Team USA Notes: Grant, Johnson, Popovich, Love

Team USA’s quest for a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics begins Sunday vs. France, and as of now, everyone on the roster is back in the fold.

That includes Pistons forward Jerami Grant, who exited health and safety protocols over the weekend and played 12 minutes in Sunday’s exhibition win over Spain. The Americans finished 2-2 in exhibition play.

Of course, neither Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal nor Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love are still with the team. Beal was forced out due to protocols and Love withdrew after struggling in training camp. They have been replaced by Spurs shooting guard Keldon Johnson and Nuggets center JaVale McGee.

So the Olympic roster looks like this:

• Guards: Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, Zach Lavine, Keldon Johnson
• Forwards: Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton, Jerami Grant
• Centers/Forwards: Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, JaVale McGee

Booker, Holiday and Middleton will join Team USA at the conclusion of the Finals. The Bucks hold a 3-2 series edge over the Suns, with Game 6 set for Tuesday in Milwaukee.

More on Team USA

• Coach Gregg Popovich is the coach of Team USA and also the coach of the Spurs. So his decision to promote Johnson from the Select Team was viewed with some skepticism. But as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted, Johnson gave a promising performance vs. Spain, scoring 15 points. “He shot it when he was open and when he did go to the bucket he was very physical,” Popovich said of Johnson.
• As Windhorst also relayed, the Americans could have just nine available players vs. France because of the Finals and travel/logistics for Holiday, Middleton and Booker. “We’ve been preparing for France for two years,” Popovich said. “I think about it every day.”
• While Love left Team USA, he has no plans to retire from the NBA, as relayed by OutKick’s Matt Loede. Love’s remaining contract of $60.2 million over two also makes it unlikely that the Cavs will be able to trade him, Loede wrote.