Every minute counts: The challenge for Boomers hopefuls

NBA roster cuts have presented a unique dilemma for some Australian players looking to secure big minutes ahead of the Boomers campaign at the Paris Olympics.

Coach Brian Goorjian is already looking at how the Boomers roster will shape up in Paris, with the likes of Xavier Cooks and Jack White amongst the names who will be in the fight for roster spots. Both players were waived from their respective NBA teams earlier this week and have yet to find new homes. 

ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc revealed on the latest episode of NBL Overtime, a key observation that Goorjian and the Boomers coaching staff discovered after their mediocre World Cup campaign was the players who played a lot in their club seasons, performed the best - something that will loom large in the minds of Cooks and White.

“When the Boomers coaching staff sat back after this recent World Cup campaign, part of their post-mortem was, who played and who didn’t, and why,” Uluc said. 

“That’s a question that the Boomers coaching staff asked after the World Cup. 

“What should be front of mind for guys like Xavier Cooks and Jack White, and these guys are trying to make the Olympic team, is - where can we play meaningful reps?

“The NBL is somewhere where you can play meaningful reps, the G-League is too, and so is the NBA. So that’s part of the value proposition is, 'where can I sign to help my future, but also get meaningful reps ahead of the Boomers campaign at the Olympics?'”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Could Xavier Cooks return to the NBL?<a href="https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OlgunUluc</a> with the latest on which teams have made a call, and where he is most likely to land.<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLOvertime?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLOvertime</a> on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/CDI3yYGmf3">pic.twitter.com/CDI3yYGmf3</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1716740718260003009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

These conversations came after an unexpected amount of Australian NBA players including White, Duop Reath (who was then picked up on a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers), Makur Maker, and Cooks, were waived from their respective NBA clubs.

All four players are a chance to represent Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics.