USA announce invites for Vegas minicamp

COLORADO SPRINGS (2016 Rio Olympics) - Kyrie Irving and 10 other members of the title-winning United States side at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup are among the 34 players invited to the USA national team minicamp in Las Vegas 11-13 August.

The American players will gather with coach Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants to train with a view to next year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which they qualified for by reaching the top of the podium last year in Madrid.

Two-time world champion Derrick Rose will be the only absentee from last year's squad.

Irving was the Most Valuable Player of last summer's event, with his incredible 26-point performance in the 129-92 Final triumph over Serbia still strong in the memory of all international basketball fans.

The Cleveland Cavalier guard buried all six of his attempts from three-point range in the game to cap a magnificent performance in Spain.

The triumph served as a launchpad for terrific seasons for many of the players, including Golden State Warriors duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

After Curry was named as the NBA's MVP, he and Thompson fired the Warriors to an NBA championship.

A couple of other outstanding players in the Warriors squad, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green, have received invites to the minicamp.

Two-time Olympic champions LeBron James of Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers did not play last year but they are firmly in contention for spots on the 2016 roster after being invited to the minicamp.

Kevin Durant, the MVP of the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup and a member of the side that won the 2012 Olympics, will be present in Las Vegas.

Paul George, who was set to be an important player last year before getting hurt in training camp, will also be among those in Vegas.

"With this being a summer where we do not have an official competition that we need to prepare for, this year's minicamp is an opportunity to continue and expand the brotherhood and camaraderie that has been built," said Jerry Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA national team since 2005.

"It will be a celebration of all that we've accomplished with USA Basketball since the national team program was formed in 2006 while also looking ahead to 2016.

The minicamp is going to be low key with light workouts, no contact, and the USA Basketball Showcase on 13 August will be a fun all-star type game. -Colangelo

"We recognize and understand that some of our players' availability to participate is still up in the air.

"Some players are coming off of injuries and are not yet ready to actively participate, or they are getting ready for their NBA seasons. So, it's a good thing that we don’t have a competition to get ready for this summer.

"We're also excited about the eight players who have been added to the National Team roster.

"Seven of the players have been involved in past national team training camps or have participated in past camps as a member of our select teams.

"All of them enjoyed outstanding NBA seasons in 2014-15 and have been on our radar for a while."

USA players invited to minicamp: LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal, Jimmy Butler, Michael Carter-Williams, Mike Conley, DeMarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Kevin Durant, Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, Paul George, Draymond Green, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Gordon Hayward, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, DeAndre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Love, Victor Oladipo, Chandler Parsons, Chris Paul, Mason Plumlee, Klay Thompson, John Wall and Russell Westbrook.

FIBA