One year after Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson helped Team USA win a gold medal in the FIBA World Cup, they’re lined up to shoot for gold in the 2016 Olympics.
And two of their Warriors teammates – Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes – also will be invited to the minicamp scheduled for Aug. 11-13 at the UNLV campus in Las Vegas, according to ESPN NBA writer Marc Stein.
Green acknowledged his invitation last month, stating that making Team USA is a “one selfish goal” he hopes to achieve. He also believes there is a place for a player of his varied skills.
“Every team needs that guy who's going to do anything, whatever it takes, and I know I can be that guy for that group," he said during the July 9 news conference after signing a five-year contract worth $82 million. "You're going to have your LeBron (James), your Steph (Curry), your Kyrie (Irving), your James Harden, your Anthony Davis. I'm not them.
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"But I don't do what none of those guys do, and that's why I think I can make my mark out on that team, just being that guy who's willing to defend anybody, being that guy who's willing to do whatever it takes for the team. If I go out there and do what I'm capable of doing and show what I bring to a team, it's a possibility. That's going to be my focus."
More than two dozen players have received invitations to what amounts to a pre-audition for the team that will participate in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Players unwilling or unable to attend will not have a chance to make the team when the roster is set next summer.
The workouts next month are not expected to be competitive but more of a gathering of players to go through non-contact drills and perhaps give coach Mike Krzyzewski a chance to examine overall chemistry.
