I think it's a fascinating choice.

Most people expected Delly to be right on the fringe fighting for a final spot with someone else.

If the choice is indeed Dyson v Delly, does Goorj go with:

Dyson: more valuable defensive asset, better offensively also(?)

Delly: knows the Boomers, how to run the team and play other teams, better choice if you need a floor general

Reckon it will come down to how much Goorj intends to lean on Patty and Josh as primary ball handlers. Can he trust others with spot ball duties? Is it worth blooding Dyson with an eye on the future, or do we absolutely need Delly on court to give us best chance at medalling?

Id personally go with Dyson, I like what Ben says above in regards to the primary ball handlers and feel outside of Giddey and Mills we could also lean on Exum for some ball handling dutis.

We have veterans on the roster, I think we need to bleed in some youth at the same time so would go with Dyson.

Umm... Sorry but this is a no-brainer.

Has to be Daniels. Sorry Delly, you've been great and you scored yourself a medal. Put your feet up and relax. Daniels has to have that last spot.

The ONLY reason you'd even entertain taking Delly in that spot is for an elder statesman/mentor type role to help the new blood but with Jingles and Patty there, not required.

If we didn't get Bronze last Olympics, I'd understand Goorg taking him for one last hurrah but ........

Yeah, easy decision for me too. Dyson is clearly a better player at this point. Surely they could bring Delly along as an assistant if they felt his input would help the team, but I doubt he would add much value on the floor. The ball will be in Giddey's hands most of the time anyway, so there wouldn't be much opportunity for Delly to orchestrate the offence.

Delly - need that experience

Daniels is a similar player to Exum.

We also have Green and Thybulle bringing athleticism on the defensive end.

It's all about balance, and I'd lean towards Delly for his gritty toughness and FIBA experience.

One question worth asking- if Giddey got injured, who would you rather taking on significant ball handling responsibilities in a tight game at the World Cup?

Daniels might be a better player than Delly is now I don't doubt that but like LV mentioned all it would take is an injury to Giddey, I would much rather have Delly then as the PG than rookie Daniels.

The guards and wings are pretty set in my mind.
Guards
Giddy, Exum, Mills, Daniels.
Wings
Green, Ingles, Thybulle, White.
Bigs
Landale, Kay, Cooks, Reath?

As Goorg stated in his NBL summer league interview from Vegas last week, it's the Posts that are going to require the most thought.
I am locking in Landale and Kay but after that it’s going to be extremely competitive at camp.

I think Landale and Cooks would be locked in with Kay & Reath as chances.

The athleticism that Thybulle brought to the team I think was huge contributor as last World Cup. And I think that is where the point of difference between Delly and Dyson comes in. It elevates the team significantly - especially on the defensive end. Play White as undersized 4th big (or drop Cooks) and keep both Delly and Dyson.

Definitely Daniels .
Can we take Delly as an Asst Coach ?

Now is the time to make a choice.
I love the deli, but now the chance has to go to Daniels.
Delly's stats began to decline from WC 2019 to the Tokyo Olympics.
Delly played an average of 14 minutes at the Tokyo Olympics.
(FG 20% , 2PTS 14.3% , 3PT 23.1%)
Delly is a great veteran, but there are Mills and Ingles. Enough veterans.
Mills, Ingles, Exum, Giddey, Green, Daniels
It's not as heavy handler as Delly's, but it's good enough for a ball handler.
We also need to prepare for the main event, next year's Olympics.
Will next year's Olympics be with Delly? No.
Younger players need more opportunities and experience in this World Cup.

Yes I agree, whilst the World Cup is a big deal, surely the importance of blooding Daniels with next year in mind has to be the priority. Picking Delly just in case of an injury is too much of a negative mind set for me.

I think Goulding and Travers are in the queue in front of Delly
and both would certainly be in my 15 for the Melbourne tests
But the competition for those Bigs spots
Especially if Pinder comes to camp fit
And if Thon comes to camp switched on...
The competition between the bigs at camp is going to be brutal.

Daniels for me, let Delly go as a trainer/asst coach if you really want his experience there.

Dyson, but if he's injured before the first game then I’d take Goulding ahead of Delly.

Locks
Mills SG - PG
Exum PG - SF - SG
Green SG - SF
Giddey PG - SF
Thybulle SF - PF
Ingles SF - PG
Landale C


5 from...

Dellevedova PG
Goulding SG
Daniels SF - PG - SG
-
White PF - SF
Cooks PF - SF
Kay PF - C
-
Pinder C - PF
Reath C - PF
Maker C - PF


minimum 1 centre - Reath, maker, pinder or kay
minimum 1 guard - facilitator(Delly), shooter(Goulding) or defender(Daniels)
minimum 2 pfs - Cooks, kay, white or pinder
1 open option


In
Goulding
Daniels
Cooks
Kay
Reath

Out
Delly - past it but great leader
White - elite defender / good rebounder / can't dribble / shooting doubts
Pinder - injury cloud
Maker - rim protector-runner / ok shooter / mobile / gets bullied / not a rebounder



Giddey / Exum
Mills / Green / Goulding
Thybulle / Ingles / Daniels
Cooks / Kay
Landale / Reath


Japan will be small - no hachimura
Germany will be giant - 3-5 front court height 6’10-7’1
Finland about the same size - markannen mobility

I agree with everyone that it's not about not wanting Delly as he's given everything on the court, but even last Olympics he was slipping, I think now is definitely the time for Daniels... Agree that Goulding and Travers would be ahead of Delly too... Travers is actually a pretty interesting thought too really, he's shown his worth in Vegas again...

