Team USA forward Jerami Grant is joining Bradley Beal in health and safety protocols in Las Vegas, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Grant hasn't tested positive for COVID-19, though, and it's unclear what his status is moving forward.
Beal entered the protocols on Wednesday, and it's not looking good for him to be able to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports Team USA is currently looking for a replacement for the Washington Wizards star. Since Grant hasn't tested positive for the coronavirus, one would hope he'll be cleared in time, but there's nothing certain as of right now.
One thing that is certain is that Team USA is having a rough go of it as they prepare for the Olympics. While the Americans finally got a win in the exhibition slate last time out against Argentina, that was preceded by two embarrassing losses. And now even after they got a win, they're dealing with these issues.
Grant played limited minutes in the victory over Argentina, but he did impress with a couple of massive rejections. He's not slated to play sizable minutes in Team USA's rotation, but he could be used for defense and energy purposes. This Team USA roster doesn't have too many defensive specialists, and he could provide that at times if they need a spark on that end of the court.
It would be a huge bummer if both Bradley Beal and Jerami Grant are knocked out of the Olympics before they even begin. Beal was looking forward to finally playing meaningful games alongside Jayson Tatum, but that appears to be in serious danger. Select Team members Darius Garland and Keldon Johnson seem like good bets to be possible replacement candidates, but perhaps Team USA tries to recruit bigger names. Julius Randle, perhaps?
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