Now is the time for Ben Simmons to find out whether or not he needs to have a world profession, says Boomers legend Luc Longley forward of the Paris Olympics.
And regardless of Australia placing out on the 2023 World Cup amid a interval of roster transition, Longley believes a second Olympic medal is “just as likely as anything” on the Games in France.
Brooklyn guard Simmons returned to the court docket final month after lacking 12 weeks with a nerve impingement, the most recent in a string of accidents which have sidelined him since leaving Philadelphia in 2022.
Those well being points pressured Simmons out of final yr’s World Cup, the place he had seemed set to finish an absence from the nationwide set-up that dates again to 2013.
Simmons missed the 2016 Olympics to give attention to preparations for his NBA rookie season, and the 2020 Games to practise his capturing following a troublesome patch throughout the 2020/21 play-offs.
But the 27-year-old, recognized for his play-making and defensive IQ, has seemed again to his finest since returning for the Nets.
NBA nice Longley, an assistant coach on the Boomers between 2013 and 2019, stated Simmons wanted to finish the suspense over whether or not he needs to play for Australia.
“Now is probably the time for him to either get on with it, or not. We’ll see,” he advised AAP on the launch of the Hahn Half Court, Half Pub expertise in Sydney.
“He’s said he wants to play for a long time, it’s been about getting his body right and the right opportunity.
“It’d be nice to see him within the inexperienced and gold.”
Despite boasting a wealth of NBA talent, the Boomers failed to advance past the second round of last year’s World Cup.
It became clear the Boomers, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, were still adjusting to a transitioning roster.
Young talents Josh Giddey and Josh Green became starters for the first time at a major tournament, while Dyson Daniels and Jack White were new to the set-up.
“What I took from the World Cup is there is a huge change in roster, a bit like what occurred when my era left,” said Longley, who represented Australia at three Olympic Games.
With Joe Ingles and Patty Mills in their mid-30s, the Boomers lack an obvious shooting guard around whom to build for the future.
Giddey and Simmons, Australia’s two highest-profile guards, are both creators rather than prolific scorers but three-time NBA champion Longley remains bullish on the Boomers’ chances in Paris.
“Every roster has holes, you simply do not see excellent rosters,” he stated.
“Everyone’s obtained a necessity, everybody’s at all times making an attempt to enhance their roster.
“International basketball is such a mixed bag of factors: talent, timing, age, and all the things that go into it.
“I would not wish to wager towards us, put it that approach.
“We’re just as likely to get up and get a medal as anything.
“But as we noticed on the World Cup, issues should move your approach a bit as nicely.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
