Opinion
The Boomers can put arguably their most talented team ever onto the court at the World Cup next year and the Paris Olympics in 2024 with or without Ben Simmons.
And with Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels tearing it up in the NBA, Australia don’t necessarily need Simmons on board for his playmaking skills but more so as a big body in the paint for both major tournaments.
Simmons declared in a recent interview that he wanted to represent the Boomers at an Olympics at some stage during his career but is yet to give a definitive answer on whether he will be available for Paris in 2024.
And judging by his history of being non-committal about national duty then backing out, as he’s done at the past two Olympics, the 2019 World Cup, even the exhibition games against the US and Canada in Australia when he was back home at the time.
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It’s nearly 10 years since a baby-faced Simmons made his Boomers debut as a 17-year-old alongside fellow teenager Dante Exum in 2013 in a two-game series against New Zealand.
Ben Simmons in action for the Australian Boomers in 2013. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)
He’s gradually returning to his best in his comeback NBA season at Brooklyn. Simmons is averaging 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists in his 19 games so the scoring is still not where it needs to be but the Nets are using him in a slightly different role to his time at Philadelphia.
Brooklyn don’t have too much genuine height in the frontcourt so Simmons’ defensive skills are being put to use close to the basket than on the perimeter while Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are more than able to soak up a lot of the ball-handling duties.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian is likely to run into a similar conundrum. Apart from Jock Landale, the Aussies don’t have a standout candidate to patrol the paint like Andrew Bogut or Aron Baynes in previous campaigns.
Baynes is working his way back to his best at the Brisbane Bullets after his serious neck injury but at 36, there are doubts on whether he can still fulfill a major role in international tournaments.
Using Simmons, if available, as an extra big body down low would make sense for the Boomers given Giddey and Daniels should be the starting backcourt probably for the next decade or more.
Giddey can be the floor general, Daniels can be the combo guard who can plug any hole on offence or defence.
Even though OKC are in the midst of a four-game losing streak on the back of Thursday’s controversial loss to Miami, there has been no sign of the dreaded second-year syndrome for Giddey after his impressive rookie campaign.
(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
He chalked up 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists against the Heat to lift his season splits to 14.7, 7.8 and 5.4.
Daniels has only been getting 20 minutes a game in his first NBA season at New Orleans where it is tough to see time on a loaded roster, tallying 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. His playmaking game is a notch below Giddey’s but his defensive skills are already turning heads.
For those of you who haven’t left the musky stench of Twitter, check out this highlights package of Daniels doggedly defending Suns star Devin Booker on the weekend.
His footwork, speed, instincts and refusal to take the bait on pump fakes were all spot on. Booker is in the top handful of pure scoring threats in the NBA but he was agitated by the rookie Australian’s street smarts.
Throw in a three-point shooting clip of 39.3% for the Pelicans this season and Daniels is showing he can be a cornerstone for the Boomers for many years to come.
The third plank to Australia’s future platform this season has emerged in Dallas where Josh Green is now not only firmly entrenched in the Mavericks’ rotation but delivering on a consistent basis.
A sturdy defender at 6’5”, he is knocking down threes at 44.4% after a woeful 16% in his rookie year and a credible 35.9% last season.
(Photo by Getty Images)
As much as Patty Mills and Joe Ingles have been stalwarts for the Australian men’s team for more than a decade, they can’t carry the can forever and they’d be great as complementary players off the bench in the two big tournaments on the horizon.
Mills has shown glimpses of his best in recent matches after a slow start to the season at Brooklyn while Ingles is in the final stages of his recovery from last year’s ACL tear.
Ingles has been doing five-on-five practice runs with Milwaukee’s G-League affiliate team, the Wisconsin Herd, and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told The Athletic earlier this week that the 35-year-old forward was close to a return to an NBA court.
Assuming Ingles makes a successful return at Milwaukee, likely going deep into the playoffs and potentially all the way, he could be perfect in a mentoring role at the World Cup next year when it’s held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia at the end of August.
His experience would be invaluable as Goorjian goes more and more with the younger legs of Landale, Philadelphia defensive specialist Matisse Thybulle and Jack White, who has only been given a few minutes here and there at Denver this season.
There is one other Aussie in the NBA at the moment, veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova, who is the oldest member of the youthful Sacramento roster.
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
If everyone’s available, Delly’s no longer a shoo-in to be wearing the green and gold as Daniels and Green in particular have likely leapfrogged him in the pecking order of defensive-minded guards who can knock down threes.
That could open the door for someone like Exum or Perth’s Cleveland draftee Luke Travers to grab a Boomers berth.
Baynes is by no means out of the equation for a big man role, Nick Kay and Duop Reath were in the 2021 Olympics outfit and their size and skill could again be useful along with Thon Maker and Mitch Creek, who has been on fire for South East Melbourne Phoenix, as has Xavier Cooks at the Sydney Kings.
Team USA will always be favourites for the gold medal in any major tournament as long as they aren’t decimated by withdrawals but the Boomers can position themselves as perennial medal threats such is the high level of talent on offer both now and over the next decade.
Boomers shoo-ins (if available): Dyson Daniels, Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Patty Mills, Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Jack White, Jock Landale, Ben Simmons.
Fighting it out for the other three spots: Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Luke Travers, Xavier Cooks, Nick Kay, Duop Reath, Aron Baynes, Thon Maker, Mitch Creek, Isaac Humphries.
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