Team USA recently announced their thirty man shortlist for the upcoming Summer Olympics. These thirty players will compete in camps against each other to be named to the twelve man roster for the Olympics. The shortlist is loaded with talent and can be found here. This list is pretty overwhelming. We are dealing with a dearth of extremely talented players, and there will be many hard cuts on this roster.

Easy Cuts

The guys mentioned in the Easy Cuts have no realistic chance at making the team. They may be talented, but for a number of reasons these guys shouldn’t be seriously considered for the team.

Kenneth Faried: This is more of a thank you to Kenneth Faried than anything else. He averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds during the 2014 FIBA World Championships, and was an important piece of bringing home the title. That being said, his talent simply doesn’t compare to most or all of the other guys on the team, and barring something extreme happening, I can’t see him being on the team

Bradley Beal: Bradley Beal is a terrific prospect. He can shoot, he can somewhat dribble, he has a solid frame, but he’s never put it all together. He’s had some nice runs in the last couple seasons, and some very big playoff games, but he’s often hurt and still remains very streaky. The talent is there, but there’s also like a 50% chance he becomes Eric Gordon. Right now, there’s no chance he’ll make the roster.

Andre Iguodala: He was a great role player for the squads in ’10 and ’12, playing lockdown defense and shooting absurd percentages on limited shots. He’s a reliable player, and fairly good at being a role player, but why on earth would you take him when Kawhi Leonard is a much better shooter and defender than him. Add in that his playmaking wouldn’t be necessary on a loaded passing team, and there’s no real reason to take him to the Olympics.

Harrison Barnes: Another prospect. Harrison Barnes has shown some promise to be an elite player, but he doesn’t get many chances to because of the asinine amount of talent around him in Golden State. He could be very good one day, and it makes sense for him to learn at camps from the best in the game, but that’s the only reason he’s here.

Rudy Gay: Gay’s an okay piece, but no way he should make the team. The USA are too deep on the wings, and he’s like the sixth best small forward invited and his game is like a worse version of Melo’s.

Next Five Cuts

The aforementioned players are all talented, but they’re very easy cuts. It’s pretty obvious those five are probably the least talented in the pool of players, and they are only here becasue of their potential or that they played on the “B” team that won the FIBA World Championships. The next five guys are long shots at best for the team, and should be pretty easy cuts, but I’m not completely willing to count them out because of their abilities.

DeMar DeRozan: DeMar DeRozan has had a terrific year. His efficiency has spiked, he’s traded in a few midrange jumpers for drives, and has become a way more effective player. But he can’t shoot, or defend, and there’s no way he should be doing a lot of playmaking on a team this talented, so that would essentially make him useless.

Kevin Love: There’s no point in bringing a one way player who maxes out as a floor spacer and plus rebounder. Love is an awful defender, and his shooting isn’t as valuable now that the team will be a very good shooting team. He doesn’t offer anything the team is lacking in, and he is at absolute best a long shot to make it.

LaMarcus Aldridge: He has an okay case for the team, but not a great one. He’s shown with the Spurs this year that he can be a superstar role player, play hard defense, rebound, and score within the offense, all of which is very important in picking a player for Team USA. But would you possibly take him over Davis or Draymond? No chance.

Gordon Hayward: Gordon Hayward is in a tough spot. He’s a very talented fringe all star, but if he can’t make it as one of the best twelve players in the West, I don’t think he can be one of the best twelve players on Team USA. He is a well rounded player, but there’s no way he’s one of the top eight wings in Team USA, and that’s the absolute maximum number of wings you can take.

DeAndre Jordan: I only see team USA taking one of Drummond, Howard, and Jordan. They all bring similar things to the table (rebounding, rim protection, and a pick and roll threat), but Team USA can also run Boogie, Blake Griffin, or Anthony Davis at center, making the team more dynamic on offense. That being said, Drummond is the youngest (and has been the best of the three this year) and Dwight has the most experience, so that puts Jordan firmly in third on the list. His skills would be very valuable to the team, but it wouldn’t be worth wasting a bunch of roster spots on limited centers.

Hard Cuts

Mike Conley: Damn, I want Mike Conley on team USA. A point guard who can shoot, defend, and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective sounds like the perfect end of the bench rotation guy. He could hound opposing guards, hit threes, have a respectable off the bounce game, and do a lot of good. However, how can you take Conley when there’s Russ, Curry, CP3, Harden, Thompson, Butler, and Irving. Based on fit he may have a better case than Irving, but none of the other guys. He’s simply not good enough to be here.

John Wall: Meh. John Wall is a terrific player, and he has carried the Wizards the last two years. But Wall is a ball dominant point guard, and there’s no way you take the ball out of LeBron’s or Westbrook’s or Curry’s hands to watch Wall run a pick and roll. He’s a good defender, and if he could shoot he would be close to a lock for the team, but alas he doesn’t make it.

Dwight Howard: I’m taking Drummond over Dwight. Drummond sets way more screens than Dwight, rebounds better, and even though his defense isn’t as good it’s because he’s running around setting screens and being a crucial part of their offense while Dwight just hangs out on the block and saves his energy for defense. To give us fifteen or so minutes a night, I will take Drummond and his energy and his hard screens.

Kyrie Irving: I actually think Kyrie may make the team, but it’s not for basketball reasons. Coach K has shown continued favoritism to Duke guys (he took Plumlee to the World Championships) and there’s a chance that he takes Kryie. I think this cut comes down to Kyrie and James Harden, and even if Kyrie has played better off the ball, he also has LeBron. Chemistry is important, and it would be nice to have two Cavs, but James Harden is simply a much better basketball player.

