Sydney Kings 2017/2018.

[Southern Joe]

Onwards & upwards.

[2sc945]

Onwards & upwards.

I'm looking forward to seeing a new head coach and a brand new roster.

[s**tkicker]

JK, Hill and the Imports wont be back.

[Nerf Herder]

Ok, so the players that have deals for next season are:

Lisch (2yrs)
Newls (2yrs)
Cadee (1yr)
Garlepp (1yr)
Maric (Option [team?])

Remaining players:
Khazzouh
Prewster
Moller
McDowell-White (Dev)
Whittington^
Powell^
Jackson^
Hill


Agree that Hill won't be back, was never overly sold on him last season, but he got screwed this season with playing time and had showed that he was capable of contributing when the team was going shit...

Imports I've gone completely off... Powell started with a lazy attitude on court it seemed, but people were like "oh that's just how he plays" and "he's just getting used to the league" and every once in a while would show some hustle and pull off a nice play... But those were few and far between and his lack of effort and direct mistakes, contributed to costing us more than one game...

Greg started off great and I thought we'd finally gotten the long athletic 4 that we were after, but something just went off with him and his attitude just kept getting worse and worse... Sure, he got the raw end of the stick in a lot of games but every player cops some dodgy calls, you just need to play through it... But it just seemed to effect him worse and worse as the season went on, to the point in our last home game that during some FTs at the other end of the court, he came sulking back to our bench like he wanted to have a sit down, but Gaze had to tell him to go back out... Extraordinarily bad body language in the last third of the season... No idea what was going on with him, but it was seriously off...

Not sure about Jules... At his best, he would bea n asset, but even before his injury he wasn't playing to that since he'd come back from OS... If we can get him cheaper due to lack of other options? I'd be ok with him coming back...

I still say someone like Jesse Sanders would compliment our local talent really very well... Great defender and floor leader able to take the ball out of Kev's hands because that dude was BURNT OUT...

Someone like Boone would be a great get... He was no mess, no fuss, a hard worker and could point up points when needed... An ex-nba "star" isn't required, just someone who does all the big and little things he did...

[Daevo]

I'm looking forward to seeing a new head coach and a brand new roster.

So am I & based on past performances you'd think it was to be expected but I think we are both likely to be disappointed, much like Kings fans are nearly every year

[Trekky1]

Gaze is contracted for 3 years

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...70050cf03569d7

[2sc945]

Gaze is contracted for 3 years

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...70050cf03569d7

* hapless *

[Nerf Herder]

There's always the old favourite to get out of contracts... "personal matters to deal with"

[Wild 1]

From all Ive read around, the ownership group wants stability. Id be surprised if Gaze wasn't coach. Id be surprised if there was a big turnover of players.
Locked in Lisch, Newley, Cadee, Maric, and unfortunately Garlepp.
Just need a solid power forward import who can be a presence in the post. Like a Matt Knight type who can be an ok scorer and a good defender. That's a key as well as back court depth, obviously. As good as he has been at times, Id have Cadee as back up PG off the bench, and get an import PG starter in, with Lisch focussing on the 2 spot and not having to carry the ball as much. Will keep him fresher down the stretch.

[boz_novocastrian]

Maric team option declined

JK would be interesting where he turns up next year with 12 months out of Pro Basketball.

Moeller as a defensive glue player would be a worthy signing.

Garrett Jackson his situation revolves around Permanent Residency as if he will be re-signed by the Kings or any other NBL team. He has talked in interviews of trying to attain Residency this off-season

[Southern Joe]

We have Blanchfield.

[s**tkicker]

Great signing.

[BallistiX]

Definitely a good signing, which means Lisch will start at the point and Cadee will come off the bench similar to the role Steve Blake played. Backcourt depth was a glaring weakness last season and although not completely addressed, it's going in the right direction.

