USA Basketball will get together in Las Vegas this weekend as they check to see if any of the country's younger players might be ready for the main roster at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and, eventually, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They'll do so with a couple of new faces to choose from, too, as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marcus Smart and George Hill were officially added on Tuesday to make up for the loss of Kawhi Leonard.
USA Basketball minicamp roster: Kawhi Leonard out; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marcus Smart and George Hill added
The USA Basketball powers that be will convene in Las Vegas this weekend for a minicamp as they look for young players to potentially add to the main roster.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Leonard was initially announced as a participant for this weekend's minicamp, but he's been replaced to recover from the San Antonio Spurs long season, according to a press release issued by USA Basketball. There's still a chance he's added back to the roster in the future, but he won't be included in the intrasquad scrimmage on Jan. 25 in Vegas.
The most similar replacement for Leonard is Kidd-Gilchrist, who started 77 of the 78 games he played for the Charlotte Bobcats this past season. Hill was an integral member of the Indiana Pacers whereas Marcus Smart has yet to enter professional basketball. The Oklahoma State standout just recently helped USA's U19 team to a title at the World Championships in the Czech Republic and was considered a likely top-five choice in this year's NBA Draft.
The following players were previously announced for this weekend’s minicamp:
Ryan Anderson (New Orleans Pelicans); Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies/Ohio State); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); Derrick Favors (Utah Jazz); Paul George (Indiana Pacers); Taj Gibson (Chicago Bulls); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz); Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers); Ty Lawson (Denver Nuggets); Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers); Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons); Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets); Larry Sanders (Milwaukee Bucks); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors); Dion Waiters (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats); John Wall (Washington Wizards); and Tyler Zeller (Cleveland Cavaliers).
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