Durant facing up to role

For the time being, there's a new face of USA Basketball.

A fresh, polite, kind face. Wealthy, too.

For better or worse, Team USA will attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics next month without any of the players who won the gold medal two years ago in Beijing. Looking to help fill that void is Kevin Durant, the NBA's leading scorer last season.

Durant will be asked to lead a young squad to a title at next month's FIBA World Basketball Championships in Turkey. That would guarantee the Americans a spot in the London Games.

"I still have to come out and have a decent camp and play as well as I can," Durant said Tuesday at Cox Pavilion as Team USA's Las Vegas minicamp began. "Nothing is for sure here. We all have to come out and play as hard as we can and represent the USA as best as we can."

Durant, who averaged 30.1 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder and was a first-team All-NBA selection last season, said unlike the veterans who took a pass on the world championships, he has been looking forward to getting started.

"I've been working out for a while, working on my game," Durant said. "Whatever coach (Mike Krzyzewski) needs me to do, I'm willing to do. I always wanted to be on the Olympic team. I always wanted to be part of something like this. If I was a free agent, I'd still find a way to be here."

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Durant is ready to lead.

"The answer is yes -- and it should be," Colangelo said. "He's 21. He's got the personality. He's got the talent. He's got the equity. That all counts.

"He's got the whole package, and he should be the focal point."

Durant isn't shying away from being a leader. But he points out that all great teams have more than one leader.

"It wasn't one guy the last time," Durant said, referring to the "Redeem Team." "It wasn't Kobe (Bryant). It wasn't LeBron (James). It wasn't (Dwyane) D-Wade. It was everyone.

"I think to call me the face of the team is untrue. Once we come out of the meetings and step between the lines, we're all equals."

As for his on-court role, Durant said: "I'm a guy who can adjust to different situations. I can come out and score, but I can also come out and play a role. Be a vocal leader, lead by example. My other role is to be a good defensive stopper. That and make shots."

Durant took a far different route than James when he agreed to a contract extension two weeks ago with the Thunder, a deal worth $86 million for five years. He didn't do a TV special. He sent a message to his followers on Twitter.

"I told somebody the other day LeBron James is the biggest name in sports and anything he does is not going to be quiet, so you can't blame him for what happened and how he made his decision," Durant said. "I'm a little different. Nobody knows our team, so nobody cared where I was going."

They care in Oklahoma City. And by staying, Durant, for now, is keeping a vow he made to himself.

"I like being with our team," he said. "When I came into the league, I said I wanted to be with one team my whole career. You never know what can happen, but I love our team and we're moving in the right direction."

Durant said he misses having the veterans around. But he understands this is a different situation, and he's going to play a big part in whatever success the Americans enjoy in Turkey.

"I didn't talk to any of the guys," he said. "They had their own obligations and had to make their own decisions. It would've been cool to see a lot of the veterans here just to help us young guys out. But it's a new team, and we're moving on.

"We all know what it takes to win at the international level. We've all seen it. We know what kind of sacrifice it takes, and everyone's looking forward to doing it. All the egos and that stuff is out the door. It's about one team."

His team.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.