New York Knicks

Is Carmelo Anthony a good fit on Team USA?

Published Aug. 10, 2015 11:58 a.m. ET

foxsports

Carmelo Anthony has played some of his best basketball ever with Team USA in the past. People even refer to him as having two versions: NBA Carmelo and Olympic Carmelo.

NBA Carmelo is the scorer we all know, and some don't exactly love. It's the guy who hangs around the wings, dribbles a ton, doesn't look to pass often and is capable of winning a scoring title any given year.

Olympic Carmelo is a bit different. He's a catch-and-shoot scorer, a three-point threat, a willing passer. It's not a difference in ability, just mentality. Anthony is simply happier to pass up open shots when he's playing with the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Over at the New York Post, though, Marc Berman wonders if Melo is the right fit for Team USA, which is holding 34 players in its minicamp this week:

Anthony might be coming off knee surgery now, but he presumably wouldn't be coming off it next summer when the Olympics are actually held. We'll see exactly how healthy he is this season, but often, incumbents get the benefit of the doubt if they actually want to play in international competition, especially when coming off a 2012 performance that was a dominant as Team USA's.

(h/t New York Post)

Anthony, late in his knee-surgery rehab, will join 33 other Olympic hopefuls in a four-day minicamp that begins with a team meeting Monday night, followed by two days of practice before it concludes Thursday with an instrasquad scrimmage.

“I think that’s where I draw the line,” Colangelo told The Post regarding predictions. “He’s been a terrific basketball contributor. I think his participation has helped in his career. Melo’s game has been a perfect fit for international play because of his versatility.”

But Anthony is 31, coming off surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, hasn’t been named All-NBA for two straight seasons and is competing against the deepest collection of Olympic candidates Colangelo has seen. However, if Anthony has the sterling season the Knicks need, it will be hard to keep him off his fourth straight Olympic squad, especially with his former Syracuse coach, Jim Boeheim, on the staff.

“Any competition, there’s turnover,” Colangelo said. “Players have to buy into that. People already trying to select the 12 for next summer, that’s pretty presumptuous. We have a whole year of NBA basketball in front of us and a lot of things can happen — injuries, contracts, someone coming out of nowhere. They all have an impact.”