What is normally a US 'Dream Team' has turned into 'The Leftovers'.

NBA stars such as Anthony Davis, James Harden, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Andre Drummond, Tobias Harris, and Paul Millsap all withdrew last month.

That was on top of superstars such as Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James already making themselves unavailable.

The US have put on a brave face in the wake of all the pullouts, but things aren't looking overly promising if their training camp is anything to go by.

Reports out of the US on Thursday said Team USA lost 36-17 in a 10-minute training camp scrimmage against a team of fringe NBA, G League, and overseas players.

Australia will also be missing some star power at the World Cup, with Ben Simmons, Thon Maker, Dante Exum and Ryan Broekhoff absent.

But with Andrew Bogut, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, Baynes and Matthew Dellavedova on deck, hopes are high the Boomers can finally end their medal drought.

Baynes said despite the quality of the US squad being widely panned, he still rates them as the team to beat.

"They're still the reigning champs. They're great players," Baynes said ahead of warm-up games against Canada in Perth on Friday and Saturday night.

"They have a couple of All Stars, definitely some future All Stars.

"They've got a chip on their shoulder.

"The media's making something of the guys that have pulled out, but they're still going to front a great team.

"We're going in there to beat them. But we have to be playing well."

Australia have long promoted their goal of winning a medal at the World Cup.

But Baynes has a particular colour in mind.

"Everyone knows that we're chasing the gold medal, and it's not going to change no matter who you talk to on this team," he said.

Baynes, who plays for Boston in the NBA, is set to form a key part of the Boomers' hopes.

The 32-year-old has recently added long-range shooting to his list of attributes, and Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley has been impressed by what he's seen.

"I think he's going to be a real force for us at the World Cup, in fact we're counting on him to be. He's that inside presence that we need to collapse the D," Longley said.

"I've seen him start to take them (three-pointers) this season. Working him out here in the gym, the number of shots that he hits is what surprises me. He's hitting them at a good clip."

Meanwhile, the Boomers confirmed Mitch Creek would replace Xavier Cooks (knee) in the World Cup squad.

Australian Associated Press