Eric Gordon Withdraws From Team USA Training Camp and FIBA World Cup
By Parker White
The Team USA training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup was already devoid of big time stars, and they just lost one of the better 3-point shooters in the league.
On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Houston Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon has withdrawn his name from the training camp roster and won't compete in the FIBA World Cup this summer.
Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon has withdrawn from Team USA training camp and FIBA World Cup this summer, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2019
The training camp roster is down to 17, as Gordon joins his teammate James Harden and Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis as players who tapped out this week.
Eric Gordon won’t play with Team USA in #FIBAWC, per @ShamsCharania, joining Anthony Davis and James Harden in the list of players who withdrew their names in the past week.
— Davide Chinellato (@dchinellato) July 20, 2019
The list of players expected to show up for training camp is down to 17 #NBA pic.twitter.com/sNiVPuRarR
You still have some high-level players remaining, including Washington's Bradley Beal, Portland's Damian Lillard and Boston's Kemba Walker, but this is just another respected player who is dropping out.
Team USA still boasts enough talent to do the job in China, but it's surely going to be harder if anymore decide to go home and not compete for Team USA.
The Rockets will be hoping that Gordon is planning to spend his summer training and building chemistry with new teammate Russell Westbrook.