Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell is planning to participate in a USA Basketball minicamp this August in advance of September’s FIBA World Cup to take place in China, according to reports by the New York Times and ESPN.
Marc Stein of the Times first wrote that Charlotte guard Kemba Walker had committed to participating, and that superstars James Harden and Anthony Davis were also strongly considering it. ESPN further reported that minicamp invitations had also been issued to the Blazers’ Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, the Rockets’ Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker, the Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, the Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge, the Pistons’ Andre Drummond, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, and the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that Mitchell plans to attend the minicamp with the intention of playing in China.
In his recently completed second season, Mitchell helped lead the Jazz to 50 regular-season wins and a postseason appearance. He averaged 23.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 36.2% from 3-point range.
The training camp is scheduled to take place Aug. 5-8 in Las Vegas, and the World Cup is slated for Aug. 21-Sept. 15 in China.