Paul George wants to return to USA Basketball

Paul George has been more cautious in his timetable to return to the Indiana Pacers this season of late but he is fully committed to participating with another:

USA Basketball.

He told NBA.com Wednesday that once his broken right leg is fully healed, he wants to resume international play. The first opportunity to do so would be at a four-day mini-camp in August, which would include an exhibition game at Thomas & Mack Center, where George was injured.

"I'm in. Of course," George said. "The day it happened, right after, I told them I looked forward to continuing on with USA Basketball."

The U.S. has already qualified for the Olympics so it won't be participating in any tournaments but will hold the mini-camp. George's right leg broke in half Aug. 1 during a USA Basketball exhibition in Las Vegas. He has hinted at returning this season for the Pacers, but has since been noncommital.

"I think if it gets to the point where these guys are in the playoffs, and I'm thinking about coming back, I think at that point, I might as well let these guys finish the year out because that's just too big to try and make a push," he said.

George said he wants to fully ready to go when he decides to return to game action.

"I want to play, but I don't want to play under any terms of just wanting to get out there. I want to be fully healthy," George said. "It's different if this was the beginning of the year, and we were still trying to find our way. But these guys are playing at the top at their game right now and again, the last thing I want to do is slow them down."