[Nerf Herder]

Definitely a good signing, which means Lisch will start at the point and Cadee will come off the bench similar to the role Steve Blake played. Backcourt depth was a glaring weakness last season and although not completely addressed, it's going in the right direction.

Not sure I agree completely (other than it being a good signing), as that assumes Blanchfield will be starting... Big fan of Todd and I thought he was underutilised at United, but that doesn't mean that he slots into the starting lineup when the Kings still REALLY need a starter-level PG as a priority...

Having Blanchfield and Cadee coming off the bench filling in a guard/sf rotation of Import PG, Lisch and Newls would seriously add to the depth that we've been lacking... Lisch got seriously burnt out last season and although it looks like he's having a bit of a break this off season, we REALLY need that defending/facilitating PG to get the ballt o the right players as we've got so many weapons, even more with Todd joining the team, but Lisch isn't a PG and neither is Cadee, and we can't just rely on Lisch to be the guy defending teams best guards as that takes away from what he can offer at the other end... Gaze played him more minutes than nearly any other player in the league last season, if we had that starting PG to take the pressure off, he'd be free to play his more natural game...

That being said and if I'm right, the main area needing work are the 4 / 5 spots... I really hope Truck is coming back, and the Blanchfield signing (and what we could be paying him) might suggest that we could have been having to shuffle the $$$ around which is why maybe Truck wasn't picked up on his option... I think he did a pretty good job last season for the most part and I can't see us finding a much better option for a starting 5...

Definitely an import 4/5 but what do we do with the back up spots? Garlepp isn't a starter and while he's been one of my favourite players, Jules has had nearly a season and a half out of the game and still isn't/wasn't healthy... Got to think that he won't be back either from a business POV and even mentally/physically...

So do we shift Garlepp to the back up 5 and then try to get someone like Venky Jois as a back up 4? Athletic strong rebounder who can score inside and I think the fans would dig his hustle and a few dunks could add to that... Having Moller then as an 11th man gives him a chance to develop, throw in WMW as the back up PG and that's a pretty sweet team with big names, experience and youth coming through... Covers the bases with the bottom 4(?) players earning X amount as well as leaving an import spot open for the inevitable...

Sanders^* / WMW
Lisch / Cadee
Newley / Blanchfield
Import 4/5* / Jois / Moller
Truck / Garlepp

^ = or someone very much like him...

[DDFan]

I too think that Todd is a good signing.

I don't have the player position flair that you guys have, I'm only going on the notion that he'd wanna prove his worth in the latter stage of his career, after his punishingly restricted role as a Unitard.

My thoughts though.

It'll all depend on whether Drewey lifts his player management skills. I may be way off target, but last season's Kings roster was killing it at the start of the season, only to mysteriously nose-dive from mid-season on.

Should Drewy wear that?

I think so.

On the othed side of the table, Vickerman would be just as motivated as Todd to bust balls, after being disrespectred last season.

Interesting times ahead.

[s**tkicker]

I like what Sydney are doing, but it will be interesting to see if this pushes Lisch back to PG or if they will go for an import there.

So far I could see:

Import/Cadee/WMW
Lisch/Blanchfield
Newley/Blanchfield/College returnee
Import/Garlepp/Moller
Signing/Maric/Garett Jackson (once he is a citizen)

[FreeThrows]

I like what Sydney are doing, but it will be interesting to see if this pushes Lisch back to PG or if they will go for an import there.

So far I could see:

Import/Cadee/WMW
Lisch/Blanchfield
Newley/Blanchfield/College returnee
Import/Garlepp/Moller
Signing/Maric/Garett Jackson (once he is a citizen)

s**tkicker, you have 13 men on your roster, are you including your college returnee and WMW as DPs?

Isn't Garrett Jackson a 3? A big part of the issue with Sydney last year, from an outsider's perspective, was that you had too many 3/4 types. Newley, Whittington, Moller and Jackson are all 3s, in my estimation, with a couple of them possibilities of shifting to 2 (Whittington and Jackson), and Moller capable of playing some 4. Then you had Hill, who's a stretch 4, more than an inside guy, along with Garlepp, Maric and Powell. And Prewster. I think he was there to wave towels, but if he was on the roster to play, he's a 3 who could play some 2, as well.

