Boomers icon Patty Mills is playing on and his cohort of veteran stars are also in Olympic calculations, ensuring a battle for the ages with Australia’s next generation of talent.
In a wide-ranging interview with this masthead, Boomers coach Adam Caporn says that Mills, 37, Joe Ingles, 38, and Matthew Dellavedova, 35, are in the frame for next year’s World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while he would be “ecstatic” should Ben Simmons ever don the green and gold.
The Boomers will continue to unleash fresh talent in next month’s FIBA Asian Cup qualifying games against Guam (July 3) and the Philippines (July 6) in Perth, with US-born but naturalised Australian NBL great Bryce Cotton, Tyrese Proctor, fresh off his rookie NBA season with Cleveland, and US college star Alex Condon among those keen to make a splash and show they can embrace the “Boomers’ way”.
The Boomers experienced what centre Jock Landale described as “growing pains” amid a stinging quarter-final defeat at the Paris Olympics, and a not-always-easy handover of responsibility from the Mills era to the fresh faces of Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels.
Industry insiders had suggested Mills may retire, but Caporn said the former NBA championship player was “doing terrific” right now and could still fill a role.
“He is still playing and got goals of Boomers’ representation in his future, and there’s a number of guys, I guess, in that sort of experience bracket that are still fighting to be in the team and are proven performers,” Caporn, the 10th coach in Boomers history, said.
“I would just keep saying that selection is going to be very tough.”
Mills did not play in the NBA last season, but is playing in Spain and has been linked with a NBL return.
Ingles told this masthead last month he would “never say never” to a potential sixth Olympics.
Asked about Ingles, Caporn – a former NBL player, former assistant to Boomers coach Brian Goorjian and a current assistant with the Washington Wizards – said he was “not going to rule anyone out”.
“You know, my conversations with the more experienced guys have been really open that what we need from them is that, we appreciate their contributions, and what we need from them is to be healthy, happy,” Caporn said.
Ingles has finished a stellar NBA career and signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United.
Dellavedova remains one of the NBL’s best defensive guards, helping the Sydney Kings to the title last season.
The trio has been the heartbeat of the team for so long, helping reap the first men’s basketball medal at an Olympics with bronze in Tokyo, but the failure of Paris where the Boomers let slip a record lead in a quarter-final loss to Serbia, and father-time, means it’s the likes of Giddey, Daniels and Landale who are now the key men.
That the Boomers need shooting around Giddey and Daniels means Mills, the leading scorer at the 2012 Olympics, is still a strong option.
The call on Mills could impact whether Proctor and fellow NBA guards Josh Green and Dante Exum, and even NBL stars Chris Goulding and Nathan Sobey, are selected for Qatar.
The Boomers may also eventually need to make a call between Cotton and Paris Olympian Matisse Thybulle, who is also American born but has Australian citizenship. Under FIBA regulations, each national team is permitted only one naturalised player on its roster per competition.
Thybulle, a strong defender in the NBA, was shattered and disillusioned when overlooked at the last minute for Paris, and checked out of his Melbourne hotel where the team was staying before many knew he had gone.
Caporn said he had spoken with Thybulle “a few times” and had spent time with him.
“That was a very difficult thing for everyone involved but, of course, Matisse is my main concern because that wouldn’t have been easy,” Caporn said.
“We’re very appreciative and supportive of him, and we’re big fans of Matisse as a coaching staff, and he had a really good finish to the NBA season, which is exciting.”
Simmons opted not to play in the NBA last season, and has turned his attention to professional fishing, where he has enjoyed success after the physical and mental tumult of his final seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
The NBL is keen to lure the former No.1 NBA draft pick home. Caporn said Simmons would be welcomed into the Boomers fold should the opportunity arise.
“I think my role is to help people flourish in their professional careers,” Caporn said.
“Ben’s working to get healthy, and we’ll see what the future holds. But we’re here to support him as a person first and, if there’s a time when it works out, you’ll wear the green and gold, we’d be ecstatic.”
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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