Colangelo hopeful LeBron will play in '16 Olympics

Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears reported yesterday that LeBron James' days of playing for Team USA are likely over. Spears noted that USA basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo said that Kevin Durant would stand as the "face of USA basketball going forward" in his article. Durant will play in FIBA's first-ever Basketball World Cup next summer.

Colangelo apparently never planned on even asking James if he wanted to play next summer, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. James did not play during the 2010 FIBA basketball tournament after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Stein reported that Colangelo remains hopeful that the back-to-back Finals and regular season MVP will play in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, though. USA Basketball officials are "cautiously optimistic" that James' stance on 2016 has softened since Spears' initial report.

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