No US duty for Pierce

Paul Pierce's latest experience with USA Basketball apparently has come to an end -- before it ever really started.

Jerry Colangelo, the managing director for USA Basketball in charge of assembling the national men's team, said yesterday Pierce will not be part of the team that will try to earn an Olympic berth this summer in a qualifying tournament in Las Vegas. Pierce also did not participate last summer (he had elbow surgery) and, Colangelo said, "By not playing this summer, he is pretty much eliminated from playing in the Olympics. It would be hard to make the case that you should play in the third year after missing the first two. He understands that."

Pierce was among the 24 players selected by Colangelo to form a national team to compete in the 2006 World Championships and the 2008 Olympics. Because the US did not win the Worlds, it has to qualify for the Olympics, which it can do by making the finals of the zone qualifying tournament in Las Vegas this summer. In three previous zone qualifiers since NBA players were allowed to compete, the US has a 26-0 record, claiming gold in 1992 (Portland, Ore.), 1999 (San Juan), and 2003 (San Juan).

Last month, Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge said he hoped Pierce would not play for USA Basketball. "I'd like to see him make a 100 percent commitment to the Boston Celtics," said Ainge, who felt that Pierce, who missed 35 games this season because of injuries, needed the summer to work on his rehabilitation. Pierce has deflected all queries to his agent, Jeff Schwartz, who yesterday confirmed in an e-mail Pierce would not be playing.

Pierce was a member of the 2002 World Championship team, which finished sixth in Indianapolis. He led that team in scoring, averaging 19.8 points a game. He also played in a 22-and-under zone qualifying tournament for USA Basketball in 1996 while at Kansas, the youngest player on the gold medal-winning team, which went 5-0.

Even without Pierce, the Celtics might be represented on the tournament team. Greg Oden was chosen last summer as one of the original group (he actually was the 25th player), and Colangelo since has invited Kevin Durant to this summer's training camp, which will be held a month before the tournament.

Out of that camp, the US will select its roster for the tournament. By that time, depending on how the ping-pong balls fall May 22 and how the NBA draft unfolds June 28, Oden or Durant could be a member of the Celtics.