NBA Rumors: Why Carmelo Anthony Doesn't Deserve to Play for Team USA

The finalists for the 2012 U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team are out and, sure enough, among them is embattled New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.  The former Syracuse star has been at the center of controversy most of the season, from supposed selfish play to being the reason Mike D'Antoni stepped down as Knicks coach to the reason why the Knicks have underachieved for most of the season.

Because of the latest season of "'Melodrama," Anthony could very well find himself off of Team USA's final roster.  In a report by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, rumor has it that the higher ups for Team USA aren't exactly thrilled with how the situation between D'Antoni and Anthony played out, particularly since the former is an assistant coach for the Olympic team.

That being said, with all of the controversy surrounding him, does Carmelo Anthony deserve to represent our country in London this summer?  Well, ladies and gentlemen, the answer to that questions is a flat and resounding no.

There are a few reasons as to why Anthony should be left off the team, and we'll start with the obvious one.  He's having one of the worst seasons of his career, averaging a career low 20 points per game while shooting a career worst 40 percent from the field.  If the United States is destined to take home Olympic gold this summer, it'll be hard to do so with those stats on the hardwood.

Secondly, let's not forget that while Anthony plays small forward in the NBA, he is a power forward for the Olympic team.  There are three other finalists at that position who are easily far more coachable than the embattled Knicks star could be at this point: LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Besides the fact that all three are natural power forwards while Anthony is not, all are also far less egotistical.  If you ask me, I'd take Love's versatility over Anthony any day of the week.

More importantly, we cannot ignore the presence of Mike D'Antoni.  Both he and Anthony are grown men and I'm not at all saying that they're incapable of putting their differences behind them, but the situation between the two could definitely be awkward enough that it could open up a giant can of worms.  In the Olympic Games, there's no room for petty drama like that and it's just too much of a risk.

Last and most important of all, basketball is a team game and that message cannot be stressed enough once the Olympics roll around.  The way Carmelo Anthony has performed most of this season has been the exact opposite of team play.  Team USA is looking to take home a second straight gold medal this year, and that won't happen with Anthony throwing up shot after shot trying to be the go-to guy on a team that already features some huge egos like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not knocking Anthony's skills at all.  For the most part, he's a very talented player and if I were to make a list of the NBA's most clutch shooters, I'd have no problem putting him in the top five.

This year, however, Anthony has been anything but clutch.  He's struggled to know his role and has become something of a head case.  That being said, let him take this year's Olympics off to try and find himself.  He's only 27, so it's not as though he'll be too old to participate when the next games come along.

At that point, he will hopefully have learned how to share the ball and be part of a team instead of trying to be a one-man show.