HOOP's Team USA

The coaching staff is also known. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will head the team, and will be assisted by Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Mike D’Antoni of the Knicks and Nate McMillan of the Blazers.

The final 12-man roster will be announced later this year, but we don’t like waiting so we’ll take a stab now. Remember, it’s not the best 12 players that’ll get a chance suit up; it’s the best 12-man team America can put on the court. With that, here’s what we got.

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Guards (4)

Chris Paul
The best distributor the U.S. has to offer, CP3’s proficiency at running the point and commanding an offense will be a valuable commodity for the team to quickly develop some chemistry together. Plus he’ll be needed to sink some three-balls.

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Kobe Bryant
With the bats and bruises of the NBA seasons piling up, how much more can Kobe’s body take? Regardless, he’s proven to be unaffected by it all so why should the Olympic games take a toll on him? They won’t. Bryant will be counted on to lead the team and apply the dagger in crunch time.

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Dwyane Wade
If there’s no room for D-Wade to start, he’ll almost surely be the first guy off the bench. His ability to handle the ball as well as play the two-guard gives the team an added dimension. On defense, his versatility is equally menacing. Wade’s a lock.

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Derrick Rose
When Paul sits, the opposing team won’t have to worry about the U.S.’s shoddy backup point guard situation. Oh wait! They’re going to throw Derrick Rose at the competition, and he won’t take his foot off the pedal. We all know how good this kid is now, imagine how improved Rose will be come summer. Jump shots anyone?

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Forwards (6)

LeBron James
The vet on our team in terms of international experience, LeBron has appeared in 55 games and the only way that number won’t increase is if he doesn’t feel like playing anymore. James’ do-it-all talents will be on display all game, every game in London. Except maybe the 4th quarter. Just sayin’.

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Kevin Love
Dwight Howard’s rebounding numbers don’t like playing on a team with Kevin Love since there just aren’t enough off-target shots to go around. But Love is more than just the best rebounder in America, he’s got a sharply improving three-point shot in his repertoire (currently 1.9 3PM on 36%) that will leave the multilingual defenders speechless when they see his 6-10, 250 frame launching from behind the arc.

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Kevin Durant
Durant’s smooth jumper will be leaned on heavily to crack the zones the U.S. is expected to encounter. We know the Durantula can bear the scoring load and get going in a hurry, so there’ll be lineups that Coach K trots out where the 23-year-old Durant becomes the team’s first option.

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Chris Bosh
Bosh was on the bubble for us, but he gets the nod considering he can play the pivot in a pinch and he’s money in the mid-range game. We see how perfectly he complements LeBron and Wade in Miami, so we know he’s unselfish enough to succeed as a role-player even when the offense isn’t run through him.

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LaMarcus Aldridge
He has no international experience on his résumé. He has no All-Star game on his résumé. But the ’12 version of Aldridge is a new player and one who’s more than talented enough to hold his own out there. It came down to a big man or an outside shooter. Well, the eight omitted aren’t exactly sure-shots. We went with the definitive size.

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Andre Iguodala
Iguodala over Melo? Yes. This team can already put the ball in the net, but it needs another perimeter defender. We love Carmelo, but ‘Dala takes the cake in that department. ‘11-12 also looks to be the Sixers’ coming out party. While we’re sure Andre was already under close consideration for a spot, his perception could now be elevated.

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Centers (2)

Dwight Howard
There aren’t too many players in the NBA who can stop Howard in the paint, and that’s because there aren’t too many players in the world who can stop Howard in the paint. Dominant on offense, his more precious asset, with this roster at least, might be his imposing defensive presence on the low block. Howard won’t allow any easy buckets.

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Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler’s here to be the anchor and shot blocker on D for when Howard takes a seat. The only true center after Dwight, Chandler doesn’t require the ball on offense and will be underneath to clean up after every missed shot.

Our final eight cuts? Some hurt more than others. The number attached to their name is the amount of pain, on a scale of 1-10, each elimination inflicted upon us (1’s a tickle; 10’s a shotgun blast to the kneecap):

Carmelo Anthony (9), Chauncey Billups (3.5), Rudy Gay (5.5), Eric Gordon (4), Blake Griffin (7.5), Lamar Odom (3), Russell Westbrook (8) and Deron Williams (10).

Virtually any combination of twelve dudes you can throw out there would qualify as favorites for the gold in London. They’ve got youth, experience, versatility, size, guard-play and perhaps most emphatically…scoring.

What’s harder: Narrowing this list down to the legal roster size, or scheming a way to stop them? Just be glad you aren’t burdened with either and enjoy the fireworks this summer.