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Wizards teammates Bradley Beal and John Wall won’t be joining the U.S. team in Spain for the FIBA World Cup, according to sources.
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

Team USA formally announced the release of Washington Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal and Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap from its FIBA World Cup roster on Tuesday.

USA Basketball has scheduled a Tuesday 2 p.m. ET teleconference so chairman Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make the roster moves official.

The three cuts will reduce the overall number of players vying for the 12-man World Cup team to 16 entering next week’s resumption of practices in Chicago.

After the devastating leg injury suffered Friday night by Indiana’s Paul George, there are only five players among the final 16 who are widely regarded as shoo-ins for the plane that leaves for Spain on Aug. 23: Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Golden State’s Stephen Curry.

The other 11 players competing for the final seven slots are guards Kyrie Irving (Cleveland), Damian Lillard (Portland), Kyle Korver (Atlanta), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto) and Klay Thompson (Golden State); forwards Chandler Parsons (Dallas), Kenneth Faried (Denver) and Gordon Hayward (Utah); and centers DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), Andre Drummond (Detroit) and Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn).

ESPN.com reported earlier Monday that every player who participated in camp last week in Las Vegas had committed to keeping their names in the hat for one of the final 12 roster spots despite suggestions that the scary nature of George’s injury could dissuade some teammates from playing on.

“The ending to our Las Vegas training camp with the injury to Paul George was very emotional for everyone involved in USA Basketball,” Colangelo said in a statement. “I very much appreciate the outpouring of support Paul and USA Basketball has received the past couple of days from the basketball world.

“… Paul’s injury was an extremely unfortunate occurrence; it was truly a freak accident. We’re all very pleased that his recovery is going well.”

Although there is undoubtedly heightened concern within the group after watching George suffer a horrendous compound leg fracture in Friday night’s intrasquad scrimmage, sources told ESPN.com that various Team USA players have talked among themselves about the need to stay together, with showing support for George ranking as one of their primary motivations.

“No one is pulling out,” said one source.

Click here to read more.

SOURCE: ESPN
Marc Stein and Brian Windhor

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