USA Basketball announced on Wednesday morning that Kawhi Leonard is not heading to Paris. Leonard, the star wing for the Los Angeles Clippers who has been dealing with knee issues on and off for the last few years, will spend the offseason preparing his body for the upcoming NBA season, and as a result, a roster spot opened up for the defending gold medalists.
Reports indicated that the early favorite to fill that spot was Derrick White of the Boston Celtics, and soon after word of Leonard’s departure hit the internet, Marc Spears of Andscape reported that White would get on the team.
Celtics guard Derrick White will be replacing Kawhi Leonard with USA Basketball, a source told @andscape.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 10, 2024
And eventually, the team announced that White will join the roster.
Welcome to the
#USABMNT, @Dwhite921! pic.twitter.com/99n1S33ITO
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 10, 2024
While there are a number of players who would have done a good job in this role, White makes a ton of sense as a player who can thrive in the international game, as he’s a low-usage player who makes winning plays and doesn’t need to play big minutes to make an impact. He also has some familiarity with the USA Basketball apparatus, as he was a member of the World Cup team in 2019.
It’s unclear if White will be able to join the team in time for its first pre-Olympic exhibition game on Wednesday night against Canada.