Hill, a former National Basketball Association star who now part-owns the Atlanta Hawks, is in his first year after taking over from long-time director Jerry Colangelo, who issued the requirement to players after taking over the troubled USA Basketball programme in 2005.

But as he prepares for a two-year cycle that will include this summer’s International Basketball Association (FIBA) World Cup in Manila and next year’s Olympics in Paris, Hill is softening the approach to the United States' elite players, ESPN reports.

"There's no commitment necessary, no 'if you want to play in the Olympics, you have to play here,'" Hill said.

"I understood why that was implemented and I think it was tremendously successful...but we feel like we had to make a change in that regard.

"So no try-outs, no commitment."

Team USA was already moving in this direction under Colangelo and, post-pandemic, it dropped its annual request for players to attend summer sessions in Las Vegas in non-competition years.

"You have to adapt to the times," Hill added.

"If you looked at the NBA, it has changed tremendously.

"It's changed since I retired in 2013.

"Every generation's different and it's important for us as leadership, particularly USA Basketball, to recognise that and be willing to adapt with that change."

Accordingly, there are no firm commitments for this summer yet and Hill expects there to be a process that will play out through the summer as the team is planning to meet for a training camp in Las Vegas in early August.

A team of 12 players will be named before training camp with no roster spots up for competition.

As is tradition, there will also be a select team made up of younger players who will take part in training and also be available for promotion to the senior team if needed.

Team USA will play a showcase game in Las Vegas before playing Slovenia and defending World Cup champions Spain in Malaga.

They will then play Greece and Germany in Abu Dhabi before proceeding to Manila for the three-week World Cup.

"I understood when taking this job that it would be challenging and certainly not ceremonial at all," Hill said.

"There's a tremendous amount respect for the international game and certainly a lot of work that that goes into giving ourselves a chance to win gold.

"The expectations are tremendous.

"Anything less than gold is looked upon as a failure.

"I'm aware of that.

"But I love the challenge."