Team USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski plans to cut its roster from 16 to 12 players in the runup to the FIBA World Basketball Championships.

The announcement came in a post-game press conference, after Team USA beat the Dominican Republic 105-62 in an exhibition game.

Krzyzewski said his coaching staff is constantly putting combinations together and seeing who among the players work well with each other.

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While he doesn't necessarily know what "getting it down to 12" means, he is sure that the coaching staff needs to get the roster to a lower number.

Derrick Rose was the most recent player taken out of Team USA before Wednesday's game.

Krzyzewski said that he was taking Rose out for him to rest his knees. Team USA is scheduled to play give games in six days, all in the first week of the FIBA World Cup tournament.

Thus, they were questioning whether Rose's knees could withstand the strain. He had previously come an ACL in his left knee, and a torn meniscus on his right.

Team USA Assistant Coach Tom Thibodeau offered support for Rose bowing out of the tournament, praising the depth of the team.

While there are a number of players who can score a lot and do not need to play extended minutes in the game, Thibodeau said that this team is ideal for Rose.

"Because of all the depth on the team, it's ideal for him, but if he needs rest we're going to give him rest," Thibodeau added.     

They then went with a starting lineup consisting of Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kenneth Faried, and Anthony Davis against the Dominican Republic.

The roster leaves NBA standouts Damian Lillard, Kyle Korver, Rudy Gay, Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward, Klay Thompson, and DeMar DeRozan vying for permanent spots on the roster.

Team USA is scheduled to leave for the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Saturday, with one final exhibition game against Slovenia before the starting games commence.

Krzyzewski assured though that no cuts would be made for the Friday game against Slovenia.

Tagsderrick rose, Mike Kzyzewski, FIBA World Cup