Marcus Smart invited to Team USA training camp, Jaylen Brown being considered

UPDATE: Marcus Smart has been extended an invite on Monday evening according to Shams Charania of Stadium 

The Celtics were already going to have some significant representation on Team USA for the FIBA World Cup in China this September, after Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum were invited to take part in a training camp that will take place in Las Vegas next month. Now, as several high profile players pull out of that camp, including Anthony Davis, James Harden, CJ McCollum, Bradley Beal and Tobias Harris, the C's may have more personnel brought into the mix to compete for a spot on the national team.

According to a report from Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart are among a shortlist of replacement candidates being considered for a spot in camp. Mike Conley, D'Angelo Russell, Josh Richardson, Thaddeus Young, and Julius Randle are the other names in the mix for camp invites.

An invite to training camp does not guarantee a spot on Team USA, but an All-NBA player like Walker is certainly looking like a lock to make the team as one of the four All-Stars remaining on the team. Meanwhile, Tatum appears to be a strong candidate to make the final 12-man roster as well once the team heads to China next month. A current look at the team's training camp depth chart shows a team that is light on wings and only has 14 players left from the initial 20 invites.

Guards: Lillard, Kemba, Mitchell, Lowry

Wings: Middleton, Tatum, Barnes, Tucker, Kuzma

Bigs: Love, Drummond, Turner, Millsap, Brook Lopez

Team USA is expected to have up to 20 players in camp before final cuts are made ahead of the World Cup, which begins on August 31st.

BSJ Analysis 

A defensive presence like Smart could certainly fill a role in the backcourt for this group, especially if Kyle Lowry (thumb surgery) does not recover in time from his offseason procedure to take part. Tatum is in good shape to make the squad, with the assumption that he beats out one of the potential new invites on the wing (Brown, Richardson)  in camp and performs better than guys like Barnes and Kuzma.

If nothing else, this situation will allow for some pre-training camp for the Celtics to build some chemistry among teammates. It's also a reflection of the high stock among the current C's despite such a disappointing conclusion to last year. Brad Stevens told BostonSportsJournal.com earlier this month that he will be a part of the training camp for a few days in Las Vegas, so it will be a good opportunity to improve for Walker and whoever else makes the team to improve against elite competition.

The Celtics will also have other representation on other nations during the FIBA World Cup. Daniel Theis is expected to suit up for Germany, Semi Ojeleye for Nigeria and Vincent Poirier for France.