LAS VEGAS—It is hard to know what to make of this U.S. national team that will participate in the upcoming FIBA World Cup in China.

If you listen to managing director Jerry Colangelo and national team coach Gregg Popovich, everything is fine, even though the roster will be filled with almost all new faces. Colangelo sees them as rising stars. But none are internationally seasoned franchise players. There will be no LeBron, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Kahwi Leonard or Kyrie Irving. Of the 52 candidates invited, there were only 14 healthy candidates from the 35-player national team pool who participated in the first day of a week-long mini- camp for this major international event in a non-Olympic year at UNLV’s Mendenhall Gymnasium.

 To put this in perspective, of the 11 All- NBA players, only one — Boston Celtics’ point guard Kemba Walker– is here. There are technically three All Stars–Walker, small forward Khris Middleton of Milwaukee and Kyle Lowry of Toronto—in camp, but Lowry, the only returning rotation player from the 2016 Olympic gold medal team in Rio, has not been cleared to play since undergoing thumb surgery and the earliest he could return is next week in El Segundo, Calif.

USA Basketball has also brought 14 younger NBA players on an enhanced practice squad known as the Select team for the week and there is a real possibility some– like Sacramento King’s point guard De’Aaron Fox and Atlanta Hawks long range shooting guard Trae Young– will get a long look before the U.S. leaves for China.

Most likely, the final 12-player roster will consist of point guards Fox, Walker and Lowry, shooting guards Donovan Mitchell of Utah and either Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart of Boston, small forwards Middleton and Jayson Tatum of Boston, power forwards Kyle Kuzma of the Lakers, PJ Tucker of Houston and Harrison Barnes of Sacramento and centers Myles Turner of Indiana and Brook Lopez of Milwaukee.

“I’ve said that we’re going to be fine and by that what I really meant is that we’re blessed with a lot of depth in USA basketball,’’ Popovich said. “All of the players here want to be here, there’s no question about it. And that’s a big part of the battle itself. And, so, when you look at the enthusiasm, the youth, the athleticism and versatility, that will really work well for us because our depth will be a factor.

“These are not ‘C’ players. You’re heard a lot of criticism about who isn’t here, and I keep repeating that it’s about who is here. There’s some very good talent and it’s going to be difficult getting to a 12-man roster when you think about it.’’

The USA World Cup team will be young again. Aren’t they always in non-Olympic years? USA Basketball said at least six of the 12 players on the last three World Cup rosters were 24 or younger at the time, and it appears at least half of the roster could fall into that category.

FIBA would love to turn the World Cup into the most important basketball event, but American sports fans have always been married to the Olympics and NBA stars, who have gone through a long season, react accordingly, particularly when the tournament half way around the world occurs just two weeks before training camp.

Age was not a factor in 2014, when then national team coach Mike Krzyzewski had an embarrassment of riches on his FIBA World Championship gold medal team. Despite the fact Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge withdrew their names from consideration and forward Paul George suffered a horrific leg injury during an intra- squad scrimmage at the Thomas and Mack Arena at UNLV, almost all of the players on the roster were lottery picks, including three No. 1 picks—guard Derrick Rose, Irving  Anthony Davis – and two future MVPs, Steph Curry and James Harden– and could start NBA All Stars at every position. The U.S rolled, going 9-0 in Spain and beating down the competition by an average of 33 points.

This USA team is not even close in terms of talent or shooting skills. For the first time since the Dream Team era in 1992, the U.S. will not have the best player in the tournament. NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and Greece; and 6-10 forward Nikola Jokic of Serbia will fill those starring roles. But the Americans still have enough depth and proven NBA players to win their third consecutive World Cup, given the fact European champion Slovenia did not qualify, Canada is not bringing a complete team and Spain is aging the same way Argentina did in the 2016 Olympics.

“This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of us,’’ Walker said. “I’ve always dreamed of wearing a USA uniform. I think a lot of us are happy those guys pulled out because this is our chance.

“It’s our chance to get on the big stage and showcase our talent. A chance for us to do something new. It’s be a new-look team. Everybody is kind of doubting us, but I think we’re hungry.’’