NBA Stars Continue To Evade Team USA Commitment

Team USA has always provided top talent to compete at basketball's world stage, that however might change in 2019. Reports have already confirmed that several NBA stars have withdrawn their commitment to play for the national squad.

Recently, NBA senior writer Joe Vardon posted that Kevin Love has retired from the current Team USA pool. He detailed that the Cleveland star opted out by calling Greg Popovich on the phone.

Other notable names that have decided to skip the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China include James Harden, Anthony Davis and DeMar DeRozan. Previous Team USA stalwarts LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin, Paul George and Kyrie Irving have all bowed down for various reasons.

Touted reserve Eric Gordon and dynamic shooting guards CJ McCollum and Bradley Beal also have withdrawn from the team. Rookie Zion Williamson ans the Philadelphia 76ers' Tobias Harris also have shown no interest to suit up.

Team USA will defend its title amongst the world's best basketball players and may be vulnerable to an upset. The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will begin in China on August 31 up until September 15.

The initial training pool of 20 players is now down to 13, and the organization has already contacted other players to fill in. Among those called in to attend the USA Basketball training camp in Las Vegas are Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, D'Angelo Russell, Aaron Gordon and Julius Randle.

For the first time in his career, Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs will be the head coach of the national squad. The USA is aiming at becoming the first country to win three straight World Cup titles.

Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Lloyd Pierce of Atlanta and Jay Wright from Villanova University will be filling in the coaching staff.

The Americans will be taking on the Czech Republic on September 1, followed by Turkey and Japan on September 3, and 5. The top two teams from each bracket (eight in total) will move on to the second phase of the competition with a round-robin format.

So far, players that have committed to play for the national team are Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton, Harrison Barney, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, Myles Turner, Brook Lopez and Kyle Kuzma. Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Paul Millsap and P.J. Tucker have also had interest in playing for the squad.