Marcus Smart cleared to return as De’Aaron Fox departs from Team USA

After being called day-to-day by Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich after experiencing soreness in his left calf, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been cleared to returned to the court with Team USA set to face Australia on August 22.

As they prepare to leave the country today, Team USA gets one roster boost to counter the unexpected departure of De'Aaron Fox: Marcus Smart, I'm told, has been cleared to make a full return to the court from the calf injury that has sidelined him for the past week-plus

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 17, 2019

Team USA will be headed to Australia for practice in Melbourne on the August 19.

Interestingly enough, Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has withdrawn from Team USA. Fox, who Smart and teammate Kemba Walker spoke highly of, was a standout at camp after being promoted from the Select Team.

Amidst the national team’s ever-slim backcourt depth, Smart will now likely return to the team with s spot in the rotation. Fox was playing regular minutes with the second unit in scrimmages and against Spain and that role may now go to Smart.