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Casey Holdahl

Though Lillard was able to play through the injury after missing seven games in late December, the pain caused by the plantar fasciitis in his left foot never really went away. He received treatment on his foot throughout the season, though the most effective approach to the injury, which causes extreme pain on the bottom of the foot and heel, is rest, which is obviously hard to get when you're the leader and best player on a team trying to make the postseason. By forgoing the month-long lead up to the Olympics and the Games themselves, Lillard should have the recuperation time he'll need to go into Portland's 2016 training camp completely healthy.

Charnania is also reporting that Lillard was hoping for more time to make the decision before being pressed by Team USA for a commitment one way or another. This could very well be true, though if being completely healthy and rested for the start of the 2016-17 NBA season is Lillard's motivation for declining a Team USA invite, it's hard to figure how another week or two would change his decision.

Lillard initially declined being a part of the pool that Team USA draws their roster from, though he ultimately relented despite not feeling particularly optimistic about his chances of being named to the Olympic team after being passed over for the FIBA World Cup team in 2014. But between players opting to rest in preparation for the upcoming season and the myriad of concerns regarding the 2016 Games, the number of candidates has dwindled to the point where Lillard would have been a lock to make the Olympic team had he chosen to participate.

But Lillard opting for rest over Rio doesn't mean you won't have a Trail Blazer to root for during the Olympics, as Al-Farouq Aminu and the rest of Team Nigeria (a team that also includes former Trail Blazer Ike Diogu and former Oregon Duck Chamberlain Oguchi) have qualified for the 2016 Games after winning AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia. And CJ McCollum has also been invited to play on the USA Select Team, whose purpose is to help the USA National Team prepare for international events, though players from the Select team have been promoted to the National team, with the most recent example being Mason Plumlee making the 2014 World Cup team.

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Damian Lillard To Forego 2016 Olympics

When asked during exit interviews about the report stating that he had been invited to play for the USA's Select Team, which helps the Men's National Team train for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum said, "I would love to be a part of Team USA basketball."

That feeling is evidently mutual, as USA Basketball officially announced on Tuesday that McCollum was one of 25 players chosen for the Select Team that will scrimmage against the Team USA roster in Las Vegas in mid-July during their preparation for the upcoming games in Rio.

"It's and honor and a privilege to be chosen to represent the USA, especially in this setting," said McCollum via text. "A step in the right direction."

Though it's unlikely that playing on the Select Team will result in a chance to compete internationally this year -- Mason Plumlee started on the Select Team that helped prepare Team USA for the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball before eventually being named to the roster for that competition -- the invitation means that McCollum is now taken the first step to potentially making the National Team in the future.

“Being chosen for the Select Team is an honor and it is an important step in becoming involved in USA Basketball’s National Team program in the future," said USA Basketball National Team managing director Jerry Colangelo via press release. "Current national team players like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, as well as many other outstanding players, got their USA National Team start through a Select Team."

McCollum, who won the 2016 Most Improved Player award after averaging 20.8 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from three, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game this season, joins the likes of Emmanuel Mudiay, Devin Booker, Kentavious Caldewell-Pope, Zach Lavine, Doug McDermott, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart and Cody Zeller on the Select Team, which will be coached by Gregg Popovich, who is taking over for current Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski after the 2016 Olympics, former Trail Blazer and current Spurs assistant Ime Udoka and Villanova head coach Jay Wright.

The USA Select Team will train with Team USA from July 18-21 at the Mendenhall Center on the campus of UNLV before a friendly versus Argentina on July 22. The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro start August 5.

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McCollum Picked To Help Team USA Train For Upcoming Olympics

Prior to Wednesday night's game versus the Rockets at the Moda Center, Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard discussed his decision to rejoin the pool of players eligible to be selected for the 2016 Men's National Team, which will compete at the Olympic Games this summer in Rio De Janerio. Lillard had taken his named out of consideration for Team USA after participating in the run up to the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball, but has since decided to continue his involvement.

Can you explain the process of reaching out to Jerry Colangelo? What made you do it?

Damian Lillard: "After one of our home games I saw Sean Ford, who is pretty heavily involved in USA Basketball and we spoke. He just said that they wanted me to be a part of it still. I expressed to them what my frustration was and why I chose to remove myself from it and they respected that. I knew that down the line I still wanted to be a part of it and I think it was just the fact that we got to speak about it face-to-face. I also had a chance to speak to Jerry Colangelo. I also told him how I felt about my last time with him and why I was frustrated. He said what he had to say and I think we just came to a point where we both felt like it would be good for me to be a part of it. It was something that I actually wanted to do but I had my reasons why I chose to not be a part of it this past summer and here we are."

Damian Lillard: "It feels good. Obviously that’s something that not a lot of people get the opportunity to be a part of. I’m thankful that I’ll have an opportunity to in the future."

What was Jerry Colangelo’s message to you during your conversation?

Damian Lillard: "We basically just talked about how I’ve spent time with them. It’s not like it’s just out of the blue where I’m just all of the sudden back in the pool. I’ve been there for the past two years, I was with the team up until they left for the World Championships. That was pretty much it. He didn’t say I was wrong for feeling how I felt; he just said that he would like for me to be a part of it and I said I would like to be a part of it as well. He said what he had to say, I said what I had to say, we came to the conclusion it would be good for me to be back in the pool."

