Damian Lillard on Team USA camp: 'I don't know why I would go'
Blazers guard Damian Lillard said that he doesn't feel like he's a part of Team USA because he got cut last summer.
•
1 min read
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard told CBS Sports Radio's Jody MacDonald that he doesn't plan to attend USA Basketball's minicamp in Las Vegas in August, as Team USA cut him before the FIBA World Cup last summer. Here's the exchange from The Jody Mac Show:
Are you headed to Vegas next month?
Umm, probably not.
Why not?
I did it the last few summers. Last summer I didn’t make it, so I don’t know why I would go. If I got cut last summer, I don’t think I’m a part of it.
Lillard was cut from last summer's roster just before Team USA went to Spain, and he obviously felt overlooked. USA Basketball chose Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Derrick Rose as their point guards at the time.
It's worth noting that ESPN's Marc Stein reported that Lillard would be in attendance, even if he's not on the court. CSNNW's Jabari Young, however, pointed out that Lillard is scheduled to host a basketball camp from August 11-13, which is exactly the same time frame as the USA Basketball minicamp.
Normally it would be weird to jump to major conclusions based on a player's tone of voice in an interview, but it really doesn't sound like Lillard wants to give it another go and risk getting cut again. Skipping the minicamp doesn't necessarily mean he won't represent his country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but it does make it much less likely. It already wasn't going to be easy, given the amount of other great American point guards in their primes at the moment.
