NBA stars already have 2024 Paris Olympics on their mind

Kevin Durant just got done with his summer vacation. He’s planning to go to France for work next summer, and plenty of other big NBA names hope to join him.

Stephen Curry is among them.

Durant — along with many other top players, including Curry, the all-time 3point king — said Monday at media days being held around the league that he plans to play for his country at next summer’s Paris Olympics, when the Americans will try for a fifth consecutive gold medal. If he plays and the U.S. wins, Durant would be the first men’s player with four basketball golds.

“I will play in the Olympics next year,” Durant adamantly said at Phoenix’s media day.

Curry essentially said the same, because if he wants to play, it’s certain that USA Basketball will find him a spot.

Others expressed the same sentiment: Bam Adebayo has said he’s committed to the team, while DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell, Khris Middleton, Julius Randle, Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon, Fred VanVleet and Brook Lopez are among those who indicated they would play if asked. Kyrie Irving said the same at Dallas’ media day last week, and Draymond Green previously indicated that he wants another Olympic opportunity. “From the players that we have here off the top of my head that could fill that roster up, I don’t think it would be too much of a physical toll,” said Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader confirming that he’s interested in another shot at gold. “I wouldn’t have to do much. Rebound a little bit, pass a little bit, defend, block some shots, you know? But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”

More pro basketball

• Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has a sprained left ankle that will sideline him for at least the first two weeks of training camp. The 33-year-old Green is scheduled to be reevaluated in two weeks as he enters his 12th NBA season, the team said Monday at media day.

• Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant will be able to travel with the Memphis Grizzlies, practice with his teammates and even take part in shootarounds throughout his 25-game suspension to start the NBA season, the team confirmed.

College football

Injured linebacker Trey Lathan and safety Aubrey Burks are set to return to West Virginia’s campus after they were carted off the field and taken to a hospital during a 24-21 win at TCU over the weekend, coach Neal Brown said.

Lathan underwent surgery on a lower leg injury and will miss the rest of the season, Brown said. Tests were negative on Burks, who was injured making a tackle on a punt Saturday night.

Brown didn’t specify Burks’ injury and didn’t know when he’ll be available to play again.

Baseball

David Stearns was formally appointed the first president of baseball operations in New York Mets history, taking over the hometown team he cheered for as a child. The former Milwaukee Brewers boss was introduced by owner Steve Cohen at a Citi Field news conference on the heels of a hugely disappointing season.

• Former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer and a woman who accused him of beating and sexually assaulting her in 2021 have settled their legal dispute, Bauer’s attorneys said.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was placed on administrative leave by MLB in July 2021 after the allegations were made by the woman, who said Bauer assaulted her on two different occasions at his home in Pasadena during what she said began as consensual sexual encounters between them.

• Phil Nevin will not return as the Los Angeles Angels’ manager next season. The Angels announced that they are declining their contract option for 2024 on Nevin, who ran the dugout for the last 1 1/2 seasons. Los Angeles will have its fourth manager in six seasons since the departure of Mike Scioscia, who held the job for 19 years.

• Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff will miss this week’s Wild Card Series against Arizona because of a right shoulder injury.

Woodruff is dealing with what manager Craig Counsell described as a capsular injury. He had been expected to start Game 2 for the NL Central champions, following Corbin Burnes.

Auto racing

Michael Andretti cleared a major hurdle in his bid to launch an American team in Formula One when the FIA said that he meets all required criteria to expand the world’s top motorsports series to 11 teams.

The FIA decision does not guarantee Andretti will get the two-car team he wants. Andretti Global and partner Cadillac must still prove their commercial value to F1 rights holder Liberty Media and the existing teams, which vehemently oppose expanding the 20-car grid. The teams, however, have no vote on expanding the grid.

Soccer

On Saturday, Liverpool became the latest team to count the cost of an error by Premier League officials, with the club raising questions about “sporting integrity” after its 2-1 loss at Tottenham.

The fallout from Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal in that match resulted in the Merseyside club issuing a statement, saying it would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

It is not clear what those “options” are and The Associated Press has contacted Liverpool and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the referees’ governing body, for clarification.