Middleton’s in U.S. mix
Khris Middleton could be wearing red, white and blue.
The Milwaukee Bucks star was among the names on the list of 35 players chosen Friday for USA Basketball’s national team pool of players for 2018’20. Middleton has never played in the Olympics.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis also were on the list of players the Americans can choose from if they qualify for the 2019 Basketball World Cup and 2020 Olympics.
The remainder of the list: Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Draymond Green; Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry; Washington’s John Wall and Bradley Beal; Portland’s Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum; the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan and Tobias Harris; Detroit’s Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond; Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner; Cleveland’s Kevin Love; Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler; New Orleans’ DeMarcus Cousins; San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard; Oklahoma City’s Paul George; Houston’s Eric Gordon; Boston’s Gordon Hayward; the Lakers’ Isaiah Thomas; Charlotte’s Kemba Walker; Dallas’ Harrison Barnes; Memphis’ Mike Conley Jr.; and Phoenix’s Devin Booker.
The players are expected to attend minicamp in Las Vegas from July 25-27, when U.S. coach Gregg Popovich will take over the team for the first time.
James won gold in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze in 2004 as a rookie. He skipped the 2016 Olympics but made clear at the time he wasn’t retiring from international basketball, leaving open the possibility of playing again because of his admiration for Popovich, who replaced Mike Krzyzewski after the last Olympics.
Carmelo Anthony is the only U.S. man to play in four Olympics. He was not on the list, saying after winning a third gold in 2016 that he didn’t plan to play anymore. The other 11 players from the Rio roster are back, while seven players in the pool won gold in 2012 in London.
That includes Durant, who has played on the last two Olympic gold medalists, and Paul, who played in 2008 and 2012 before also opting to sit out the Rio Games.
The Americans are well on their way to locking up a place in the 2019 World Cup in China, despite using G League players thus far under the new qualifying system that features games during the NBA season. That tournament will be used to qualify teams for the 2020 Tokyo Games and NBA players will participate.
Grizzlies reward Brooks, Johnson: The Memphis Grizzlies have signed guard MarShon Brooks and forward Omari Johnson to multiyear contracts.
Brooks, 29, originally signed a 10-day deal with the Grizzlies on March 27, and he averaged 23.3 points with 3.7 assists coming off the bench in three games. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard scored 70 points, the most by any player in franchise history over his first three games.
Johnson, 28, has averaged 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists this season in 44 games with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate.
Draft news: Kentucky freshman forward Kevin Knox says he will enter the NBA draft and hire an agent.
Knox’s departure was somewhat expected after the 6-foot-9 Tampa, Fla., native averaged a team-high 15.6 points while leading the Wildcats to a fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
❚ Stanford forward Reid Travis will declare for the draft without signing with an agent.
He must make a decision by May 30 to either remain in the draft or return to school.
Travis has been selected to the allPac-12 team twice. He ranks seventh in Stanford history with 1,427 points and 10th with 758 rebounds. He ranked third last season in the Pac-12 in both scoring (19.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg).