Knicks forward Julius Randle did not receive an offer from the USA Basketball Men’s National Team after a pair of players withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, according to a report published Sunday evening by the New York Post’s Marc Berman.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (COVID-19) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (calf) pulled out this past week, but Team USA went in a surprising direction for replacements.
Rather than reach out to Randle, a first-time All-Star for New York’s 2020-21 season, Team USA filled two vacant spots on the roster with Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee and San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson.
Citing a source, Berman added that Team USA “heavily” considered offering Randle, but ultimately felt the roster needed a “true shotblocker.”
Johnson, meanwhile, earned a call up from the USA Select Team.
Starting all 71 regular-season games for the Knicks this past year, Randle broke out, averaging a career-high 24.1 points on 45.% shooting while adding 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 37.6 minutes.