Joe Johnson, Langston Galloway Among Team USA Players For World Cup Qualifiers
USA Basketball has announced its 12-man roster for the next two qualifying games for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The team, coached by Jim Boylen, will be made up of G League players and current free agents. Here’s the roster:
- Jordan Bell, C (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Tarik Black, F/C (Grand Rapids Gold)
- Brian Bowen II, F (Iowa Wolves)
- Langston Galloway, G (College Park Skyhawks)
- Jared Harper, G (Birmingham Squadron)
- Joe Johnson, F (free agent)
- Juwan Morgan, F (Maine Celtics)
- Matt Ryan, F (Grand Rapids Gold)
- David Stockton, G (Memphis Hustle)
- Rayjon Tucker, G (Wisconsin Herd)
- Paul Watson, G/F (free agent)
- Justin Wright-Foreman, G (Birmingham Squadron)
With the exception of Ryan, all of the players on Team USA have some NBA experience, though some are certainly more accomplished than others. Johnson has earned seven All-Star berths and has appeared in 1,277 career regular season games. Bell, Black, and Galloway have also each played in more than 160 career regular season contests.
The 2023 World Cup will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia next August and September. Teams play 12 qualifying games before then — those contests take place across six windows, with World Cup hopefuls playing twice during each window.
Team USA went 1-1 in its first two qualifying games in November, defeating Cuba but losing to Mexico. Boylen coached that team and Bowen played for it, but the other 11 roster spots have since been turned over, with Isaiah Thomas among the players who aren’t back this time around. The new-look squad will face Puerto Rico on February 24 and Mexico again on February 27.
After this month’s games, the remaining four qualifying windows are scheduled for June, August, November, and next February. While the next two windows fall outside of the NBA season, the expectation is that USA Basketball will continue using G-Leaguers for the qualifiers before recruiting NBA stars for the event itself next summer.
As our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter), forward DaQuan Jeffries had been expected to be part of Team USA’s roster for this month’s qualifiers, but had to de-commit due to an injury.
Nuggets Waive Matt Ryan
The Nuggets have released forward Matt Ryan, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Ryan had signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team prior to the start of training camp last month.
Ryan played at three different school from 2015-20, finishing his college career with Chattanooga after stints at Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. As a senior for Chattanooga, he averaged 15.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG on .423/.359/.879 shooting in 33 games (30.6 MPG). He played for the Cavaliers at the Las Vegas Summer League this August.
Ryan seems likely to become an affiliate player for the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s new G League affiliate. He’d be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Gold.
Denver used the newly-opened spot on its 20-man preseason roster to sign Giorgi Bezhanishvili, who reached an Exhibit 10 agreement with the team a month ago.
Nuggets Sign Matt Ryan, Set 20-Man Camp Roster
The Nuggets have announced their 20-man training camp roster, and with it the signing of Matt Ryan, per a team press release.
Ryan, a 6’7″ rookie forward, went undrafted in 2020 after spending his final season with Chattanooga. He had his most productive season by far as a senior, averaging 15.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.9 APG in 30.6 MPG for the Mocs, with a shooting line of .423/.359/.879 across 33 games. He played for Notre Dame and Vanderbilt earlier in his collegiate career, but struggled to gain traction with either team.
The release doesn’t specify the exact details of Ryan’s contract, but it will likely be a standard Exhibit 10 contract.
The signing of Davon Reed, which our JD Shaw previously reported, is now official, per the release.
Denver’s reported deal with Giorgi Bezhanishvili still isn’t official yet, but it could occur later in the preseason.
The Nuggets have 14 players with guaranteed contracts, and guard PJ Dozier has a partial guarantee of $200K. Both of the team’s two-way spots are filled.