Advertisement

Adding player still option for Team USA after Kevin Durant's withdrawal

Jul 30, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Team USA guard Kevin Durant (right) dribbles the ball against guard James Harden (left) during a team practice session at Mendenhall Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo said Team USA could still add players to the roster after Kevin Durant withdrew from the World Cup team on Wednesday.

Durant told Colangelo and USA coach Mike Krzyzewski that he was withdrawing because of mental and physical fatigue from his lengthy NBA season and offseason commitments. USA Basketball currently has a roster of 15 players it is considering for 12 spots for the World Cup in Spain. While Colangelo said he isn’t adding any players at the moment, that could change depending on what Krzyzewski wants.

"I’ve had a couple of calls," Colangelo told Yahoo Sports. "I know a couple agents are offering a good couple of their clients who could fit the bill. I’m going to be on the phones tonight. I was just talking with coach. I’m going to see what our deal is going to be.

"Probably it won’t be anything other than we go forward. But don’t rule out the possibility. …I really need to touch with Coach K so we can have a little discussion. We talked earlier, but because of these calls I wanted to discuss some things with him. As of now, I say no add-ons with a possibility."

Colangelo was initially caught off guard by Durant’s decision, but later recalled how the NBA’s reigning MVP didn’t seem himself during USA Basketball’s training camp in Las Vegas last week. Colangelo said Durant "made it very clear" his departure had nothing to do with Paul George breaking his leg during USA’s intrasquad scrimmage last Friday. USA also recently had two other major withdrawals in Kevin Love and Blake Griffin, whom Colangelo isn’t expecting to be a late addition.

"Kevin [Durant] wasn’t quite Kevin last week," Colangelo said. "There was a lot of stuff, speculation. I don’t know what it was. A lot of things with him. So when I got the call, I want to say it wasn’t a total surprise about him not feeling capable of going forward physically and mentally.

“He needed to get away. You got to deal with it. That’s all. It is what it is.”

Colangelo said he talked to the majority of his 15 remaining players in recent days, and he doesn’t expect any other withdrawals.

"They are all going to be in Chicago. Maybe the best thing for me is don’t answer the phone or look at the phone,” Colangelo said. "I am confident with who we have on our roster. I think we are capable of winning the World Cup. That’s our goal. That’s our objective."

More NBA coverage: