DeMar DeRozan could be set for his first taste of Olympic action this summer.
The Toronto Raptors’ shooting guard was listed among the 30 finalists for USA Basketball’s roster for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The full list of finalists can be found here, but here’s a rough look at the positional breakdown:
PG: Mike Conley, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, John Wall, Russell Westrbook
Wings: Carmelo Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal, Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan,Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Paul George, James Harden, Gordon Hayward, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson
Bigs: LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried, Draymond Green, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Love
DeRozan will be competing with a ton of wings for just a few spots on the Mike Mrzyzewski-led squad. At the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the U.S. opted to go with only four players I’d consider wings, instead opting to go a little big-heavy with the 12-man roster (five). At the 2012 Olympics, they went with six wings on the 12-man squad, though a few of those were bigger players capable of manning the four in international ball.
Working in DeRozan’s favor for a spot on the team is that he’s long been a member of the USA Basketball program, something they’ve valued highly in the past. He was on the 2014 FIBA World Cup team that won a gold medal and punched the team’s ticket for the Olympics, averaging 4.8 points in 12 minutes over nine games. Prior to that, he was a part of the USA Select training camp in 2012. He also participated in training camp in Las Vegas last offseason.
With the Olympics set for Aug. 6-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, DeRozan’s status as an impending free agent shouldn’t serve to confuse his availability. The new league year begins on July 1, with the annual moratorium in place until July 12, and DeRozan’s contract situation should be cleared up within the earliest days of the offseason. Perhaps he’ll opt for rest, but given he’s just 26 and has committed to participating so often in the past, I’d be surprised if he declines an invitation, should one come.
The 12 members of the Olympic team will be announced “later this year,” according to USA Basketball’s release. Which, yeah, of course it will be.
As far as other Raptors go for the Olympics, expect to see a few active. Jonas Valanciunas will almost surely be suiting up for Lithuania, Luis Scola seems a safe bet to lead the Argentina squad, and Lucas Nogueira told Raptors Republic recently that he’s hoping to play for Brazil. Cory Joseph and Anthony Bennett could also see action fro Canada as they try to punch a ticket through the very difficult 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early July.
