After a break from practicing, the United States returned to action in Chicago.  After an eventful first training camp that resulted in a number of forced roster moves, 16 players started the exhibition period still in contention.  While some players were closer to securing their spots on the roster before others, all the remaining players were expected to be given a fair chance in a competitive setting before decision were to be made.  A few lingering injury issues affected who was available for each game, but the picture got a little clearer.

The first exhibition was in Chicago against Brazil, a solid choice for a first opponent against the team that gave them the closest game four years ago.  A team with some veteran NBA names in addition to players more familiar to those who keep in touch with the basketball scene around the world, Brazil managed to put together a nearly full strength team for the tournament this summer after a less experienced team had a disastrous tournament last summer in Venezuela.  Given the vast difference in experience in the international setting, Brazil was a preview for the kind of team that has tested the Americans in recent tournaments.  They showed some of those traits in this game, using solid passing and movement to create some easy basket inside while showing shooting ability from all five positions in spots all around the floor.  As a result, the margin was close on several occasions, but the American team ended up winning 95-78.

The scene shifted to New York following the first game as things started with a practice at West Point.  The second exhibition came against the Dominican Republic.  With a weaker opponent than in the first game, the United States won easily as expected, by a 105-62 margin.  The players who were already projected to make the final roster were ruthlessly efficient in their minutes, allowing the team to give a number of minutes to the players who did not appear in the previous game.  DeMarcus Cousins was healthy, so he along with Andre Drummond, Gordon Hayward, and DeMar DeRozan were finally able to make an appearance with Damian Lillard also getting far more minutes than his first appearance. Derrick Rose, Mason Plumlee, Chandler Parsons, and Kyle Korver were the four players from the first game who were held out of the second one.

The second exhibition in New York was against another established team in the Americas, Puerto Rico.  The experience of the visitors meant that they did not back down from the challenging, hanging tough with Americans for the entire first half before falling further behind as the game progressed and ultimately losing 112-86.  The closeness of the game early helped test the final rotation players, but it also gave players still fighting for their spots a good chance to showcase what they could do in critical situations when called upon.  After this game, the team was ready to fly to Spain, so roster decisions were finally made.  As a result, Damian Lillard, Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver, and Chandler Parsons were not making the trip with the team.  The performance of Derrick Rose meant that another point guard was not needed, leaving Lillard at home.  Hayward and Parsons showed their all around skills, but there were other players who could offer those particular skills in greater abundance on the final roster.  Korver would have given the team an additional shooter among other skills, but the shooting ability shown by the players projected to be in the rotation meant that there was less of a place for a player deemed to be a specialist.

After a long trip, the team arrived in Spain on the island of Gran Canaria.  There the final roster played their last exhibition against Slovenia.  While they are also a possible future opponent in a competitive game, this was a good choice to prepare for the tournament.  Their offensive system tested the American defense, but the level of the opponent still allowed the team to win and give all of the players some more time on the court as the final margin was 101-71.  The team then got ready to make their next trip, going to the mainland to the location of their preliminary round games in the heart of Basque Country.

With the exhibitions over, the team can sneak in a bit of rest before a taxing preliminary round schedule that will see them play five games in six days.  The fortune of the group draw means that the team is unlikely to be significantly challenged, but it does leave the team less tested than the other top teams once elimination is on the line with the final sixteen teams.  The team has a favorable path to the final game, but will obviously be looking to establish chemistry as quickly as possible to peak by the end of the tournament.  After the tournament is over, we will examine the effect that it has on the next stage of Olympic qualification.

Team USA training camp in Las Vegas recently concluded, with the events of the final day overshadowing the entire week.  Team decision makers put a hold on all activity in the aftermath of Paul George's injury, but they did make choices for the next phase of the team's preparations.  In addition to George's unavailability, John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Paul Millsap were cut.  Two of those players were late additions to the training camp roster.  With the health of Derrick Rose up in the air prior to training camp, Wall had an opportunity to be a part of the team, but he did not outshine the tough competition for the point guard position.  Bradley Beal was one of the younger players selected and he certainly seems to factor into the team in the future, but against a number of other strong shooters, he might not have been ready to fulfill the needs of this particular roster.  Paul Millsap volunteered to join the team after other post players made themselves unavailable, but was unable to crack the group, which also now includes Mason Plumlee, who played his way into consideration after good work as a member of the Select Team brought in to test the team in practices.

