Team USA basketball: Bradley Beal, Kevin Love replaced by JaVale McGee, Keldon Johnson on Olympic list

The Team USA men’s basketball team moved quickly by naming replacements for Bradley Beal and Kevin Love with the Olympics just around the corner. San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson and Denver Nuggets big man JaVale McGee have been added as replacements, the team announced on Friday.

Beal was placed in health and safety protocols earlier this week, and it has been determined that he will not be able to travel with the team to Tokyo, Japan for the Olympics. His quarantine also forced Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant to go through health and safety protocols, and also resulted in the cancellation of Team USA’s exhibition match against the Australian national team on Friday.

Love is retiring due to a persistent right calf injury that hampered him throughout the 2020-21 NBA season. Love stepped down as he felt he was not at the peak of his performance to compete in the Olympics. While Johnson and McGee certainly don’t make up for the production Beal single-handedly would have provided on offense, a decision had to be made quickly with Team USA’s opener just nine days away against France on July 25.

Johnson has impressed the Olympic staff as he trained for the USA Select squad in Las Vegas alongside the team heading to Tokyo, and McGee will add much needed depth in the frontcourt. Johnson is already in Vegas and trained alongside the Olympics, so getting him on the roster was an easy move. McGee, who spent last season playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Nuggets, will travel to Vegas on Saturday.

McGee had a journeyman career in the league, playing for seven different teams during his 16 years. He is also a three-time champion between his two rings with the Golden State Warriors and won the title with the Lakers in the Orlando bubble last season. Standing at 7 feet tall, it provides great length and rim protection for the US

Although Johnson is only in his second year in the NBA, he has enjoyed an exceptional year with the Spurs after having had more opportunities at San Antonio. He’s averaged nearly 13 points, six rebounds and two assists while starting all but two games this year. There is also the obvious connection to Gregg Popovich in that decision, as the coach of the USA team spoke enthusiastically about Johnson as he coached him in San Antonio for the past two years.