Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson might see action in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships later this month in China, where a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics is at stake.

Clarkson, who had an excellent rookie year with the Lakers last season, was named to the 24-man preliminary roster of Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine national basketball team.

The 23-year-old guard, who averaged 11.9 points to go along with 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds with the Lakers last season, flew to the Philippines to train with the national team. He also joined the team during their trip to Taiwan for the ongoing William Jones Cup tournament before flying back to the US earlier this week.

Lakers public relations vice president John Black announced the development, saying that any player has the right to decide to play for his national squad as long as it will not have any issues with the mother team.

"Per the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the Player's Association, as long as national team play does not interfere with team requirements and there are no injury issues, it is up to the players whether or not to play," Black said of Clarkson's possible stint with Gilas Pilipinas via CBS Los Angeles.

However, Black also gave a condition, which could be a major factor on whether or not Clarkson will be named to the final roster of the team.

"Our players must be in Los Angeles on September 28, so as long as he would be back by then, we would have no objection to Jordan playing in the event up until that date," Black said.

If the Lakers remain firm on their stance, Clarkson will only be available for their first four games of the tournament. Philippines will go up against Palestine on Sept. 23, Hong Kong on Sept. 24 and Kuwait on Sept. 25.

Clarkson could also be available for one game in the second round, but he will miss the next matches, where the squad is expected to face perennial contenders like Iran, China and Korea. Philippines are one of the favorites to win a medal after finishing second to Iran two years ago.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the national basketball federation of the Philippines, will be able to convince the Lakers to allow Clarkson to play for the entire tournament, which will run from Sept. 3 to Oct. 3 in Changsha, China.

Related