In 2015, Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo declared a minicamp mandatory for invited players who wanted a chance to play in the Olympics the following year. (Colangelo didn’t exactly stick with that.)
Colangelo isn’t bothering to set such a hard line a year before another major competition – the 2019 World Cup.
LeBron James will miss next week’s minicamp, and so will Stephen Curry.
Chris Haynes of ESPN:Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry will not be in attendance for Team USA’s minicamp next week in Las Vegas, league sources tell ESPN.
The two-time NBA MVP, according to sources, will be spending time with his family, including his newborn son.
Curry and LeBron have both played all the way through the NBA Finals the last four years. I don’t blame them for taking time for themselves. They’re also good enough to still get onto Team USA in 2019 if they want to play. They have leverage other players might not.
If Kawhi Leonard is looking for attention-grabbing cover to attend the camp, he won’t get it from the NBA’s two biggest stars. If Leonard participates, he’ll be – by far – the biggest story there.
