There are only 12 spots on the USA Basketball roster for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, so it was inevitable there would be a lot of famous players excluded from the team for one reason or another once the competition began.But all the famous guys?The U.S. will enter the competition starting Sunday morning against the Czech Republic with the least accomplished and least productive squad in terms of their NBA careers since the USA Basketball renai sance began with the 2006 entry in what then was called the FIBA World Championship. There are only two players on this team who averaged more than 20 points last season. There are three players named to the NBA All-Star Game a combined five times. There are three players who didnt even crack double figures on average.MORE: When this group dropped an exhibition game at Australia to end the senior national teams 13-year winning streak, coach Gregg Popovich declared, "Nobody wins forever."USA Basketball, though, lost Lance Lynn Jersey so many players in the lead-up to this World Cup that its no surprise the men finally would lose a game.The biggest losers in all of this, however, might be those who pa sed on the opportunity to be a part of what this international competition has meant to past participants. The 2010 and 2014 world championships launched a series of players to greater heights in the game: to NBA stardom, to NBA championships and, of course, to gold medals at those events and in subsequent Olympic Games appearances."When I watched Kevin Durant in Istanbul in 2010, for guys like him and Steph Curry, and Kyrie Irving in 2014, it has always been a Marcell Ozuna Jersey coming-out party for our young superstars,"ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla, an expert on the international game, told Sporting News. "Thats what weve seen in the past. I think there is a carryover to the next season. Thats been proven. Its statistically proven, and the eye test would tell you the same thing."In this cycle, such players as Bradley Beal of the Wizards, Tobias Harris of the 76ers and Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum of the Trail Blazers withdrew early from consideration, Beal citing the impending birth of his second child. Marvin Bagley and DeAaron Fox of the Kings dropped out after spending time in training camp.Going along to China would not have guaranteed any of these players future NBA championships and All-Star appearances. There is a history of improvement, however, among those who chose to spend their summers playing for their country.Of the 24 players on the 2010 and 2014 rosters, 17 increased their scoring averages in the following season. Seven of them improved by more than 3.5 points per game, and the average was 2.6 points.Derrick Rose came off his duty as point guard for the 2010 World Champions and earned league MVP honors in 2010-11. Ru sell Westbrook improved from 16.1 points to 21.9 and made the first of eight All-Star games in the next nine years. Tyson Chandler went from struggling role player delivering only 6.5 points and 6.3 rebounds for a meager Hornets team to 10.1 points and 9.4 rebounds and a role as the foundational defensive player for the 2011 NBA champion Mavericks.In 2014, Klay Thompson improved from 18.4 points to 21.7 and his first All-Star appearance. James Harden jumped from 25.4 points to 27.4 and from fifth in MVP voting to second. Anthony Davis jumped from 20.8 points to 24.4. He since has never declined below the 24-point mark.From 2009 until 2018, every NBA MVP was a USA Basketball veteran: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Ru sell Westbrook, James Harden Jedd Gyorko Jersey .To be fair, the 2019 senior mens national team is not without elite talent. Point guard Kemba Walker has made three All-Star Games and averaged 25.6 points in 2018-19. Only four players in the previous three World Cup cycles topped that figure: KevinDurant the season before the 2010 tournament, and Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade before the 2006 championships. Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 23.8 for the Jazz last season, fits the rising-star profile that was so common on the previous three rosters. Khris Middleton made his first All-Star Game last season and was an e sential member of a Bucks team that won 60 games and finished first in the Eastern Conference.They just have le s company at their level than the stars of the past three USA teams did.There are a lot of what can be termed middle-cla s NBA players: Joe Harris of the Nets, Mason Plumlee of the Nuggets, Brook Lopez of the Bucks, Marcus Smart of the Celtics and Harrison Barnes of the Kings. None averaged even 15 points last season.There are more on-the-brink young players than in the past, and they may be the ones who take advantage of the post-international bump,Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics and Myles Turner of the Pacers being the most Michael Wacha Jersey obvious examples.Turner has started 247 of 280 career games in four seasons with the Pacers, but only once has he averaged more than 30 minutes. He often cedes his position to Domantas Sabonis late in big games. In USA Basketball exhibitions, though, he averaged 8.3 rebounds and produced double-doubles in victories over Australia and Canada."I think this is a great summer for guys like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who are just starting their upward trajectory toward being NBA stars,"Fraschilla said. "Its a month working out with high-quality coaching. They can still do individuals. The practices are not very taxing. The games early on will not be very taxing, so not everybody has to play 30 minutes. Its a great month to hone your game."Myles still is in the infancy of his development. This is the perfect opportunity to take your game to another level. For this particular team, this month, hes called on to be a prime-time guy. That helps you physically and mentally, I think."There are some very good reasons players are pa sing on this opportunity. Much has changed in the NBA over the past Andrew Miller Jersey decade, and a lot has changed in the way FIBA conducts this event.In 2006, the World Championship began Aug. 19 and ended Sept. 3. NBA training camps opened the first week of October, which meant all participants got a full month off before going back to work with their teams. This years tournament opens Saturday and ends with the gold-medal game Sept. 15. With most camps opening Oct. 1, thats barely a two-week break for the players involved.Also, FIBAs puzzling decision to move its World Cup away from that other World Cup to not get lost in its shadow we told them in 2014 it was dumb to copy the name of the worlds biggest sporting event has put players in position where theyll be going almost two years straight if they appear in both this event and next summers Olympics.Lets say Walker comes out of this looking like an Olympian. Thats not a stretch. So he went to camp with the U.S. in August and might play for the World Cup title on Sept. 15. He is expected to r