Kevin Durant to practice at Team USA minicamp in Las Vegas

Rehabbing Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant will practice with USA Basketball during the upcoming Las Vegas minicamp this week, according to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both participated in the practice, with Durant’s inclusion particularly important. Neither Melo nor KD will play in the Thursday night intrasquad game though as they have not yet been cleared for contact.

New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis was relegated to the role of spectator at the outset of the two-day USA Basketball minicamp here Tuesday afternoon.

The mini-camp is considered mandatory for players who wish to be considered for the 2016 Olympic team. Durant has said consistently that he wants to be a part of that team. He underwent surgery before training cam even began and returned to game action on December 2, but was sidelined again in mid-February when a second surgery was needed to replace a screw (from the first surgery) in his right foot that had caused him problems. He’s been able to go full speed for the last month, but has yet to play in 5-on-5 games. But Durant seemed to move around unhindered on his surgically repaired right foot, navigating through skill drills and shooting stations, calling the feeling of being back on the floor like “Christmas morning”. Durant suffered the initial injury, a Jones fracture, in October. We were able to get a good show out of league scoring leader Russell Westbrook with Durant on the inactive list, but we’d much rather have both of them on the court at the same time. “I can go 100 percent”. Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant might be one of those guys.