Ummm, Travers is not in the squad.

If the Boomers didn't have a backup guard in Dante Exum who has proven he can handle the pressure moments in FIBA/European basketball, you'd have to take Delly as a fall-back. As much as I'm excited to see Giddey, Green and Daniels perform at the World Cup, I have no doubt Goorj is going to want to have a trusted 5-man unit in high pressure moments.

Knowing he can pick a 5-man unit from Mills, Exum, Thybulle, Ingles, Kay and Landale to do it (who were top-6 in minutes in Tokyo) has to give confidence. Of course, if any of the young guns step up, you'd be happy to have more options.

Giddey, Exum, Mills, Daniels, Ingles can all play the 1 at some point

My Picks

Goulding or White or Maker

1)
Giddey - Exum - Daniels
Mills - Ingles - (Goulding)
Green - Thybulle - (White)
Cooks - Kay
Landale - Reath - (Maker)

2)
Giddey - Exum - Daniels
Mills - Green - (Goulding)
Thybulle - Ingles - (White)
Kay - Cooks - (Maker)
Landale - Reath

3)
Giddey - Exum - Daniels
Green - Mills - (Goulding)
Thybulle - Ingles
Kay - Cooks - (White)
Landale - Reath - (Maker)

4)
Giddey - Exum - Daniels
Green - Mills - (Goulding)
Ingles - Thybulle
Cooks - Kay - (White)
Landale - Reath - (Maker)

I'll be honest I don’t see it with Cooks. He seems like he’ll be an offensive liability in a team with this many high level ball users. And while I love that he brings great energy and does the little things with setting screens, cutting and hustling on boards the idea of him starting over Kay seems absurd to me after how good and reliable Kay was in Tokyo. While being a good cutter is good I’d still rather a good shooter that provides more spacing for our better playmakers to go to work. Having awesome PNR ball handlers creators with size, even if unathletic, is something rare to have and we’ve got two with giddey and ingles so I’d rather cater towards their offensive skills and not take their space. Would rather have jack white than cooks and if you’re going to play cooks I think you need other good shooters in, can’t play him and thybulle together imo.

Also yeah daniels over delly. Blood the youth, take the better player and have faith that between giddey, mills, exum and ingles we've got enough guys that can handle the ball in the half court. Hoping we’ll be able to harness the athleticism of our wings into lots of fast breaks. Really keen to see how landale goes, was already good last Olympics and has only gotten better since.

I think the team Weedy Slug summarised is perfect.

Though IMO I think Kay should clearly start over Cooks for reasons mentioned by Eagle.

Take your pick who starts at the 3, I think they might still take Ingles over Thybulle.

But gee there is some serious talent to pick from... having Dyson Daniels and Chris Goulding as your third string wings is crazy

Another question to consider is Cooks vs White.

A lot of people would instinctively pick Cooks due to better NBL numbers, but I feel White's game fits better with the rest of the Aussie roster.

When you're picking the final spots of a team, you're not looking for necessarily the better player (probably Cooks), rather the role player who fits with the team better.

I could defintely see a world where Cooks misses out. Though given he was already picked for Tokyo, maybe I'm overthinking.

Simple: take both. Put Daniel's in the playing squad. And give Delly an off court role. He’ll still bring the culture, nous and mentoring.

Agree EssenX. Whether playing or not, having as many of the last gen of players around the squad as possible is a good thing - Delly especially.

The question they should be asking is this- who are the main guys who will be playing lots of minutes. Presumably Landale, Mills, Giddey, Thybulle and Ingles. Possibly Green and Kay too.

Then ask- who best complements this group? Which combination of gives us the best overall balance and flexibility for a range of situations?

The answers don't necessarily involve choosing the best individual players. It may include picking guys with specific skill sets or who could be useful in specific situations. Eg Goulding as a microwave shooter.

The Boomers have never been in a Better position. The only weakness is a lack of a big banger, to replace Baynes and previously Bogut

2014 WC (5)
Baynes, Andersen, Motum, Bairstow, Jawai

2016 Olympic (5)
Baynes, Bogut, Andersen, Bairstow, Motum

2019 WC (5)
Baynes, Kay, Landale, Bogut, Barlow

2020 Olympic (4)
Kay, Landale, Reath, Baynes

2023 WC Extended Squad
PF/SF White
PF/SF Cooks
PF/C Kay
PF/C Pinder
C/PF Reath
C/PF Landale
C/PF Froling
C/PF Maker

The depth of talent is great. However, this WC faces many Euro teams. That's definitely something to be concerned about.