Final Cuts

DeMarcus Cousins: BOOGIE! I tried very hard to find a spot on the team for Boogie, and ultimately it came down to him or Blake. Blake has the edge on transition play, passing, and they’re both dominant in the post. Blake and Boogie both take possessions off on defense and can be good when engaged. However, Blake overall plays much more consistent defense and doesn’t drift his way through games anymore on that end. Add in that Cousins is a wild card (I guess Blake is now that he hit someone too) but Blake is a much better bet to give a shit on defense and consistently show up and try. And that ultimately gives Griffin the edge.

Carmelo Anthony: There is a very good chance Melo makes the team, but I challenge you to find me one player on my roster that he’s better than. He played (sparingly) on the ’04 and ’08 teams, and scored almost a point a minute in 2012 while being a key player. He’s a pure scorer and great shooter, and he absolutely kills on a smaller three point line. Melo is a known commodity on the international stage and is best buddies with LeBron (added bonus). He’s playing some of the best basketball of his career (which includes some passing and intermittently engaged defense). What makes Melo my hardest cut is that I just don’t know who on the team he would replace. Do you take out Draymond Green? Paul George? Kawhi Leonard? The answer isn’t clear on that, so for now we’ll leave Melo here.

Chris Paul: In the golden age of point guards, Team USA is only taking two? Yes, and let me explain why. Team USA has been gifted with guys like Draymond, LeBron, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin who are all great with the ball in their hands but aren’t point guards. Team USA could roll out LeBron-Leonard-Durant-George-Draymond and they would have more than enough playmaking. And that lineup would OBLITERATE ANYONE. My point is that with all the creators Team USA has, they don’t need to even have a traditional point out there (although it’s a good bet Curry or Russ is out there at least most of the time) but there’s no need for a third point guard.

James Harden: If this were just “assemble the best twelve Americans in the league”, Harden would be on the team. But it’s not. Harden has struggled as a shooter, has shown very little off ball game, has been horrid on defense, and there’s no need for him to ISO a ton. With all the talent on the team it’s very hard to envision them defaulting to Harden ISOs to accommodate him. He doesn’t have the pick and roll chops most of the guys on the roster have (not that he’s bad at it) and the way he disengages his teammates from the offense is a terrifying thought on Team USA. Back in 04 a team led be Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson ran a ton of isolations and didn’t defend their way right to third place. This should serve as a major reminder to Coach K that sometimes the most talented players aren’t always the best fit. It’s really unfortunate guys like Harden, Melo, Irving, and DeRozan aren’t on a team like Canada or Australia (Kyrie messed that one up) that’s good but lacks a dominant scorer. But Harden won’t have the ball in his hands all the time, where he’s most effective, and he doesn’t do enough good without the ball to fit on this team.

12 Man Roster

I will provide a defense for any player who is on the bubble. Anyone considered a lock or near lock for the roster I will not be. I don’t think anyone really needs justification for guys like LeBron and Steph being on the team.

Russell Westbrook

Steph Curry

Klay Thompson: I took him over CP3 and James Harden for a couple reasons. First of all, he has great chemistry with Draymond and Steph, and that absolutely matters. He’s killer off the ball, something you can’t really say about CP3 and Harden, he defends like hell (and he can defend three positions), he can punish smaller defenders in the post better than each of them (the only useful thing Jackson did for the Warriors is make everyone but Steph at least a viable post up threat) and he’s shown a willingness to take a back seat to teammates that the other two don’t. Klay really embodies what I like to call a superstar role player, where he can light a team up for thirty plus in a quarter but he can also just spot up and wait for the game to come to him. He moves the ball quickly, and he’s a great guy to have at the end of the bench.

Jimmy Butler: He’s the best shooting guard in basketball, one of the five best wing defenders in the league, and a wildly versatile scorer. He’s able to play off the ball when Pau and (unfortunately) Derrick Rose are creating, and I don’t think his game has any real weaknesses. He’s a Swiss Army Knife, and his malleability and willingness to fit into any role will help his case a lot. He’ll do whatever’s asked of him (and do it very well) and I think someone of his caliber is just way too good to leave off the team.

LeBron James

Draymond Green

Kawhi Leonard

Kevin Durant

Paul George: He’s gotten worse as the season progressed, and a month or two ago I wouldn’t have felt the need to justify him, but I still think he makes the team. He’s massive, a very good three point shooter, and the USA won’t need a ton of his hit and miss ballhandling. He creates a ton of mismatches and plays hard defense. I think there’s a decent case that you actually take Chris Paul over him, (its close) but after his horrific injury I think if he doesn’t make it on pure talent he will as a thank you from Team USA for not discouraging others from playing and being a trooper. How heartbreaking would it be if he came back from an injury which cost him a season only to miss Team USA?

Anthony Davis

Blake Griffin

Andre Drummond: Yes, I know Andre Drummond’s rim protecting numbers where it’s supposed to be given his tremendous physical gifts, but that’s more because he’s running around setting screens and crashing to the hoop on offense. Defenses have to collapse around him barrelling to the hoop, and he’s absolutely the best screen setter and most energetic out of him, DeAndre and Dwight. He made Reggie Jackson into a borderline All-Star and his gravitational pull rolling to the hoop will create a ton of easy looks for teammates much like he does in Detroit. Add in all the talented passers on team USA and it’s a no brainer.