Warriors All-Star power forward Draymond Green has accepted an invitation to play for USA Basketball at the Rio Olympics, a source told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Green will be making his USA Basketball national team debut, though he played on last year’s USA Showcase team. Golden State teammate Stephen Curry has already declined an invitation in order to rest his gimpy right knee.
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The team that gives Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes a big offer sheet in restricted free agency will be taking a major risk, Andrew Tobolowsky of UpsideMotor.com opines. Lance Stephenson posted better stats with the Pacers than Barnes did this season prior to hitting the free agent market and never lived up his supposed potential after signing with the Hornets in 2014, Tobolowsky points out. Potential suitors may overvalue Barnes in the belief he’ll thrive with a bigger role than he’s had with Golden State, Tobolowsky adds.
- The Kings could revamp their roster for a second straight summer with their primary focus being the point guard spot, according to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. The Kings could use a power forward who can stretch the floor, a long-term solution at small forward in place of Rudy Gay and an upgrade at shooting guard but solving the point guard dilemma is the biggest concern, Ham continues. Rajon Rondo is headed to unrestricted free agency and Darren Collison is engulfed by legal issues but the draft and free agency are unlikely to produce a solution, Ham believes. Kris Dunn and Jamal Murray could be off the board by the time the Kings’ No. 8 overall selection comes up, and it would take a tremendous sales job to land top free agent point man Mike Conley, Ham adds.
- The Kings were the only team to bring in Sacramento native Michael Bryson for a second draft workout, Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. The 6’4” shooting guard averaged 18.2 points during his senior season at UC Santa Barbara.
- UNLV shooting guard Patrick McCaw was among the players who worked out for the Clippers on Monday, according to the team’s website. McCaw is a potential late first-round pick, ranked No. 28 by ESPN Insider Chad Ford and No. 29 by Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony. Other notables included a trio of forwards, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff and Maryland’s Jake Layman.