Decision time is coming for Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie and top pick in last year's NBA Draft.
Does he want to set the wheels in motion by firmly declaring he wants to play for Australia, the country of his birth, at the Olympics, or will he remain in the USA Basketball fold and hope to one day represent the United States?
"Still haven't decided," Irving said in the Akron Beacon Journal.
"Really it will come down to whether or not I want to give up my whole summer."
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott says if Irving, who moved to America at the age of two, needs to take his time and not rush into a decision he may later regret.
"For a 19-year-old, that's a big decision," Scott said.
"He obviously needs to get as much advice as he can from a lot of people that he trusts and believes in."
Just because Irving was not among the 20 finalists named by USA Basketball that will compete for spots in their Olympic team does not mean he is without a chance of competing at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Spain, or the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games for the Americans.
His time in a USA shirt could come quickly.
Irving's coach in is one, injury-affected season at Duke University was Mike Krzyzewski, who is the coach of Team USA.
Australia does appear to be something Irving has strongly considered, and that interest didn't go unnoticed Down Under.
Back in May, Boomers coach Brett Brown, who had coached Irving's father, Drederick, in Victoria, was asked about the rising star.
"I think with Kyrie there's always been the fascination of Australia," Brown said.
"He is proud to have been born in Australia. His comments confirm that.
"How it relates to us is still a bit of an unknown."
There is something else to consider, though, and it could be a stumbling block.
The talented guard has already played for the USA at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 World Championship in San Antonio, helping fire the team to a gold-medal win over Brazil.
The United States would have to give their approval for Irving to play for the Boomers and the move would also need to be sanctioned by FIBA.
Fuente: http://london2012.fiba.com
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