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Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo cut from Team USA camp

Duncan Smith|
LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 06: Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo share a laugh during the 2019 USA Basketball Men's National Team Training Camp at Mendenhall Center on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on August 06, 2019 in Las Vegas Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - AUGUST 06: Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo share a laugh during the 2019 USA Basketball Men's National Team Training Camp at Mendenhall Center on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on August 06, 2019 in Las Vegas Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

In advance of the FIBA World Cup in China, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has been cut from Team USA along with Thaddeus Young of the Chicago Bulls.

It was a good run but a short run in the end for Bam Adebayo in USA Basketball’s camp in preparation for the FIBA World Cup later this month. Late Friday night Team USA announced that the Miami Heat center would not be heading to Los Angeles for the next stage of training.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times:

Thaddeus Young of the Chicago Bulls will also not make the next stage, and they will be replaced by Marvin Bagley of the Sacramento Kings and Derrick White of the San Antonio Spurs, who have been called up from the USA Select Team. The Select Team is comprised of young players who scrimmage and practice with Team USA, and Bagley and White made a major impression on head coach Gregg Popovich and assistants Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright.

While it’s surely a disappointment for Adebayo to be released from Team USA, the experience and competition was likely a positive one. He was up against a fully-stocked position, perhaps overly so considering the number of players contending for the center spot.

Even after Andre Drummond dropped out, Mason Plumlee, Myles Turner and Brook Lopez were all in the thick of the battle to make the team, and Popovich and his staff opted to go a different direction that left Adebayo expendable for this summer’s competition.

Having gotten his feet wet in this year’s camp, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him push hard for a spot next time Team USA prepares for international competition. Bam Adebayo has unfinished business for both himself and the Miami Heat on the global stage.

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