"Okay, noted." Basketball Australia, probably.
To no one's surprise, Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets is unavailable for Australia in the FIBA World Cup. Basketball Australia did not seem to be expecting him to suit up, if the Boomers' extended roster was any indication.
On Thursday, Basketball Australia confirmed that Simmons and the Nets reached out to them regarding the player's availability for the national team.
"Ben needs more time to focus on his rehab and he looks forward to being part of the Boomers in the future. We wish Ben all the best in his recovery," the federation tweeted.
He last played for Australia in the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship.
The Boomers though, didn't seem to be too surprised with the decision. Simmons was missing from the extended roster as early as May.
A Simmons-less Australia won the bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and reached fourth place in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
There are ten active NBA players for the Boomers this year though: Patty Mills, Mattise Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Josh Green, Matthew Dellavedova, Jack White, Xavier Cooks, Dyson Daniels, and Josh Giddey.
And the Boomers will be banking on that continuity.
Ten are returnees from the Tokyo 2020 squad—Dellavedova, Nick Kay, Chris Goulding, Mills, Green, Ingles, Thybulle, Dante Exum, Jock Landale, and Duop Reath.
Seven played in the Asian Qualifiers—Kay, Sam Froling, Dellavedova, Will McDowell-White, Thon Maker, Jack White, and Keanu Pinder.
Four of them—Maker, Froling, McDowell-White, and Pinder--helped Australia win the FIBA Asia Cup 2022.
Australia has been drawn in Group E and will play against Germany, Finland, and Japan at the Okinawa Arena.
No Aquaman for New Zealand
There will be no Steven Adams for the Tall Blacks either, based on the extended roster released by New Zealand.
The Kiwis though, aren't too surprised as well. Adams has yet to wear the black jersey even after being called up for New Zealand's FIBA World Cup training camp back in 2019.
According to a report by Stuff.co.nz, coach Pero Cameron and Adams were having a "good and productive conversation" but the Memphis Grizzlies' center's availability was hampered by a right knee sprain back in January.
It's not too much of a blow as eight players from the 2019 FIBA World Cup squad will be returning to action--Isaac Fotu, Shea Ili, Tai Webster, Corey Webster, Finn Delany, Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai, and Ethan Rusbatch.
Corey Webster was New Zealand's top scorer at the last World Cup at 22.8 points per game.
Most of them have also played together during the Asian Qualifiers.
Point guard Flynn Cameron, coach Pero's son, led the Tall Blacks in scoring at the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 and nearly had a triple-double against Korea in the quarterfinals.
New Zealand though will have a rough road to replicating their 2002 run, which saw them reach fourth place with coach Tab Baldwin. The Tall Blacks are in Group C and will face Team USA, Greece, and Jordan at the Mall of Asia Arena.