With his withdrawal from the Team USA Select Team, Landry Shamet has shown just how confident he is in this LA Clippers’ roster.
Another one bites the dust. LA Clippers’ guard Landry Shamet announced today that he will be withdrawing from selection to participate with the Team USA Select Team. His reasoning? He needs to work on getting focused and ready for a possible championship run this season.
Clippers G Landry Shamet has withdrawn from USA Basketball Select Team camp, agent @GeorgeLangberg tells ESPN. “He was appreciative of the opportunity and hopes to be part of USAB again in future,” Langberg tells ESPN. Shamet's preparing for what could be deep LAC playoff run.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 2, 2019
Just days ago, we had speculated that with all the other players that have dropped out that Shamet may have had a real shot at making the actual Team USA roster. There’s no indication if all that extra possible playing impacted his decision, but we respect his logic.
With the addition of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard this summer, the Clippers became instant championship favorites. Shamet, the likely starting two guard, will figure to have a big role for the team.
With his withdrawal, along with Montrezl Harrell‘s, it seems like this roster is fully focused on winning a championship. The team is looking to secure not only the first championship in franchise history, but the first appearance in general.
Coming off a Second Team All-Rookie selection, Shamet has a lot of room to grow. He has already indicated he wants to have more of a ball handling role this season. With the gravity of Leonard and George on the court, Shamet will inevitably get more three point opportunities. His shooting in his rookie year was historic, so the coaching staff must be salivating at the idea of getting him even better looks.
It sucks that we won’t get to see Landry working with Team USA in the coming weeks, but his desire to focus on winning an NBA championship with the Clippers makes us excited for the season to get going.