Three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets may join the Australian national team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia from August 25 and September 10, the Boomers' head coach Brian Goorjian hinted on Friday.

"I think his (Ben's) mindset is getting healthy, getting in shape and getting ready to play in this (World Cup)," Goorjian told SEN Radio. "And I think he has been along that line for a while and I felt it last time."

Australia finished the last edition of the World Cup in the fourth place in China in 2019. They secured the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Simmons participated in neither.

"There were unfortunate circumstances (why he didn't play at Tokyo), but I feel like he is going to make himself available," Goorjian said. "Our door is always open to him and during my time with the Boomers he has always been straightforward with me. But that was a very tough situation (in Philadelphia) and he was in the process of change."

The 2020-21 campaign was the final season Simmons played on the court for the Philadelphia 76ers, which selected him with the first-overall pick in 2016 and waited one year for him to recover from foot injury. It was also the final season in which he was an All-Star as he averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He was selected into the All-Defensive First Team that year, the second time in his career.

After that, Simmons had a fallout with the 76ers. He refused to play in the following 2021-22 season while dealing with a back injury. He even filed a grievance against the team to recoup the salaries they withdrew from him. The two sides reached a $20 million settlement in the end.

Simmons was traded to the Nets in February, but he has only made 42 appearances for the team since then, getting 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. The last time he played was on February 15. In late March, the team ruled him out for the rest of the season because of a nerve issue in his back.

"I'm currently rehabilitating my back injury and putting my full effort and focus towards that," Simmons told the Herald Sun. "I love what coach Goorjian is building with the Boomers and I look forward to being a part of the program in the future."

When Simmons entered the NBA, he was seen as another "unicorn" for his 2.08-meters height, athleticism, remarkable defense and orchestrating ability. Nonetheless, having played 317 games in seven seasons in the NBA, he is now remembered as a guard who needs to control the ball but doesn't shoot outside the paint, a man who has made only 42 appearances in the previous two seasons for $63 million, and a player who is hard to trade with two more years at $78 million left on his contract.

So, what exactly will Simmons bring to Australia in the World Cup? His lack of shooting ability only makes it more difficult for him to score under FIBA rules that allow big men to stay next to the hoop without having to worry about three-second violation. He may still be a reliable defender, but definitely far from the level of NBA Defensive Player of the Year caliber Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece.

When coach Goorjian said that he feels "there is a really strong chance" that Simmons can play for the Boomers in the World Cup, he'd better know what role to give him in the team.