Team USA may go younger

The veterans are on the fence. And the Team USA roster is in flux.

This summer isn’t the Olympics, this is the FIBA World Basketball Championships (which some countries see as the bigger deal, but we don’t). It’s in Turkey, which is a great place to visit but, again, not sexy to the American audience. Then there is the fact that a lot of top free agents are focused on that and staying healthy, not playing more this summer.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are expected to stay home. Kobe says he wants to play but the man is injured and basically held together by tape at this point, plus his team has played to the Finals three straight years now, so he may take a summer to recuperate. Other players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh well may not go.

So what is team USA going to look like in Turkey? Yahoo asked USA Basketball Grand Poobah Jerry Colangelo.

“I’m predicting that we would have a lot of young guys,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. “But we have a very deep roster. We will see who shows up. There will be a number of them who might not play because of free agency and personal issues. There could be five or six from the Olympic team that won’t be there. We’re prepared for that.”

Guys like Kevin Durant, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry (who can’t use a dead-eye outside shooter in international ball?) deserve their chance and are now going to get it. Which is good. Because whether it is in London in 2012 or Rio de Janeiro in 2016 --that is going to be a party -- the USA is going to need these players to come through. The more exposure to the international game and it’s unique set of challenges and pressures. The better.