http://www.aussiehoopla.com/exums-exit-shouldnt-extinguish-boomers-optimism/

"Coming off of an ACL injury which saw him sidelined for a year, the Rio Olympics were to be Dante's first full games back on court. If Utah had allowed Dante to play, it would be his first full contact basketball in that time. It is unlikely he would have played himself into a prominent role on the team."

Fair enough.

With Lisch and Mills available in addition to those from the 2014 WCs there was a chance Exum wouldn't be picked anyway, so barring any more injuries/withdrawals it shouldn't matter.

M.Dellavadova / K.Lisch / D.Martin
P.Mills / C.Goulding
R.Broekhoff / B.Newley
B.Motum/ D.Anderson / C.Bairstow
A.Baynes / N.Jawai

I feel like you've forgotten Ingles here, who is clearly a better player than atleast half of the team you list.

Damien Martin is a world class defender but he can't shoot to save himself half of the time. He also isn't the best point guard for running a team. If we are really going to go for the third PG option I would be more comfortable with Gibson, who has some semblance of an offensive game. Or using someone like Cam Gliddon as an extra shooter.

Ingles, by the way, can play point guard and would nullify your need for a third.

I also have reservations about starting Motum. Anyone who watched the World Cup would see that he wasn't quite up to that level.

I'd expect Bairstow and Anderson to also share minutes with Baynes at center. Nate Jawai will only be worth 10-15 minutes per game, but could be very effective in those minutes.

A lot will be asked of Baynes in this series.

I would be inclined to start Delly on the bench, personally.

Mills
Ingles
Broekhoff
Anderson
Baynes

Delly
Goulding
Lisch
Newley
Bairstow
Jawai
Motum

And then if by some miracle we get Bogut, I would drop Bairstow or Jawai and reshuffle.

Yep, just forgot Ingles. Obviously he'd be in over Martin.

Wasn't suggesting that Motum should start - no particular order to my list. There's no point speculating starters, minutes etc yet as Lemanis probably hasn't even decided what combinations he's likely to go with.

Likely no Bogut, Simmons, Exum. Damn.

Unfortunate really, given we probably won't see Bogut in an Olympics again or Ingles & Newley either...

Yeah I think given who's out the team pretty much picks itself at the moment as long as nobody else pulls out (wasn't there talk of Ingles potentially missing for the birth of his kid?)

Why no ingles again? He's still young enough to compete for a position.

I would have Mills off the bench. He's best suited bringing a spark off the bench as we have seen time and time again.

Cram - last I read (April 30), Ingles might miss the opening ceremony but not any Olympic tournament games.

His wife is due to deliver twins on the day of the opening ceremony. Lemanis had told him he'd have his support for flying back for the birth if it happens then. If the birth was delayed, the article I read contained quotes that made it clear Ingles would play Olympics and miss the birth.

Yes Ingles will be at the Olympics. I don't think the basketball starts until a few days after the opening ceremony. He is 100% confirmed and committed. There is no worry with Ingles.

If we can keep the team as is, it is still pretty strong and should compete. The goal should still be medal.

Disappointing, but probably not surprising really. I can see how Utah wouldn't be keen and Dante probably feels an obligation to them when they have invested so much time and money in him. Hopefully in two years we get a polished NBA starter for the World Championships instead!

We will still have a decent team, though I think we will fall short of the medals again. I feel like Baynes, Ingles and Broekhoff are the only automatic starters. I hope we adjust the other two starters depending on matchups.

Against a more mobile, smaller team, I'd swap Andersen out for Motum or even possibly play Broekhoff at the 4 and start Mills AND Delly.

I like Delly for his defence on the opposing team's point guard and for his steady control of the offence. He also works the pick and roll well with Baynes. So I generally like him in the starting lineup, but there might be times I would go with Mills instead if I thought I could get away with it defensively.

Beantown, there will be a lot of teams missing players this year. I think we will have a better shot with this squad than we usually would do to that. I touch on that a little in this article:

http://www.aussiehoopla.com/boguts-injury-mean-boomers/

Hahaha, I love your blurb at the end of the article ME! Like you, I am also a hack that appreciates the basketball gifts of others!

Good news if both Gasol's are out. There's always a chance the stars align for us and we make the medal round. Like always I hope, but experience has taught me to be disappointed.

Good news for the Boomers medal hopes, Lemanis would have had to pick Exum with the future in mind but now he can pick the team most capable of success and Dante can come back into the fold when he's fit, further developed and ready to be a real contributor.

I absolutely agree. The Boomers aren't here to foster talent. I think our squad will be fine. I should add that our 1996 team didn't have Luc Longley - our most credentialed player at the time. I think Australia has every chance to do fine this year.

Ogilvy isn't even in the squad, so he won't make the final roster

I meant 2020 Olympics in regards to Ingles, he's 28 now so at 32 it's possible he could be in Rio but even then he could be pushed out by better NBA talent

Jawai is training hard in the CNS heat at the moment, his fitness and weight shouldn't be a problem.

He's always apparently "working hard". Then you see him and he looks like he's been working hard at getting banned from the buffet.

I genuinely hope he has been working hard. A fit and lean Jawai would go a long way toward compensating for Bogut.

So if Bogut pulls out, does that leave the possibility of Ogilvy being added to the squad?

No. Lemanis and Ogilvy have got some personal issues with eachother. I am not sure where it stems from, but Ogilvy has been omitted from every possible team Lemanis has ever made, regardless of performance. That is not about to change.