Interesting that Reath and Maker had almost identical seasons in China

Reath - 18.2p/7.8r/1.3a/1.2s/2b/1.8to shooting 45% FG and 33% 3P playing 24.6 minutes in an 18-24 team

Maker - 16.8p/10.2r/1.6a/1.3s/1.8b/2.3to shooting 44% FG and 28% 3P playing 29.4 minutes in a 13-29 team

I think I prefer Reath given his Boomers experience, his Euroleague and FIBA experience, and his superior 3 point shooting. So I expect Reath to get the back up 5 spot.

Maker he a lot more length than Reath, could be helpful against the taller nations. Let's see who does best at training camps.

I think Reath would be a better option, even though Thon has got him covered in height and length Reath seems to be made of sterner stuff. Not sure how good his kicking ability is though but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

I'd take Daniels over Delly too. Delly seemed washed at the Olympics and was on the bench for key stretches. Good to get Daniels in the program. Like others have mentioned, he's got valuable skills. Love Delly (except for the weird crypto promo's), but his time is up.

Reath is agile enough and can play through contact. Maker might be taller but would be less useful banging bodies underneath.

Love Delly, of course, but this seems like the time to bring Daniels into the team. Obviously more long-term value. Realistically, if Giddey gets injured, his ball-handling would likely be covered by others in the main rotation. Daniels offers something to fit the new Boomers style: long, athletic, versatile, defensively interchangeable. Daniels' versatility allows him to cover several others.

Bring Delly as an assistant.

I would take Kay's experience and IQ over Cooks, 100%. Not to mention his perimeter shot. I might even be inclined to take White over Cooks. Neither has the edge in experience. Cooks has energy and athleticism, NBL MVP, but White is the kind of player who can act as an excellent complementary role-player who doesn't need the ball to add a lot of value to the team. It will depend on the camp form, but I can see White ultimately contributing well in FIBA international ball.

Agree totally on both points rjd.

I'm not sure on Delly v Daniels. Delly obviously wasn't a great contributor in Tokyo and as others have noted, Mills and Ingles cover off the veteran presence box - though I don't think Ingles is really *that* guy. I don't think either outcome would be hard to justify, and the guy who misses out can count himself unlucky.

Surely Kay is a lock. He has been nothing less than sensational in a Boomers uniform and even suited up with the C-team when I'm sure no one would have faulted him for sitting it out (this will also count in Delly's favour).

Cooks I don't know enough about as a character guy but White's reputation in that regard is unimpeachable. If the 12th spot comes down to White and anyone, he will have a strong chance to hang on.

Yeah I'm a bit bewildered as to this idea that Kay is in competition with Cooks over a spot. In my mind you’ve got to have Kay locked in along with Mills Ingles Landale Thybulle and Giddey. After Reath’s impressive summer league display I think he’ll be the one we go for as our bench C. If we’re doing a 12 man roster I’d be going with

Giddey PG
Mills SG
Thybulle SF
Kay PF
Landale C

With Daniels Green Ingles Exum Reath White and Goulding off the bench. I’d think that Giddey and Mills run most of our on ball sets and then after that between Ingles Exum and Daniels you still have enough creation there for a 40 minute game. Would also maybe be partial to bringing another big instead of Goulding if the other wings shooting looks good enough just in case of injury to one of the big fellas. Keen to see how it all plays out

Can't see it being Daniels tbh.

2001 still seats in BA's mind.

Start with the last 12.

Delly. Sobey
Mills, Goulding, Green.
Ingles, Thybulle, Exum
Landale. Kay
Baynes, Reath.

It was essentially an 8 man rotation, and pretty much 7 when Baynes went down. There was talk Giddey should have went in for Sobey, but Sobey being there is entirely consistent with the Boomers post-2001.

You start with direct swaps.

Giddey will replace Sobey and moving to start and Cooks likely to replace Baynes.

I can't see anyone else beating this 12 out in camp.

So your contention is do you leave Delly on the bench to get Sobey-esque minutes, or do you bring in Daniels to get Sobey-esque minutes? I think BA will go the former.

The only thing I see varying this is if BA views Daniels as a big minute rotation player in Paris.. and with Green, Exum and Thybulle in the side, I don't think they will view him that way

Based on the comments in the posts, this is our final list of favorites.

Giddey - Exum - Daniels
Mills - Green - Goulding
Thybulle - Ingles
Kay - White
Landale - Reath

It is true that White is a great defender, but as a result of watching the game against China again, he is more like a SF Defender than a PF in international, so if only this part is resolved, good results will come.

Very unathletic frontcourt though...


Maybe goorj surprises us and goes

Giddey - Exum
Mills - Daniels - Goulding
Green - Ingles
Thybulle - White or Cooks
Landale - Kay - Reath

The Landale/Kay frontcourt was very effective in Tokyo, so unless someone produces something exceptional at camp you'd think Goorj would roll with that again. I do like the Thybulle change-up at PF though, good to make opponents react at different times in the game.