Popovich talks about a devastating loss of Beal, Grant’s situation, and stealing plays from Obradovic and Ivkovic / News - Basketnews.com

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Team USA shaky preparation for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games continues. Bradley Beal was placed in health and safety protocols and was officially ruled out from going to Japan, and it was the hottest topic during the press conference with the head coach Gregg Popovich.

Popovich admitted that such loss was crushing, and he was feeling terrible about the whole situation. Furthermore, the Team USA exhibition game against Australia was also canceled, so Americans are left with only one friendly game (versus Spain on Sunday).

"As far as Bradley is concerned, I’m dying for him. We all are,” Popovich said. “He’s a little kid, it’s been a dream of his, and he was playing great, having fun, and played a big part of us coming together chemistry-wise. So, for him and his family, it’s devastating. We feel horrible about it."

"I don’t think we can replace point-by-point what Bradley did for us. All the players are different; we have other fine players on the team who will have to fill in. As I said, we want someone who can keep the momentum, make us a better team, and be a good teammate.

Bradley is no doubt a huge loss. He was playing very well, understanding everything, and fitting well with the group. So, there’s no next Bradley Beal, just like there’s no next Damian Lillard or next KD. All these guys are different," Popovich added.

BasketNews asked the head coach of the American team what kind of player he will be looking for, and Popovich said he probably won't have the luxury of selecting the player at a specific position or with a particular skill set.

"I don’t think we are going to be able to say we want a point guard, shooter, or a big man," Popovich said. "We want a basketball player, somebody that will be able to help us win and be a good teammate."

The head coach of Team USA also mentioned that a crucial part of selecting Beal’s replacement will be the physical shape of the newly selected player.

"One of the major considerations in picking someone is most of these guys are going so late. For a lot of people, things have ended in May," Popovich continued. "This year the problem in picking somebody is making sure they’re in shape."

"Because once we get there (to Tokyo), it’s just a couple of practices to get them in shape. That’s a consideration. It’s tough to walk in and be able to do this. For the last week, we were working out how we want to play on both sides of the court.

So, if somebody’s coming in kind of blind and if they’re out of shape, you’re not sure how much they can help. It’s going to take a certain individual who could pick it all up quickly. We can’t get super complicated but also somebody who’s going to be in a pretty good condition.

So, we’re going through the names just like you guys in the media are. Some people may not be ready to come, some people may not be interested, some people could be in rehab, some people are going to be free agents. All kinds of reasons. So, we will have to find someone pretty quick, who we think, is going to fit," added Popovich.

Despite the disappointing news regarding Beal, Popovich was way more optimistic about Jerami Grant, who was placed in health and safety protocols just like the Washington Wizards star.

BasketNews asked the coach if he thinks Grant could also miss the upcoming Olympics, and Popovich was pretty confident that this won’t happen.

"I don’t think it’s in the cards, and I certainly hope that doesn’t happen," Popovich said. "We’re just following the protocols we are told. But that’s not something (Grant missing the Olympics) we’ve been thinking about as a possibility. One of the reasons to follow the protocols closely, our primary job besides trying to be successful as a team is to get there safely for all these young men."

The press conference ended on a cheerful note. Popovich was reminded about him saying that he was using inbound plays from legendary European coaches Dusan Ivkovic and Zeljko Obradovic.

So, Popovich was asked if was planning to do the same with Team USA.

"I don’t know, it depends on who we will be playing, but I didn’t steal only from them. I steal from anybody I can," Popovich said with laughter. "Because I have half of the brain, there’s a lot of smart people out there, and I’m not that good at inventing the wheel. So, I am observing, and I think all of us coaches see what everybody else is doing, so we take a little bit here and a little bit there."

"But those two coaches, along with many others, are good people to steal from because they’re pretty sharp," added Popovich.

Finally, Popovich ended his conference with a rhetorical question: "I can’t be arrested for that, can I?"

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