The 2008 Team USA men’s basketball roster has been released for the Beijing Olympics, and this team looks like it could very well come home with the gold medal.

Here is the official 2008 Olympic roster:

LeBron James, SF—Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant, SG—Los Angeles Lakers
Dwyane Wade, SG—Miami Heat
Caremlo Anthony, SF—Denver Nuggets
Jason Kidd, PG—Dallas Mavericks
Tayshaun Prince, SF—Detroit Pistons
Carlos Boozer, PF—Utah Jazz
Chris Bosh, PF—Toronto Raptors
Deron Williams, PG—Utah Jazz
Chris Paul, PG—New Orleans Hornets
Michael Redd, SG—Milwaukee Bucks
Dwight Howard, C—Orlando Magic

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have both been deemed as the second coming of Michael Jordan, so they should provide the team with plenty of scoring. Both of these guys should score about half of the team’s points.

(NOTE: It’s going to be funny to see how Kobe and LeBron co-exist with each other. Both guys complain all season long about not having any help to make their teams better. Now, they have each other to help get the U.S. a gold medal. Maybe, Kobe will demand a trade to Cleveland and/or in a few years LeBron will want to sign with the Lakers.)

Deron Williams and Chris Paul are two of the best point guards in the league and both of them make the perfect compliment to LeBron and Kobe. They both can score, and make big passes. They also have the tendency to make the players around them better, so these two are great additions to Team USA.

Carlos Boozer is a great fit for the team because he is a Duke guy who played under Coach K, so he knows his system and everything that he is about. Plus, Boozer is a good player who can hit the mid-range jumper and take the ball to the basket.

Michael Redd is a clutch player who definitely deserves to be playing for a contender in the NBA. I think he would be a perfect fit in a Cleveland Cavalier uniform playing alongside LeBron. He knows how to hit the 3-point shot, and averaged 15 points in the FIBA Olympic Basketball qualifying tournament.

Dwight Howard and Tayshaun Prince are two elite defenders. Both guys can block shots with the best of them. (Remember when Prince blocked Reggie Miller a few years ago?)

The team overall looks really good, they all look as though they will fit into Coach K’s system. LeBron and Kobe should provide the team with plenty of scoring, but my only concern is the overall size and depth of the team.

The tallest guy on the roster is Howard at 6’11. Bosh stands at 6’10, and Boozer is at 6’9. They need more big men on the roster. This team might be too small. Can a team this small compete with foreign big men?

Also, why in the world are Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd on the roster?

Jason Kidd used to be good but he’s not anymore and he hasn’t been for quite a while. He was traded from New Jersey back to Dallas because everyone thought he could be the guy to bring a title to Dallas. Instead, the Mavs disappeared and ended up with the seventh seed and sustained an early exit to New Orleans in the NBA playoffs. Seriously, I can think of so many better guys more fit to play in Kidd’s spot. Hmm…lets see, Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas, Mike Bibby, Kirk Hinrich, shall I keep going?

Dwyane Wade is an excellent player without a doubt. I like Wade a lot. He is one of my favorite players. He won a championship with the Heat in 2006 and was also in the talks along with LeBron and Kobe to be the next Michael Jordan. However, he missed 31 games last season with an injured knee and a separated shoulder. This season, Wade missed the final part of the season with more nagging knee injuries. Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Martin (sorry, I had to) all would be much better fits for the Olympics than Wade.

Wade should probably spend the off-season rehabbing his knee and overcoming the injury so he can be ready to go for the Heat next season. I worry that he is going to make the knee worse by playing in Beijing. Him playing might not be such a good idea and it might prevent the team from accomplishing the mission of winning the gold medal. The same thing happened with the Heat this year.

Carmelo Anthony is just a cancer to any teams. It’s no wonder why the Nuggets were considering trading him somewhere else. You would think that the Nuggets would be in NBA title contention with Allen Iverson and Kenyon Martin on the roster along with ‘Melo. He’s been arrested for driving under the influence, he doesn’t have too many endorsements, and he likes to sucker punch people and run. See for yourself.

Is this really the kind of guy you want representing you at the Olympics? You might as well call up more classy guys like Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and put them on the roster as well.

All in all, I think this team can be the one to give the United States a gold medal. The only thing stopping them is their size and depth. Can Team USA get it done? They have the talent to do so, but can they put all their egos aside and co-exist to win the gold medal?

It’s hard to tell, but I’m not giving up hope.