The U.S. Men’s National Team will spend six days in New York in late August preparing for September’s World Cup of Basketball, including playing games against the Dominican Republic on Aug. 20 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 22.
The question: Will any Knicks or Nets be playing in those games for Team USA?
Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Deron Williams are part of the 28-man national team pool that was put together in January. Though Anthony — who is set to become a free agent this summer — isn’t going to be part of the World Cup squad, Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said Chandler or Williams potentially could be part of the festivities this summer.
“They are still part of the national team roster,” Colangelo told The Post in a phone interview Wednesday. “There will be some injured players that won’t be able to go. So, from the pool of 28, we may be at 19 or 20 to begin with in [training camp in Las Vegas], and we’ll keep 12 to 15 when we leave Vegas, but we don’t know at this point.
“We want to keep those options open. … We have to wait and see who is in what status, in terms of health. [But Chandler and Williams] have equity in the program. Everyone does who has been with us, so they have as good a shot as anyone else.”
Colangelo also said Derrick Rose will be an option for Team USA this summer. Tom Thibodeau, an assistant for national team coach Mike Krzyzewski, and the Bulls have encouraged Rose’s participation if he’s healthy. Colangelo said it’s a chance for Rose – provided he’s fully recovered from his latest knee injury – to get extended playing time in a competitive setting after missing virtually the entire last two years.
“Anyone who has been a part of our system, part of our family, has earned equity, and Derrick has been involved with us, and then injuries took him down,” Colangelo said. “So, for a number of reasons, he needs to find out exactly where he’s at. That’s only going to come in competition, so if he’s physically able to do it we want him in camp, and then let’s see what happens.
“He’s entitled to that opportunity. We’re aware of the Bulls’ position. They want him playing if he’s capable of playing, and that’s how we look at it. He’s a terrific guy. Is he going to be able to? I have no idea at this point. One might raise a lot of questions because of what’s happened over the past two years, but he’s got to get over a hump here somewhere.”
Colangelo said the decision to spend a week in New York — as well as a few days in Chicago — was done for both strategic and financial reasons.
“It made sense to stay in the States, get some games under our belt in two major markets,” Colangelo said. “The Latino populations in both markets are heavy, strong, and therefore strategically by playing Brazil [in Chicago] and the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, as we are in New York, that kind of fit just right. In the stopover in Chicago and in New York, we want to be doing things to expose our team, our players, our coaching staff, our effort to bring more attention to the World Cup.
“We’ve had a lot of success in New York in the past in launching our trips, and so we just think it’s a perfect place to do that and we’re excited about coming back to New York and getting involved in some activities that are being planned as we speak. It’s celebrating the game at a time when … basketball fans never get enough of the game, and it comes at a good time where you can see some of the NBA’s best players who are going to be participating. We’re looking forward to it, and we’re excited about it.”