Some injured players join practices for their first substantive comeback

Kevin Durant told ESPN.com‎ here on Monday night that he intends to Eric Rowe Limited Jersey join in this week's Team USA workouts."Yes sir," Durant said before heading out for a late-night shooting session. USA Today first reported Durant's intention to join the practices earlier Monday. Durant played only 27 games last season because of a fractured foot. The NBA's 2014 MVP, he was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in October and was ultimately forced to undergo three surgeries last season. "Kevin has been incredibly disciplined in his return-to-play protocol, and he's now at the stage where he can participate in noncontact drill work," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "We are excited he is at the point where he can take part in portions of the minicamp, as he has demonstrated great focus throughout his recovery efforts." USAB has assembled a roster of 34 players for this week's three-day minicamp. Cleveland's LeBron James and several other players who are either recovering from injury or have otherwise secured clearance are not expected to participate in the two scheduled days of noncontact workouts or the intrasquad scrimmage, but USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo made attendance in Vegas mandatory for any player who wishes to be considered for the 2016 Olympic squad. James, in particular, plans to make his stay short so he can get back to Ohio for a long-scheduled event for his foundation. But by reporting to camp, James, 30, keeps himself eligible for the Summer Games in Brazil should he decide to play in his fourth straight ‎Olympic tournament. The expectation in USAB circles is that James is unlikely to say yes or no to Colangelo and Krzyzewski until after the 2015-16 NBA season. USA Basketball on Thursday released a list of 34 players, headlined by Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, expected to attend next week's minicamp in Las Vegas. James and several other players who are either recovering from injury or have otherwise secured clearance are not expected to participate in the two scheduled days of noncontact workouts and an intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 13. But USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo has made attendance in Vegas mandatory for any player who wishes to be considered for the 2016 Olympic team. The full list of next week's attendees includes 11 of the 12 members of the squad that won the inaugural FIBA World Cup in Spain last summer -- all except Chicago's Derrick Rose -- as well as eight members of the gold-medal-winning squad from the 2012 Olympics in London and eight players new to the national-team pool. Rose's decision to skip the camp would appear Earl Wolff Kids Jersey to rule him out of consideration for Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The NBA's 2011 Most Valuable Player represented the United States at both the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey and the 2014 World Cup but missed the 2012 Olympics because of injury. The eight players in the pool as of last September who are no longer listed are Phoenix's Tyson Chandler, Golden State's Andre Iguodala, Atlanta's Kyle Korver, Boston's David Lee, Atlanta's Paul Millsap, Portland's Damian Lillard, Dallas' Deron Williams and Rose. In a recent interview with CBS Sports Radio, Lillard said he sees little point in trying to earn a spot on the Rio roster after being omitted from USAB's 12-man squad for last summer's inaugural FIBA Basketball World Cup.‎ "‎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," Colangelo said in a statement. "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 Aug. 13 will be a fun All-Star-type game. "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." Colangelo and Krzyzewski took control of the USA senior men's national team a decade http://www.eaglesshopnfl.com/Authentic-Darren-Sproles-Jersey ago in advance of the 2006 World Championship in Japan. The Americans have lost just one of their 76 games under Krzyzewski, who ‎has retained Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and new Oklahoma City assistant Monty Williams as his bench staff. ‎The 2016 Olympics will run from Aug. 5-21 next summer, with Team USA projected to convene as a group to start practicing in mid-July. The Olympic men's basketball tournament is composed of just 12 nations, with the United States qualifying automatically as reigning World Cup champions.