Australian basketball great Andrew Gaze says Ben Simmons is so good he should be in the Boomers' Olympic team even if NBA commitments severely limit his preparation.
The 19-year-old prodigy is keen to play at this year's Games in Rio, but the call will ultimately lie with his future NBA franchise.
Simmons is tipped to be the No.1 pick in June's draft after his rookie college campaign with Louisiana State University and having been rated the best high school basketballer in the US.
Five-time Olympian Gaze said while an NBA team can't stop him from representing Australia, they can have heavy influence on their prized acquisition.
And there's little Basketball Australia can do, other than talk to the team that selects him.
"The big issue in this whole situation is if Ben is going to play for Australia, then he won't be able to go to the (NBA) Summer League camp," Gaze told AAP.
"For a new player, that might be a big issue for a team."
But if Simmons does play the Summer League, which falls around the same time the Boomers start their Olympic build-up, it'll be an issue for national coach Andrej Lemanis.
"That would make it a pretty tough call for Andrej to take Ben if he's going to be there for a very small portion of their Olympic preparation," said Gaze.
"If he can't do anything, and you're really just going to show up in Rio, then I'm not sure that would be in the team's best interests.
"(But) he is so versatile, he's so skilled, that provided he could do a little bit, I would believe you would try and find a way to get him into the team because he's that good."
For Gaze, the ideal situation would be if Simmons' NBA side lets him forgo Summer League and support his participation in Rio.
He is hopeful, though, that most franchises would recognise the value of playing in the national side - especially the Philadelphia 76ers, with former Boomers coach Brett Brown at the helm.
Simmons has spent little time in the Australian system since making his Boomers debut in 2013.
He was cut from the side for the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and didn't play in last year's two-leg Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Melbourne and Wellington.
"However, he is that good that his individual skills - in my opinion - outweigh the difficulties of trying to integrate Ben into the team," added Gaze.
"Hopefully Andrej has a choice."
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