USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo was granted an extension to name his final 12-man roster for the Olympics by the United States Olympic Committee, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. With injuries decimating the pool of 20 finalists, Colangelo will have until July 8 instead of June 18 to submit his list of players who will be representing the United States in London this summer. Colangelo said health will be a major factor in determining which players are selected for Team USA.
"We don't want anyone who's not healthy," Colangelo said. "We put a great deal of emphasis on the health of our players for all the obvious reasons. As has always been in the past, we're very, very careful with the workout sessions and the demand. We control that to the way it should be controlled, and we've had zero issues with injuries while they've been with us or after they've been with us."
James Harden and Anthony Davis were recently added to the list of finalists in the wake of Derrick Rose's season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament and Dwight Howard's surgery on his back to repair a herniated disk. Beyond Rose and Howard, Chauncey Billups (torn Achilles tendon) and LaMarcus Aldridge (right hip) are also unavailable for the Olympics. Dwyane Wade, one of Team USA's strongest contributors in Beijing, recently mentioned that he may not be available to play in London unless his health is at 100%.