JaVale McGee Replaces Kevin Love on Team USA

His fit with this team has been questioned in many quarters right from the start, but now Kevin Love has officially withdrawn from Team USA and will not be heading to the Tokyo Olympics.

After spending 10 days in Las Vegas preparing for the Olympics, Cleveland’s Kevin Love is withdrawing from Team USA and won’t travel to Tokyo, sources tell ESPN. Love is still returning to full form from a right calf injury that kept him out a significant part of the NBA season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 16, 2021

Adrian Wojnarowski says Love was concerned he was not fully recovered from the right calf injury that kept him out of the Cleveland Cavaliers lineup for all but 25 games this season.

Conditioning is a big factor for this team, as coach Gregg Popovich has pointed to the lack of it as a big reason for their stunning two losses to begin their tune-up schedule.

Now comes word that JaVale McGee has been named to the team to replace Love in the big man rotation for Team USA.

Some of the more skeptical observers, naturally, are wondering about the true reasons for Love's removal from the team, figuring he wasn't deserving to be on this squad in the first place.