ESPN Australia’s Kane Pitman is expecting a different looking Boomers squad for next year’s FIBA World Cup.
Australia is currently amidst one of the most successful periods of basketball the nation has seen, with a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games marking the highest achievement for the squad.
However, with an influx of young talent currently taking the NBA by storm, Pitman is anticipating familiar faces of the Boomers squad to take more of a back seat.
“Brian Gorjian might have some tough decisions to make, particularly when it comes to some of those older players who have been stalwarts and stars of the program,” he said on SEN Mornings.
“In previous years we know who the stars of this team have been, Patty Mills, (Matthew) Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes.
“I imagine that most of those guys will be there but when you talk about (Dyson) Daniels and (Josh) Green and (Josh) Giddey and all those guys, Ben Simmons of course, they’re going to have to pick a basketball team that makes sense as well.”
In Pitman’s view, head coach Brian Gorjian having these selection issues speaks to how much Australia has developed as a basketball nation.
“For the first time I think probably ever, they’re going to have to make a decision about NBA players and they’re going to have to put a team together,” he said.
“It just goes to show how far Australian basketball has grown, how wide the talent pool is in Australia now.
“You actually are just having the conversation about 'does this NBA player fit on this team, how do they work in a five-man lineup combination there for Brian Gorjian in the World Cup'.”
In particular, Pitman has his eye on Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Green as one of the players primed to take a bigger role going forward.
Green was part of the Boomers bronze medal squad in 2021 and filled a role in limited minutes, yet his performance in the current NBA season is raising Pitman’s expectations.
“(His development has) been incredible and the Dallas Mavericks are a team that are expecting to contend in the NBA,” he said.
“In previous seasons he hasn’t been a knockdown shooter and he discussed the idea of trying to battle with the confidence issues of coming into an NBA floor, being expected to shoot the ball, the pressure of not knowing whether you’re going to make shots.”
“Eventually he got benched in the post-season last year, so he went into the off-season understanding that ‘I need to work on my outside shot, I need to be a versatile defender for this team’.
“He’s come in and he’s been one of their more reliable players and he’s only in year three in the NBA, so there’s no question he is going to get paid.
“A teammate of his, Dorian Finney-Smith is a similar type of player, three and D guy, I think Green is obviously a better athlete, I think he has more offensive versatility, but Finney-Smith signed a contract in the off-season worth over $50 million US total.
“I would imagine that Josh Green is putting himself in the box seat to earn even more than that.”
Of the old guard, Pitman is looking at veteran Joe Ingles as one with the most uncertainty yet believes he can still add value to the team.
The 35-year-old has starred for the Boomers in the past, however an ACL tear last year as thrown the future of the Milwaukee Bucks wing into jeopardy.
“I still like Joe Ingles in this Boomers squad because he shoots the three, which is going to be a question mark for this Boomers team, do they have enough outside shooting,” he said.
“We also just need to see him play, he was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd which is the G-League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks… he’s not going to play in the G-League but this is a pretty significant progression for him coming back to the floor.
“Typically when this happens you’re around two to three weeks away from playing, which would be about 11 months post-surgery for Joe Ingles with that ACL.
“He is 35 so it is a little surprising that he’s coming back so quickly, but it’s certainly a good sign.”
The Boomers have already qualified for the World Cup, going undefeated through the group stages.