With 16 players, the team is in the middle of a period of rest before the next set of practices.  The team reconvenes in Chicago in the middle of the month for two days of training before they play their first game against another team on August 16th against Brazil.  From there on, the team will be kept busy daily through the conclusion of the tournament in Spain.  All of the players are likely to have at least some chances in the three exhibitions in the United States and the team will likely to keep more than the final 12 players around to make sure that they have the ability to make quick last minute changes if necessary.

After the first set of practices in Las Vegas, the roster is beginning to take shape and some ideas of how the final rotation may look are starting to be seen with a few key positional battles still to come.  The current roster still has four players who play point guard for their NBA teams.  Typical international rosters have at least three players who can run the offense, but size and shooting ability of the players available mean that Stephen Curry in particular can slide over to the shooting guard position.  Paul George, who was presumably the starting small forward before his injury, will need to be replaced on both the offensive and defensive ends.  DeMar DeRozan, the late roster addition who is still in contention, seems to have played his way into consideration.  Players like Klay Thompson and Kyle Korver will be looking for a key offensive role, especially from a bench spot.  As has been the case in recent editions of the team, positional versatility is coveted, with players like Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward having the ability to play up a position internationally compared to their NBA roles.  If Kevin Durant starts as a power forward, it cuts into potential roles for the four remaining big men behind Durant and Anthony Davis.  Each of them bring different skill sets to the position and ultimately it will be their ability to fit into specific roles that will allow them to make the final roster.

Injuries, of course, have become the main storyline of the international basketball season in this country.  The entire international basketball situation is more complicated than can be addressed in some of the brief formats that key figures have been using to put forth their beliefs.  There are many aspects to the United States participating as a member of the international basketball community and the NBA is involved on a number of different levels.  It is worth noting that the NBA has already extracted more concessions from FIBA than other leagues for the participation of their players.  While most international coaches would like to have long training camps, NBA players are limited in when they can join a team before a tournament and they are exempted from the longer practices and two a day workouts that most of their countrymen endure.  In deference to the NBA and the players, USA Basketball already has the least amount of preparation of any of the teams that they will be facing, both in practice time and in exhibition games.  With the team's recent success in world tournaments, they have only had to play competitive games every other year instead of every summer like most of the other elite teams in the world.  In fact, Mexico will have two NBA players play in two competitive tournaments this summer, one of them just to qualify for a tournament next summer to keep their Olympic hopes alive.

After the United States had several poor showings relative to talent level in the early 2000s, they made a concerted effort to reclaim the top spot in international play, which it did in 2008, defending their throne in 2010 and 2012.  The fact is that the United States needs their NBA players to ensure that they win these games.  Even though other teams may not have the same degree of raw talent, their tactical advantages, familiarity with rules differences, and greater experience in playing as a team have allowed several other teams to test the United States.  Further specific restrictions on the United States team make it more difficult for the team to win tournaments.  It is no longer possible for any assembled group of American players to beat their peers from other countries.  If winning continues to be important to the stakeholders of American basketball, the team will continue to need the time and player availability to accomplish those goals.

The United States national team is not the only one relying on NBA players.  With the continued international influence on the NBA, several star players regularly play for their national teams during the summer.  While owners might be able to find ways to restrict USA Basketball participation further, it will be much more difficult for the league to do with international players, especially since their countries rely on them so heavily.  Hurting the reputation of the NBA overseas seems to be the exact opposite of their goals with the NBA realizing how important their international appeal is, and harming international basketball is likely to remove some of the goodwill built up over time.  Only restricting American players from participating while allowing international players to do so would cause another set of public relations issues.  Some players might then also take options that they have for representing another country.  For example, Kyrie Irving could have represented Australia and Klay Thompson could have represented the Bahamas.  Although international basketball is not currently perfect, the NBA alone is not capable of fixing all of the issues.  Working to resolve those issues without removing the existing tradition and negatively affecting countries all across the talent spectrum should be the goal.