MIAMI, October 6, 2009 (AFP) - LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, key players on last year's Olympic gold medal basketball squad, have hesitated to commit to playing for the United States in the 2010 World Championships, ESPN reported Tuesday.

The world showdown in Turkey is set for August 28 to September 12 and the winner will claim a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. The Americans have not won the world title since an NBA all-star squad won in 1994 at Toronto.

While some NBA stars have already said they would play next year, the absence of last season's NBA Most Valuable Player in James or last season's NBA scoring champion in Wade, or both, would hurt the Americans' chances.

"I'm in-between," Wade told ESPN. "Of course I want to be a part of the experience with most of the guys coming back, but I have to wait to see how this season goes before I can go forward with what I'm going to do."

Wade and James can opt out of their contracts and become unrestrcited free agents on July 1, moves that would likely touch off a bidding frenzy for each.

The US squad is set for a mini-camp in Las Vegas in mid-July to trim the world roster to about 15 players, then an August training camp ahead of some pre-worlds exhibitions in US and European cities and the tournament in Turkey.

James said last month that his plans to film a movie, part of it set in Las Vegas, could impact his availability for the worlds, for which the US team qualified by winning Olympic gold in China.

"We haven't finished all the logistics of when the movie will be shot, if I decide to play on the team next summer, when I'll have to report - I don't have an answer right now," James said.

Wade's free agency situation will impact his US team options.

"Yes, if it comes down to that, and of course it will for a couple guys," Wade said. "I've never been a free agent before so it's kind of the unknown.

"We'll have to see. I don't know. I've never been in this position before, so I don't know really how it will play out yet."

Beijing Olympians Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams have said recently they plan to play on the US team next year. Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Chris Bosh, also a possible free agent next July, said last year they planned to play in Turkey.

US team director Jerry Colangelo has known that free agency and other issues could affect the exact lineup for Turkey, part of the reason USA Basketball has a pool of players to choose from for major international tournaments.

"Let's see what the upcoming season brings. That's why the speculation so early is just that - it isn't worth that much at this time," Colangelo said.

"It puts more emphasis on how we're better prepared with more people in the pipeline, and they want to participate. We have to deal with each guy one by one and when we need to make selections we'll have all that in front of us."