Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell could be a major factor for USA Basketball in the national team’s bid for gold at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
In just a few, short weeks USA Basketball will be back in business when the men’s senior national team descends upon Las Vegas and Los Angeles to begin preparations for its run in the 2019 FIBA World Cup of Basketball.
As ever, training camps will be a who’s-who of high-level American ballers, and Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will be part of the action.
Not only that — the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk champion and Rookie of the Year runner-up is starting to feel like a shoe-in for the final 12-man roster that will actually compete in China beginning with a group-stage bout against the Czech Republic on September 1.
In the eyes of this old Jazz fan, anyway.
Mitchell was one of 20 players named to the camp roster last month. And, since that time, multiple key names have withdrawn from the player pool. That includes backcourt players in direct competition with Mitchell for a spot on the squad.
Most notably, Houston Rockets guard and former NBA MVP James Harden pulled out in order to focus on meshing with new (and former) teammate Russell Westbrook. He was followed in short order by another Rockets guard and Team USA vet in Eric Gordon.
On Saturday, the Portland Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum became the latest guard to remove himself from the World Cup equation.
Portland star guard CJ McCollum has withdrawn from USA Basketball training camp and FIBA World Cup to concentrate on upcoming season, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 20, 2019
Meanwhile, Toronto Raptors point-man Kyle Lowry has a desire to play, but may not be ready after undergoing surgery to repair a tendon in his left thumb. Although it may not directly affect Mitchell, Anthony Davis is also out. That leaves 15 players competing for 12 spots, with Lowry possibly pushing the number to 16.
Regardless of what happens with Lowry, the Americans still have strong options on the guardline in the Blazers’ Damian Lillard, Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and Boston Celtics’ Kemba Walker, as well as Mitchell.
However, the Jazz guard’s ability to play both backcourt spots and defend two or three (we’ll call it 2.5) positions on the floor thanks to that 6-foot-10 wingspan should give him an excellent chance to be part of the team.
Mitchell’s positional versatility, his inside/outside ability and his locker room presence would be major assets in China. Also — the 22-year-old could be a cornerstone for the national program for the next decade-plus, and there’s no time like the present to throw him into the deep end of international competition.
I would expect that most of the players in camp will make it to the team’s exhibition games against Jazzman Joe Ingles and his Aussie Boomers in the Land Down Under on August 22 and 24.
That said, if I were head coach Gregg Popovich, Donovan Mitchell would be locked in for the World Cup itself.