Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo was among four players cut from Team USA. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

USA Basketball President Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have trimmed the U.S. roster to 15 players, which meant four players were cut.

Those who were left off the 15-man roster were guards Tyreke Evans and O.J. Mayo, forward Gerald Wallace and center JaVale McGee were cut. Evans could have made it the final 12-man roster that will represent Team USA at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, but he missed most of training camp with a sprained ankle. The 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year will get another chance in two years for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Because Team USA was already loaded with guards, there was simply no room for a guy like Mayo. The Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard doesn’t really have a specialty and is more of a volume shooter. Coach K and his staff chose to keep shooting guards Eric Gordon, Danny Granger and Andre Iguodala instead.

Wallace could have filled the role of defensive stopper, but his limited offensive skills probably kept him from wearing the USA colors. Coach K and Co. didn’t want to sacrifice a top-notch guard for a small forward with limited range, and Wallace would have been overmatched at power forward.

McGee was a late invite to training camp in Las Vegas after Amare Stoudemire didn’t bother to show up and Robin Lopez has not completely healed from his back injury. Then, two days into camp, forward David Lee dislocated his finger and had to drop out, which gave McGee a glimmer of hope to make the roster.

Despite playing well in the scrimmage showcase at Thomas & Mack Center, McGee was let go as Coach K chose to keep Tyson Chandler and Brook Lopez, two players with a little more playing experience than the 22-year-0ld Wizards center. But the future is very bright for McGee, who dominated the Las Vegas Summer League and should be the Wizards starting center heading into this season.

Team USA will take a short break before reopening camp on Aug. 9. The team plays an exhibition game on Aug. 15 against France at Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s the first of four exhibition games for Team USA before it leaves for Turkey. USA Basketball doesn’t need to announce its 12-man roster until a day before the World Championship, which begins Aug. 28.

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Kevin Durant should be cinch to make the U.S. team that will compete in the FIBA World Championships in August. (GETTY IMAGES)

While Kobe Bryant rested his ailing knee and finger in L.A., Carmelo Anthony said “I do” to Lala Vazquez in New York, and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade hosted parties down in South Beach to celebrate their union, Kevin Durant worked up a good sweat with the U.S. men’s national team in the sweltering heat of Las Vegas while preparing for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

When the core of the U.S. team that captured the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing all declined to join Team USA this summer, the torch was officially passed to Durant as the leader and the face of the USA Basketball program.

The 21-year-old Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star, who nearly made the U.S. Olympic team two years ago, may not have a whole lot of international experience, but he is confident he can be the “go-to” guy and the No. 1 option on a very young squad that averages around 24 years old.

“I’m just working on my game here and trying to get better this week with these guys and the coaches are going to help me out as well. I also want to be a better leader while I’m here,” the 6-foot-10 forward said on NBATV. Durant is one of 20 NBA players vying for 12 spots on the U.S. team headed by Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

“I’m a natural leader, I think, ever since I was young. I was kinda always one of the main guys,” Durant said. “There’s no different here. I just want to come out and lead by example, be one of the early guys to the bus, in the meetings, be the first guy and the last guy off the floor. Just let them know my input. I’ve been through a lot in this league so I have a little bit of information.”

The three-year pro is the reigning NBA scoring champion and the youngest scoring champ in league history, so he’s a natural fit to be Team USA’s best scoring option. Shooting is such an asset during international competitions because European teams shoot the ball extremely well and defend the paint extremely well, so you have to have some snipers on the roster to pull teams out of their zones.

One of the reasons why the 2004 U.S. Olympic team failed in Greece was because the team lacked pure shooters to support the inside game of Tim Duncan. Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Richard Jefferson all struggled to make 3-point shots during the ‘04 Olympics despite the line being closer.

In 2006, a U.S. team coached by Krzyzewski and led on the court by James, Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul finished a disappointing third at the World Championship. Why? Because they couldn’t figure out how to attack Greece’s zone defense. It’s the only blemish on Team USA’s record since Jerry Colangelo took over the program five years ago.

Durant’s game is suited for international competition. He doesn’t need to have the basketball in his hands all the time to be effective. He can spot up and shoot threes, and when you run at him he can put the ball on the deck and score on the move. Durant also has developed a nice rip move where he swings his arms to create contact and forces defenders to commit a foul. But don’t expect international referees to call this every time because European players don’t utilize this move as often as American players.

With Durant as the catalyst, the 2010 U.S. team is armed with one of the best scorers in the world and teams will be reluctant to play zone the whole game. But the young superstar believes his game extends beyond just shooting the basketball.

“I’m gonna try to bring more of a defensive effort than an offensive effort,” he said. “I know they need me to score points, but I’m gonna go out there and play my hardest on the defensive end and try to be a lock-down defender.”

That’s good, Kevin, but I think Team USA needs your scoring more so than your defense.

It would be a complete shocker if Durant doesn’t make the U.S. roster. He’s the next-in-line superstar to handle the enormous burden of leading USA Basketball to a gold medal. The last time the United States took home the gold at the World Championship was in 1994. That ‘94 squad, coached by Don Nelson, is probably the second-greatest team in basketball history behind only the 1992 Dream Team.

