Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has been added to the Team USA training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup, according to The Athletic, as the squad continues its Celtics-centric transformation.
Guard Kemba Walker committed to the team prior to signing his four-year deal with Boston, and Jayson Tatum was later added to the 20-man training camp roster.
Since then, a flood of top players have defected, including Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Tobias Harris, James Harden, Eric Gordon, C.J. McCollum, and Bradley Beal, forcing USA Basketball to scramble to fill in the empty slots prior to next month’s training camp.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart accepted an invitation on Monday, and now Brown appears poised to join him. USA Basketball is planning to have 20 players at its training camps in Las Vegas and Los Angeles before whittling the final roster to 12 before continuing its training in Australia. The World Cup will be held in China from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.
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Celtics Daniel Theis (Germany) and Vincent Poirier (France) are also planning to enter World Cup training camps with their respective countries.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach
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