I have nothing but the utmost respect for what Patty has done in a Boomers jersey. He will definitely stand among the greatest ever Australian players. But I think we have to be realistic about where he's at now, while being respectful of his legacy. All too often when a player starts to decline, people disrespect them. It's like we're not allowed to grow old and past our prime. Unfortunately it looks like father time has hit suddenly and hard for Patty.
But where to for now? I cant see him getting minutes at the Olympics in this form. And his NBA prospects are probably minimal. Could he get a veterans deal? Sure. But I think his other option (and potentially more likely) is the NBL. He could extend his career another 2-3 years here but in his current state I have a hard time believing he'd be equal to even the Aussie guards already here (Sobey, Goulding). Really his form has been abominable and I am not sure how many chances this Boomers team can afford to give him.
As far as the Boomers go, I'd give him 10 minutes a game for the next 3 warm up games. If he shows flashes, give him small spurts in games and see what happens. If he doesn't, he's your 12th man. Reputation or not he's been the worst performer so far this year by a country mile. And we have to be realistic about that.