“It feels good to represent your country,” Durant said. “I just want to play as hard as I can, try to sacrifice and be as much of a team guy as I can.”

Durant said Coach K is already using the ‘08 U.S. Olympic Team, with the emphasis on TEAM, as the example on how to win gold.

“They showed us a video of the Olympic team on what they went through. They let us know that it’s all about team. No one guy is higher than the other guy on a totem pole. Everybody is equal,” Durant said. “It’s just basketball. I like to have fun. We have great players here, so we’re gonna take a lot of pressure off of each other.”

Although it’s nice to have 11 other studs on a basketball team, the pressure will be squarely on Durant – the star of stars on this U.S. squad – to deliver USA Basketball a gold medal-winning performance in Turkey.

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David Lee, who was traded from New York to Golden State during the offseason, injured his finger during Team USA's practice. (UPI)

This year’s U.S. men’s national team looks younger, faster and more athletic, but not necessarily better than the “Redeem Team” two years ago.

For one, the team that will represent the United States in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey have a glutton of talented guards but lack quality big men. And that was before New York Knicks forward/center Amare Stoudemire decided to drop out of the program a day before training camp started in Las Vegas and Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez opted not to play because the knee injury he suffered during the regular season is not 100 percent.

Then, during Tuesday’s workouts, Golden State Warriors forward David Lee may have dislocated the middle finger on his non-shooting hand. According to reports, Lee injured the finger when he went up to block a shot and jammed it against the bottom of the backboard.

That’s three big guys out and Team USA hasn’t even completed a full week of practice.

Team USA’s frontcourt was getting so depleted that JaVale McGee, the young center of the Washington Wizards, has been asked to take part in team activities as a backup plan. McGee is coming off a very impressive outing at Vegas Summer League, but there’s a slim chance he’ll make the final cut.

“With those guys missing, we’re gonna have to play much better as a team. We have great guard play, but we’re a little short on bigs,” Lee said during Tuesday’s workout.

“We have guys who can play multiple positions. Rebounding is going to be huge for us,” said Lee, who may be asked to play some center if he makes the squad. “It’s pretty obvious that our advantage is going to be our quickness, our length and our explosiveness. That’s something we’re gonna have to utilize and spread the floor like the past Olympic team did before to create driving lanes and defensively really pack it in and find a way to rebound the basketball.”

The world championships begin on Aug. 28 so USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have a month to figure out who should make the 12-man roster out of the 21 players invited to camp. None of the 21 players invited were on the U.S. squad that brought home the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.

“The interesting part for me will be the bigs, to see how it plays out,” said Colangelo.

Among those who are competing for roster spots are reigning NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, and 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose.

Durant is an absolute lock to make the team, and there’s a good chance Billups will join him having been a part of the program back in 2008 when Coach K and Co. prepared for the Beijing Olympics. But after those two, it is anyone’s guess. Here are the names of the players invited to the USA Basketball training camp in Las Vegas:

– POINT GUARDS: Billups (Denver Nuggets), Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics), Rose (Chicago Bulls), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors).

– SHOOTING GUARDS: Evans (Sacramento Kings), O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies), Eric Gordon (L.A. Clippers).

– SMALL FORWARDS: Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats), Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers).

– CENTERS: Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets), Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks), JaVale McGee (Washington Wizards).

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Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu scored 25 points and had 12 assists against Boston in Game 7. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

On a day when the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, the two marquee franchises of the league, were pushed to a Game 7, the player who came up huge was not named Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce or Dwight Howard.

When the Orlando Magic needed someone to turn the lights out at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Coach Stan Van Gundy – who has been heaviliy criticized for losing Game 5 to the Celtics – did not call on Howard’s number or Rashard Lewis’ number. Instead, Van Gundy put the ball in the hands of Hedo Turkoglu.

Turkoglu scored 25 points, making 4-of-5 threes, grabbed five rebounds and had a career-playoff high 12 assists to lead Orlando to a 101-82 victory in Game 7 and ended Boston’s reign as NBA champions. When the Celtics made a push in the fourth quarter to close the gap, similar to what they did in Game 5, Turkoglu made sure history was not going to repeat itself.

“The thing that I probably liked the most about it is, through a good part of the second half. It looked very, very similar to Game 5. But we looked we had learned from it and we continued to play, and Turk was outstanding down the stretch,” Van Gundy said.

Turkoglu, one of the best fourth-quarter players in the NBA, made nine of 12 shots from the field Sunday night in 36 minutes. Last year, he hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat the Celtics during a regular season game in Orlando.

Howard was solid (12 points and 16 rebounds) and so was Lewis (19 points). But make no mistake about it, the Magic was able to overcome Boston’s fourth-quarter comeback and earned a trip to the Eastern Conference finals because of Turkoglu. Playing point forward, the 6-foot-10 Turkoglu not only made the big shots but he also created shots for his teammates. The Celtics lost a playoff series for the first time after leading 3-2.

They call Turkoglu the Michael Jordan of Turkey. After his clutch performance in Game 7 at the new Boston Garden, they might start calling him Hero Turkoglu.

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