Group USA guard Zach LaVine was placed into health and safety protocols on Monday and didn’t go with the remainder of the team on its trip to Tokyo for the Olympics.
USA Basketball said in a statement that it trusted LaVine would have the option to join the team in Japan in the not so distant future.
He is the third player to be influenced in the previous week, as Bradley Beal needed to leave the group in view of the protocols and Jerami Grant was in contact tracing quarantine for four days.
The situation is a likely hit to the team, which will currently go with only eight players. LaVine had begun the previous two show games instead of Beal and had looked solid through the Olympic run-up. He averaged 10.3 points in the four show games, third in the team behind Damian Lillard and Kevin Durant, and had a few great progress dunks.
Group USA is looking out for Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker to complete the NBA Finals prior to traveling. Mentor Gregg Popovich said Sunday that the players could show up in Japan only 24 hours before the main pool-play game Sunday against France.
Somewhere down in watches once the Finals reinforcements showed up, the team replaced Beal and the harmed Kevin Love with forward Keldon Johnson and focus JaVale McGee. Presently, it winds up possibly thin on the perimeter.