LOS ANGELES — The intrigue is beginning for the Beijing Olympics, and it’s not all about protests, either.

While the NBA Finals steal all the headlines, USA Basketball quietly announced this week that it will select all 12 players for the U.S. Olympic roster before the team goes to minicamp in Las Vegas on June 27.

That’s a departure from the original strategy of having a pool of 16 players try out for the team — a process that USA hoops tsar Jerry Colangelo instituted as a key component of his program when he took over following the 2004 debacle in Athens.

“We have switched our thinking,” he said, citing the brevity of the two-day minicamp as a reason.

Since the players would presumably like to have a couple days’ notice before they’re asked to turn up in Sin City, the squad will be announced relatively soon — possibly within the next week.

Colangelo indicated that he and coach Mike Krzyzewski had already whittled their list down to 13 or 14 players, so many of the important decisions have been made. Only the last couple roster spots remain to be filled.

With that deadline coming up so soon, however, it’s time to take another look at who might be representing the red, white, and blue this summer.

Let’s start with the obvious one and work our way down. Four players would appear to be absolute, mortal locks: LeBron James of the Cavaliers, Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, and Dwight Howard of the Magic.

Anthony’s name might surprise some casual observers, but he was easily the U.S. team’s best player at the 2006 World Championships and will almost certainly start at small forward.

Reigning MVP Bryant might be exhausted coming off the Lakers’ deep playoff run, but that’s where the greenbacks come in. Like a lot of American pros, his interest in marketing himself in China is more than enough to offset the fatigue. Same goes for James, who shrugged off the effects of a finals appearance to play for the stars and stripes in qualifying last year and should do the same this time around.

Howard is another player anxious to establish a foothold in the Orient — he even introduced himself with a nice “ni hao” for the Chinese fans at the Magic’s preseason games in Shanghai and Macau earlier this year. Better yet, he’s an awesome physical presence, one who is all but certain to start the center for the U.S.

Four other players are only slightly less likely to make the squad: Chris Bosh of the Raptors, Carlos Boozer of the Jazz, Michael Redd of the Bucks, and former Nets star Jason Kidd. Redd and Kidd played in qualifying for the U.S. last year and performed well, solidifying roster spots for this go-round. Redd is the deadeye long-range shooter the team desperately needs, while Kidd’s unselfishness and defensive awareness are important on a roster loaded with scorers.

Boozer played well for the 2004 Olympic team, and only skipped qualifying last year because his wife was giving birth; his presence would provide a physicality that’s largely missing, with the exception of Howard. Bosh is also a Team USA veteran who didn’t play last summer, and his exceptional jump-shooting ability for a big man makes him well-suited to international ball.

That takes us to eight, and then things start getting interesting. Thus far, the roster has one center, two power forwards, one point guard, two small forwards, and two shooting guards. So, at a minimum, the team needs another center, another point guard, and a fifth big man who can swing either way in the frontcourt. Then the 12th spot would go to a perimeter player.

Breaking it down that way, it’s easier to figure which players go where. The backup center spot should belong to Tyson Chandler, who was a force in limited minutes during qualifying a year ago and provides a shot-blocking presence if Howard get in foul trouble.

The other big-man role is there for Amare Stoudemire if he wants it, but he’s made noises about skipping Beijing, which annoyed Colangelo. If he skips out, it would open the door for a wiry, athletic “pseudo-big” such as Miami’s Shawn Marion or Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince to get the slot, but the U.S. would much prefer to have five true frontcourt players on the roster. Elton Brand would have been an ideal choice here, but he ruled out a trip to Beijing while he rehabs form last year’s Achilles’ injury.

In the backcourt, it’s a similar case. Dwyane Wade has a spot waiting for him if he’s healthy, and Colangelo was scheduled to meet with him this week to evaluate his condition. If Wade is unavailable, then Prince is likely the recipient of this roster spot, as his defense and midrange shooting should be valuable commodities. A long shot would be Mike Miller of Memphis, who had a disappointing qualifying tournament last year.

So that’s 11 roster spots, but we’ve yet to discuss no. 12. And it’s the battle for this one that shapes up as a doozy. Detroit’s Chauncey Billups, Utah’s Deron Williams, and New Orleans’s Chris Paul all are in the mix, and it appears there’s only room for one of them on the squad

As great as MVP runner-up Paul was this year for the Hornets, Williams or Billups are much better suited for the Olympics — especially Billups. International basketball is much more physical, so the superior size of Billups and Williams will be an advantage. Along the same lines, long-range shooting is much more important in the Olympics, which is a specialty of Billups’s but a weakness of Paul’s.

For that reason, Billups has to be the choice as the second point guard. The only question is whether they’d consider keeping three if Wade can’t play, and then adding Williams or Paul to the roster in lieu of Prince.

That’s pretty much the range of possibilities at this point, as several other prominent American players have either retired from international basketball or indicated that they won’t be available this summer.

And that, in turn, is probably why USA Basketball decided that tryouts weren’t necessary in the first place.

jhollinger@nysun.com