LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, the past two NBA Rookies of the Year, will be among 23 players who will gather here for the USA Basketball men's national team mini-camp that opens on Thursday.
Three days of workout sessions that amount to a first step on the road to assembling a 2012 London Olympic squad will culminate with the participants split into blue and white squads for Saturday's USA Basketball Showcase game.
Chicago Bulls guard Rose was the 2009 Rookie of the Year while swingman Durant of Oklahoma City won the top newcomer award in 2008.
Four players who had been expected to attend - Trevor Ariza of the Houston Rockets, Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge and Portland guard Brandon Roy and Boston's Glen Davis - will not participate in the camp, USA Basketball said.
Eric Gordon of the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State forward Anthony Randolph have been added to the original camp roster while Indiana's Danny Granger and New York's David Lee will attend but not take part in workouts.
Among those taking part will be Portland's Greg Oden and Jerryd Bayless, Memphis' Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, college standout Blake Griffin, New Jersey's Devin Harris, Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City.
"While we look to continue to build continuity within the USA National Team program and continue to improve, in 2009 we will get a look at some of the top young NBA players who haven?t been involved in USA Basketball at the top national program level," USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said.
"This is their opportunity to be considered for the next generation of players who will help make up the USA Basketball national program."
A select squad of US NBA stars reclaimed Olympic gold last year at Beijing after finishing third at the 2004 Athens Games.
US teams with NBA talent will compete at next year's World Basketball Championship in Turkey, the 2011 Americas Olympic qualifying tournament unless they win the world title and the 2012 London Olympics.
"The roster for the national team program will be fluid in 2010-2012 and we will make adjustments to the roster each year to help insure we have the strongest program and the strongest teams possible," Colangelo said.
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