Pacers’ Myles Turner is so close to making USA’s final 12-man rotation

With only one more player to be cut from Team USA, Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers is right on the verge of making his first official national team appearance.

As Team USA finishes up its final 10-or-so days of practices and scrimmages before the FIBA World Cup, there’s still one final player that will have to be sent packing to get the roster down to the final 12. Indiana Pacers’ center Myles Turner will have to wait just a while longer to see if his stint with the stars and stripes will continue into September.

Just a few short days ago, the Team USA roster sat at 15 players, meaning three guys still had to go before the roster was finalized. But then, a couple more members of the squad dropped out. First, it was Houston’s P.J. Tucker.

Tucker is a guy that can play some smallball center, so him opting to stay home vaulted Turner’s value to Team USA even higher. Next, De’Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings jumped ship as well.

Obviously, Fox is a guard, so his decision to stay home from the World Cup doesn’t hold a ton of weight in whether or not Myles Turner eventually makes the final cut. However, it does get the roster down to 13 total players, which means Turner’s odds of being in the final 12 are extremely favorable.

The final player to be cut from the team USA roster must be sent home by the end of the month. Myles Turner should be fairly safe since he’s now only one of three true centers on the team alongside Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee, but nothing is official for now. But I mean, come on. In what universe is Myles getting cut over Plumlee? You should be safe to go ahead and order your Turner USA jerseys if you want to.