Reports: Melo, Lowry, Butler, Jordan selected to play for Team USA in Rio Olympics
Melo will be going for his third gold medal, Kyle Lowry is the first point guard selected to Team USA and DeAndre Jordan and Jimmy Butler will be playing in their first Olympics
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The 2016 USA Basketball Olympic basketball team may have found their starting point guard and a few excellent stars will be joining him.
According to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, Toronto Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry has been selected to play for Team USA in this summer's Olympics in Rio. This will be the first time Lowry has been included in USA Basketball roster. The Toronto guard had another career year last season, making the All-Star team for the second straight year and lead the Raptors to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. And with Stephen Curry and Chris Paul opting out of Team USA to rest, Lowry will likely be the team's No. 1 point guard, especially since Damian Lillard has reportedly also withdrawn .
According to Wojnarowski, joining Lowry in Rio will reportedly be Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan and Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler, per ESPN's Marc Stein.
Anthony has thrived in the international setting and will be playing in his fourth Olympics. Anthony is looking to get third gold medal, a feat that no other member of USA Basketball has ever done. As one of the older veterans on the team, Anthony will likely be considered as a leader on the 2016 Olympic team.
Similar to Lowry, this will be Jordan and Butler's first Olympic experience and first time being on a USA Basketball roster. Butler is coming off his second straight All-Star season and with the recent trade of Derrick Rose, he is now the franchise star in Chicago. The Bulls All-Star is an excellent two-way player and may be one of the better defenders on this summer's Olympic team.
Jordan may be one of the lone big men on the Olympic team as according to Stein, Pistons center Andre Drummond will not be playing. He is a great shot blocker and finished on the All-NBA First team this season.
The official roster is expected to be released at the end of June but with reports that Paul George, Draymond Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant and now that Butler, Jordan, Anthony and Lowry have already been selected, expect the rest of the roster to be reported relatively soon.
