Derrick Rose's season-ending knee injury not only affects the Chicago Bulls' current NBA Playoff run, but it is also now forcing USA Basketball to reconsider their final list of potential 2012 Olympic roster invitees. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated just three days before the playoffs started that the list of finalists would not be expanded, but now he's saying "all bets are off" with the huge loss of Rose.
Derrick Rose’s Torn ACL Puts Team USA Roster In Flux
Along with Rose, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook were the other three roster finalists at the point guard position. While the position is still strong, Colangelo says they are pushing their own deadline back, and will wait until the last minute to announce the final 12-man roster. Via Sam Amick:
“I think now we’re going to wait until the very last moment to pick the team, because it seems ridiculous with a lot of playoff games to play that we would select a team,” he said. “We might as well keep the options open as long as we can, and continue to monitor [the situation]. Our staffs (including coach Mike Krzyzewski) are going to be meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Vegas, and we’re going to be talking about all of that. But I’m certain that that’s going to be the call.”
USA Basketball had originally planned to announce the roster on June 1, well before the deadline of June 18. Now, it appears they may even petition for an extension beyond June 18, hoping to wait until after the completion of the NBA Finals, which could run as late as June 28. The loss of Dwight Howard earlier in April did not alter Colangelo's plans, but now that Rose is unavailable, he's drastically changed the approach.
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