Australia hoping Mills will replace Exum at FIBA Oceania

What once looked to be a stacked Australia squad for the 2015 FIBA Oceancia Championship later this month is suddenly much thinner, leaving the Boomers to scramble for help.

Dante Exum suffered a torn left ACL in an international friendly for Australia this week, an injury that could end his sophomore NBA season before it starts. Coupled with Exum's Utah Jazz teammate Joe Ingles declining to suit up and Detroit Pistons center Aron Baynes opting to rest an ankle injury, the Aussies aren't as formidable as once thought.

They're hoping San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills can help.

Mills was left off the team's 12-man roster because he didn't suit up for their European lead-in tour, the one on which Exum was injured. While it was thought to be mandatory, Exum's injury may change things, according to head coach Andrej Lemanis.

"The reality is at the moment we have 11 guys and we're allowed to play with 12," Lemanis said to Nick Smart of the Herald Sun on Friday. "We need to assess if that is in our best interest to bring someone else in. Patty is a logical fit for us given he knows the Boomers and he is obviously a very good player."

Lemanis said the program has reached out to Mills but hasn't heard back. They'll need an answer soon, though, with the first leg of the two-game series tipping off Aug. 15.

Mills has been a fixture on the national team and led the 2012 Olympic tournament in scoring with 21.2 points per game. He took last summer off from the team to rehabilitate a shoulder injury, one that cost him a third of the NBA season.

Should Mills decline to make the trip, the Boomers will still have names like Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, and Cameron Bairstow to help carry the load against New Zealand. The Oceania tournament is a two-game match between the two countries, with the winner qualifying for the Olympics and the loser heading to next summer's 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.