Team USA basketball could make final roster cuts this week

Team USA basketball is finishing up their preparations for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, and a handful of players could soon be getting the bad news that they have not made the cut for the final roster.

More from FIBA World Cup

• Lionel Messi delivered greatness for Argentina in a thrilling World Cup final
• There’s an Anneli Maley sized hole on every WNBA team
• Evaluating NBA Draft prospects at the FIBA U19 World Championships
• Thon Maker was throwing karate kicks in an epic brawl at FIBA qualifier
• USA women’s basketball win FIBA World Cup

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has stated that the final roster cuts for Team USA could come as early as Thursday.

“We’ve said we wanted to wait through the end of the week in New York before we made cutbacks,” Colangelo said. “But that could still change.”

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup begins on Aug. 30 and runs through Sept. 14.

For the team that wins the FIBA World Cup, an automatic berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will be awarded so there is plenty at stake for the tournament.

Team USA currently has 16 players on the roster, so four players will need to be cut down to get to the official roster of 12 men.

Due to injuries and players withdrawing in the past few weeks, there are a handful of players that will make the roster who may not have had a shot previously. That will give those men some valuable experience at the international level as the United States prepares for the FIBA World Cup and Olympics within the next few years.