Swap Green and Thon for landale and goulding

It would be a boring world if we all agree on each player.
I don't see the appeal of Creek, he is fortunate that Cooks got injured.
Green is a great down the track prospect but Goulding is ahead of him in the depth order.

Let's also see Exum have an injury free season and Maker and Bolden be more than bit players for their NBA teams before we get carried away.

I think with such short tournaments, chemistry is everything. If you can't get a team to work together properly within a month, it wont matter how much talent you have, you're not going to go far.

I'd say almost every member on the current team has an inside track to keeping their spot come 2020 and the ones who slept on the opportunity will have a fight on their hands to keep their spot against those guys who do establish themselves in the Cup.

Delly, Mills, Ingles, Baynes, Landale, Bogut are locks. Chris Goulding will have every chance to fight for his spot against Ryan Broekhoff after his play so far. Bolden will have a hard time getting a spot in the team after his dummy spit. Exum has stayed involved in the program so probably gets his shot. Maker also.

But as outlandish as this is going to sound, I don't have Ben Simmons as a lock if he's available. Can he give up a part of his own game to be part of an equal-opportunity international team? I'd want to see commitment first and complete buy in.

Moot point now, but since we have 3 players at the WC who are basically just taking up space, it still leaves the question of who else should have been under consideration?

Not future options, but I think Martin & Lisch should definitely have been under consideration for the 3rd string PG role

For the future, Naar, WMW, and even Cotton should be under consideration

Why the obsession with picking only NBA players?

FIBA tournaments and tournaments under FIBA rules (ie Olympics) require skill sets slightly different to the NBA. Euro players get more practice at playing under FIBA rules.

I'm not saying replace the NBA-based core, but after 8 players, the selectors are really only choosing between key players in Euro and fringe NBA players, with similar- level but slightly different skill sets.

Broekhoff should be taken as a first option. He had family reasons to sit out the WC, didn’t he. He’s made some decent contributions in the NBA, and had a great career as a go to guy in Euro. In other words, he can compete with NBA guys, and has the runs on the board in FIBA rules.

I like that 15-man squad but would make a priority of including Adel if he really is as exciting a talent as many here seem to think he is.

I'd also leave a spot for anyone showing outstanding form in NBA / Euro / NBL, and one for a hot prospect to get them into the Boomers mind-set before they actually play for the Boomers.

I may differ from a few contributors in that I want to see both Broekhoff and Goulding in the Boomers - the more reliable outside shooters we have, the better.

"But as outlandish as this is going to sound, I don't have Ben Simmons as a lock if he's available. "

"I think offensively, Simmons doesn't elevate this group that much. He adds a lot, but will also take a lot away."

Wasn't that 2016 Simmons' problem in not making Rio?

Although at that stage he was unproven at point guard, so he was being evaluated as either a 3 or 4. He's now an NBA All-Star at point. The problem is, now he's arguably still unproven at point guard in international FIBA level. The Boomers system in FIBA is quite different to Philly in the NBA. Would Simmons usurp Delly and Ingles as floor generals? Delly and Ingles know the FIBA game better, more experience at that level, and more experience in the system. Or would Simmons play more at the 4 with some point forward responsibilities?

I'm curious to see how Greece use Giannis. I suspect he won't be as dominant in international FIBA.

My experience watching Adel:
Highlights compilations: "wow!"
Watching a few actual NBA games: "meh"

Honestly, in the games I saw, I thought he looked like a tanking selection. I haven't seen enough of Adel, but I'm not yet convinced what his role is on this Boomers team. Whereas someone like Broekhoff, even ignoring his previous Boomers experience and watching only his NBA games, I can see his value in this Boomers system easily. For me, considering his impact on previous Boomers teams, Broekhoff is a secure lock at the 3.

Holy fuck ME.... Simmons isn't a lock?

Hand in your computer and pack it in son.

"Holy fuck ME.... Simmons isn't a lock?

Hand in your computer and pack it in son."

He's a lock provided he doesn't conduct himself like a douchebag and put the rest of the team offside.

Simmons and bolden are not locks ? No wonder Ben said this is a racist country. Because they are black some people would rather have kay and gliddon in the team,

Greggo, even LeBron and Durants are not
locks for him if they don't behave properly..

Oh ffs, MM. Haven't you understood any of the discussions about team fit and all that? They HAPPEN to have darker skin colour but so what?! Are we being racist by not including Cotton? And most don’t want Gliddon, or Cadee, or Sobey, who HAPPEN to have lighter skin colour.

Lemanis’ job is to WIN the f..king thing, not to deliberately LOSE by choosing crap players just because a few bloggers have a bromance or get excited by a flashy dunk or whatever.

Rant over.

I am right with you Hoopie. At FIBA level consistent 3 point shooters are gold. Ryan from accounting and CG4 are key at the Olympics.

"Simmons and bolden are not locks ? No wonder Ben said this is a racist country."

Not only is this an insane conclusion, you are too stupid to realize that your own trend of promoting the selection of dark skinned players, particularly Sundanese, at the expense of better qualified alternatives, suggests that there is most evidence to claim that *you* are the most racist person here.

Bolden voluntarily withdrew from this World Cup at a time that was adverse to the team's preparation, seemingly all due to not playing a significant enough role. When he did play, he was relegated to 3rd string 5. This thread is about assuming full-strength availability. In Tokyo, Bolden will have even more competition at the 4. Add in Maker. Then Simmons. Then there's Cooks who has versatility to play the 4. I hope Bolden can redeem himself leading up to Tokyo, but suggesting Bolden is no longer a lock is not outlandish given his Boomers history.

Nikki kay, barlow and Gliddon are " better qualified players " than Adel, Bolden and Green ?
Bullshit.

Nice try, Dave. Look at the names you were really suggested: "mathiang, humphries, green, adel, reath".

It's fair enough to have your favourite players, even if they are mostly Sudanese, but you can gain credibility by explaining why these players should be selected, in basketball terms. I'm calling your racist jibe out because not only is it pathetic, but you also lack self-awareness in such an accusation.

Dave you're a moron.
Adel wasn't good enough.
Green isn't ready.
Bolden WITHDREW.

Steven, Adel isn't good enough, so are gliddon, kay, sobey, Barlow good enough ?

Bolden withdrew because lemanis treated him unfairly, played him less minutes than kay, which was ridiculous. And we all know Bolden is the better player.

Green is more than ready, Can't do much worse than gliddon and sobey who only play in garbage time anyway.

Given recent comments on another thread, it seems like this squad was chosen more for beating the Euro teams than the athletic bigs (Senegal) or athletic skilled (USA).

Given the number of players in contention now, it seems like we should be able to pull together a squad which can handle both