Do you feel like, moving forward, you’re going to get a legitimate opportunity to make the team from here on out?

Damian Lillard: "Yeah, I mean, I believe so. For us to be able to have that conversation lets me know that I’ll probably get a better opportunity."

Do you know what the next step in the process is? Tryouts?

Damian Lillard: "I’m not sure. At this point, it probably comes down to them just making the decision on who it’s going to be. I don’t know if that’s based on the type of season that people have, who’s healthy, I’m not sure. Just being a part of that pool gives me a chance, so we’ll see."

Are you looking forward to being in that environment again?

Damian Lillard: "My past experience, like I said, the first two summers that I did it, it was fun to be begin with. But like I said, when it got to the point where I wasn’t getting the opportunity and I felt that way, I was a little bit down on it. But going into it I won’t have that on my mind and on my heart. I’ll go into it with good intentions and I’ll go into it with the right things on my mind. Like I said, I’m just happy that I have an opportunity going forward."

Does it feel good to have a resolution with the process, with those bad feelings?

Damian Lillard: "It does feel good because I’m not a negative person. I’m not going to go out of my way to remove myself from something unless I feel really strongly about it. For me to be able to talk it out with him, for us to be able to get on the same page, it does feel good to get to that point."

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Lillard Discusses Returning To Team USA

On Monday, USA Basketball announced the 30 finalists who will vie for 12 roster spots for the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The list of 30 is a who's who of current NBA players, headlined by the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Paul George, who will participate in tryouts in Las Vegas this summer before the team is finalized and sent to Brazil in hopes of winning their third-consecutive Olympic gold medal.

But despite having recent USA Basketball experience, neither Damian Lillard nor Mason Plumlee, both starters for the 2015-16 Trail Blazers, were among the 30 players under consideration for a the Olympic Games in Rio, albeit for different reasons.

For Lillard, it wasn't so much a case of being passed over by USA Basketball as it was Lillard declining to be considered. Lillard went through the mini-camp and numerous tryouts with Team USA in the run up to the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball (previously known as the FIBA World Championship) in Spain. After being one of the final players cut for the World Championship team, Lillard decided that his offseason was better spent pursuing other goals than making the Men's National Team.

"The summer before I didn’t make the team and I didn’t want it to be like ‘Oh I’m salty because they cut me’ or whatever," said Lillard. "It happens. I just think I spent a lot of time that summer with Team USA but the entire time I was there I didn’t feel like there was a real opportunity for me to make the team. I just felt like I was there to be there. Then I didn’t make the team. I was cut, so I don’t understand why people think I’m supposed to go back the next summer and do that again when I’ve got a lot of things I could do."

What's more, Lillard points out that he was cut from the 2014 World Cup of Basketball team even with Team USA mainstays like James, Durant, Kevin Love, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook sitting out for various reasons. But with those players back in the fold for the 2016 Olympics, Lillard's very slim chances of making the roster simply weren't worth the time one has to commit to the tryout process.

"When I watch the Olympics, I’m going to cheer for Team USA, I got guys that I’m cool with that are on Team USA," said Lillard. "There’s no hard feelings toward them, but any time I go into a situation, I want to have a real opportunity. If I’m going to invest myself in something I want to have a real opportunity at it and the last time that I did that I felt like the decision was already made before the decision was made. Whether I played good or bad I didn’t feel like it mattered."

Then there's Plumlee, who was left off the list of finalists after being somewhat of a surprise selection for the 2014 World Cup of Basketball roster thanks to a number of the more highly-regarded power forwards and centers declining to participate. The 6-10 Plumlee, who played for Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, saw little playing time during the competition, averaging just 6.7 minutes per game. Despite being little used at the World Cup of Basketball, Plumlee said he still enjoyed the experience while earning a gold medal in the process and was hoping to get the opportunity to at least try out for the 2016 Olympics. Evidently, that won't be the case.

"I was a little bit (surprised), but I’m not questioning it," said Plumlee of not being named one of the 30 finalists. "It’s a great group of players… Everything is motivation. It’s not like that dream is out the window now. It’s still something to work toward."

Unlike Lillard, Plumlee participated in the the minicamp Team USA held in Las Vegas in July of 2015, which was supposedly mandatory for players who wanted to be considered for the 2016 Olympic team. But the combination of his relationship with Kryzewski, experience at the 2014 World Cup and his performance in the NBA over the last two seasons wasn't enough to warrant even a tryout for the Olympic roster, presumably due to the likes of Love and LaMarcus Aldridge, who both sat out the World Cup tryouts, agreeing to compete for a spot on the 2016 team bound for Rio.

"That’s a privilege and I think it’s something that you earn with your book of work in the regular season," said Plumlee. "That’s something that is still a goal of mine someday, to play for that team, and I’m going to keep pursuing it. I’m not complaining. The 30 guys on there are really good players. If I continue to improve, maybe that will be me someday."

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Lillard, Plumlee Not Among Team USA Finalists, Though For Different Reasons

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