Well Shit, Team USA Now Has To Replace Bradley Beal Due To Health And Safety Protocols

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Well that's certainly not something you want to hear with the Olympics basically a week away! Even with Booker/Middleton/Holiday set to arrive after the Finals, this is still a big time loss for Team USA. I know they've sort of been embarrassing in these exhibition games but don't let that confuse you, Bradley Beal is very good at basketball

So now having him in the fold definitely sucks. You lose shooting and some decent playmaking which Team USA desperately needs. I wouldn't exactly say this is a surprise once we learned that Beal was in the Health & Safety protocols, but I do wonder if we're close to getting the same news about Jerami Grant

which means there could be up to 2 spots to fill. Again, not exactly ideal with the Olympics about to start.

The question now becomes, who should replace Beal? Obviously you call all the good players just to make sure they haven't had a change of heart. I'm talking LeBron, AD, Steph, etc. They probably say no, but you have to ask. If the plan is to keep things at guard, I wouldn't mind calling De'Aaron Fox, Ja Morant or Trae Young. Young probably declines because of his ankle, but Fox would be a nice option. Not enough people realize how good he was last year because the Kings stink and nobody really watches the Kings, but the dude was legit. If they prefer to go with the Select Team, someone like Garland might make the real squad, or maybe they bring up Tyrese Haliburton. Maybe see what Malcolm Brogdon or Kyle Lowry are up to these days. There's even been some rumblings of LaMelo Ball being an option which would certainly improve their playmaking.

If they go bigs, you have guys like Julius Randle or Jarrett Allen. Honestly I think big man might be the bigger need because as we've seen, Kevin Love is NOT going to cut it. Outside of him Team USA is pretty small. You could always make the call to Melo too. I know that might sound crazy but Olympian Melo is a different beast. At this point it can't hurt.

For me, I'm sad Beal is out mostly because I was sort of banking on that whole Tatum/Beal love fest to be a big part of the recruiting effort. They make magic on the court together, Ime Udoka is in his ear as well, it all lined up perfectly. To lose that before they even make the trip is unfortunate. Thankfully they are lifelong friends so maybe that won't matter. It does suck for Beal who sounded excited for the opportunity, but it's certainly not the first time we've seen a basketball team be impacted by H&S protocols. Shit sucks.