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John Wall undecided on whether to attend the USA Basketball mini-camp

The Wizards' franchise player is not sure as to whether to attend USA Basketball's minicamp for the 2016 Olympic Games, according to reports.

By Albert Lee Updated
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The USA Basketball Men's National Team will hold a mini-camp from August 11 to 13 at UNLV in Las Vegas. Most of the best American players will attend, even if they can't play due to injury. Attendance in the mini-camp is a virtual prerequisite toward being in consideration for the 2016 Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro.

Among those on the Wizards' roster, John Wall and Bradley Beal have the best chance to make the team. Beal indicated earlier this week that he will in fact attend the camp. However, Wall isn't so sure, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports:

It's not surprising to see why Wall may have second thoughts about attending the camp.

Last season, he was a late invitee to the camp for the FIBA World Cup team and was among the first group of players cut. Second, there are plenty of guards who have already played for Team USA in the World Cup or the Olympics, including Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving among others.

All of these players and Wall have their own strengths and weaknesses. But these other players either have a game that is better suited for FIBA competition or have experience playing in the tournaments. Therefore, Wall has a tougher hill to climb than these other players. The risk of injury trying out for a team where he has a slim shot at making may just not be worth it.

Still, Wall has a strong competitive edge, and this camp will have the best group of players in the world at one place. And if Wall wants to play on Team USA at some point in the future, his absence at this camp will not go unnoticed. In fact, it will probably go against him.

We've discussed the pros and cons of the House of Guards attending the mini-camp in Jormond Wall's recent FanPost. Ultimately, this is his personal decision, but if I'm John Wall, I still attend the camp to work out, both for this upcoming season and for future opportunities with USA Basketball.