Kevin Love withdraws from Team USA for FIBA World Cup
Kevin Love, the subject of many trade rumors, has made himself unavailable for Team USA in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo announced on Saturday.
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In the statement released by Team USA, the reason Love gave for withdrawing his name from consideration was "his current status," which is essentially in limbo since asking the Timberwolves for a trade.
“The fact is we can only look to the players we have available. Our job is to get the job done with our very, very deep roster, and we’re anxious to get things started,” Colangelo said.
Team USA's training camp for the World Cup begins Monday in Las Vegas, with competition beginning Aug. 30 in Spain.
Love's status was likely to be a topic of conversation throughout that time, as the Cavs, who are the frontrunners for his services, can't trade top pick Andrew Wiggins for another four weeks due to NBA contract rules for rookies.
The 25-year-old Love, a three-time NBA All-Star, won a gold medal with Team USA at the London Olympics in 2012 and at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey.
Said Colangelo to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst: "You can't just sit around and cry in your beer regarding who you don't have. You look at what you do have and you say, 'We're going to get the job done.' We feel very confident about our opportunity. We're ready for it."
"He really wanted to play," Colangelo added about Love. "He was truly remorseful about it. But the circumstances just don't allow it."
- Chris Mascaro
