, Griffin, Aldridge, Davis

 

[Boise Blazer]

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2014/01/23/sheridan-who-will-play-for-team-usa-in-spain/

POINT GUARDS:

As mentioned above, Krzyzewski loves players who can man both guard positions, so we should go ahead and consider Westbrook a lock. Coach K loved him so much in Turkey, he promoted him ahead of Derrick Rose, who had one terrible game after another until finally finding his form in the gold medal game against the host country. Also, go back to the summer of 2012, and you know who the best player in camp was to neutral observer Jan Hubbard, who covered that camp for this site? It was Kyrie Irving. So I’m going to disregard Colangelo’s warning and go ahead and call him “a lock.” That leaves a lot of good players on the outside looking in, and there could be quite the competition in camp if Deron Williams decides he wants to be a part of the program again. But let’s face it, he is not as good of a player as Westbrook or Irving or Damian Lillard, so he could be setting himself up for a fall. We can cross Rose off the list because of his knee injury, and Chris Paul — like LeBron and Carmelo — wants to go to Rio but not Spain. If Lillard can show himself capable of playing the two-guard spot, it’ll be very hard to keep him off the team.

Educated guess: RUSSELL WESTBROOK, DAMIAN LILLARD, KYRIE IRVING.