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The US Olympic team, in search of two replacement players for Tokyo, has never made an offer to Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle, according to multiple industry sources.
With Bradley Beal out of the Olympics with COVID-19 and Kevin Love retiring a few days ago with a lingering calf injury, beating Randle would have felt natural.
Team America’s brains felt they needed more players in the squad that ended their shows in Las Vegas on Sunday night with a big win over co-favored Spain, 83-76.
Team USA announced on Friday that little Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, who was already part of Team Select working against Team USA, would take one spot while fellow center JaVale McGee would take the other.
A source from Team USA said his brain had discussed a lot about making an offer to Randle, but decided to go that route, believing the list did not have a real shot blocker.
“We decided it was the most logical and appropriate choice,” US team coach Gregg Popovich said of McGee on Sunday night. “Given the choices we had, it was the best fit.”
Taking Johnson, who like Randle played in Kentucky, was a no-brainer as the staff knew he was one of the most conditioned players in Vegas. It was added to exhibition games due to the absences of Olympians still competing in the NBA Finals.
Plus, Popovich is leading Spurs and that experience will be golden for his 21-year-old prospect – no pun intended.
The Post learned Randle was willing to join the Olympians late in the process. Randle trained in his hometown of Dallas and is said to be in good shape as he competes to replicate his spectacular season in which he was a second-team All-NBA.
Johnson won his guard on Sunday when he scored 15 points on a 7-on-9 shot, scrambling all night in defense, diving to the ground before committing a foul. McGee didn’t play.
“[Johnson] just played a really solid basketball game – a very, very good night, ”Popovich said.
Randle has a big decision ahead of him next month, whether it’s to execute a four-year, $ 106 million contract extension or wait until 2022 for a bigger salary.
But this contractual decision was not going to prevent the native of Texas from representing his country in Tokyo if he had the opportunity. The US Olympians will start on July 25 against France and fly to Japan this week. The gold medal game is scheduled for August 6.
Aside from Love, Team USA also took Jerami Grant over Randle initially for his versatility. Grant was placed on COVID-19 protocols last week but was active on Sunday.
Randle considered himself a dangerous international player as a forward capable of shooting 3. He had 41.6% of his 3-pointers last season leading the Knicks to their first place in the playoffs since 2013. Randle averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
The rumor was that Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant preferred Love, who could be bought out by the Cavaliers with interest from the Nets.
The Olympians should be OK, however, without Randle. General manager Jerry Colangelo expects to add NBA finalists Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, who all play wonderfully for Phoenix and Milwaukee, respectively.
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