The whole team was stacked with forwards, with only Lisch and Cadee to man the back court, after Blake disappeared up his own arse.

Unless the Kings are in the hunt for Randle (as some have suggested, elsewhere), Blanchfield really has to play at 2. I would argue that's where he's played his best ball, anyway.

I'd see the Kings best line-up being:

Lisch/Import
Blanchfield/Cadee
Newley/Moller/Blanchfield
Import/Garlepp
Import/Maric (or JK)

[s**tkicker]

s**tkicker, you have 13 men on your roster, are you including your college returnee and WMW as DPs?

Isn't Garrett Jackson a 3? A big part of the issue with Sydney last year, from an outsider's perspective, was that you had too many 3/4 types. Newley, Whittington, Moller and Jackson are all 3s, in my estimation, with a couple of them possibilities of shifting to 2 (Whittington and Jackson), and Moller capable of playing some 4. Then you had Hill, who's a stretch 4, more than an inside guy, along with Garlepp, Maric and Powell. And Prewster. I think he was there to wave towels, but if he was on the roster to play, he's a 3 who could play some 2, as well.

The whole team was stacked with forwards, with only Lisch and Cadee to man the back court, after Blake disappeared up his own arse.

Unless the Kings are in the hunt for Randle (as some have suggested, elsewhere), Blanchfield really has to play at 2. I would argue that's where he's played his best ball, anyway.

I'd see the Kings best line-up being:

Lisch/Import
Blanchfield/Cadee
Newley/Moller/Blanchfield
Import/Garlepp
Import/Maric (or JK)

My bad, I don't know why I did 13 players. MWM would defo be a DP though.

Jackson is more a 4/5. Can't shoot but rebounds. Poor mans Roland Roberts.

[Nerf Herder]

Jackson is an undersized 4 at hist best, there is ZERO chance of him getting anywhere near the 5 spot, that's just madness...

Just because we've got Blanchfield on board now, doesn't mean that we have to start him... Moving Lisch to starting PG because of this would defeat any purpose as to getting some bench depth and having strong contributers off teh bench...

Have to agree with DDFan that Drewie has to wear at least a large portion of the blame for the drop off, as with the quality of the players involved, something was seriously wrong chemistry wise and stemming from off court stuff as well...

[JWC]

Liking the following line up;

Import PG....Cadee....Lisch

Lisch....Blanchfield....Cadee

Newley...Blanchfield....Moller

Import....Garlepp....moller...4/5 local rebounding beast

Import.....Maric....Garlepp....4/5 local rebounding beast

[Nerf Herder]

Is that suggesting two import bigs? I think if Maric returns that might be a bit overkill? Aleks wouldn't be coming in cold like he did last season. He's more familiar with the league, in better condition and won't need to ramp up as much as he did in his first season here...

An athletic import 4/5 that can spend time at the 5 if needed instead of a straight 4 would be cool though?

Anyone thinking that Tomlinson playing for Gaze in the SEABL might be him auditioning?

I have to admit that when he finished college I thought that it would be good to get a Tomlinson back on court, but the last two seasons he's really disappeared and got put behind Adnam the season just gone, so that's not a good sign... Would snap him up quick as winking if he's really good mates with Josh Boone and they came as a package deal though...

Import PG* / Tomlinson / WMW(DP)
Lisch / Cadee
Newley / Blanchfield
Boone* / Jois-type / Moller (with hopefully a bit more muscle)
Maric / Garlepp

Leaves an import spot open, fills roles desperately needed like rebounding, inside presence and outside shooting. Frees up Lisch and doesn't require the ballt o be in his and Cadee's hands so much...

[JWC]

To me Boone and Maric are both definite 5's, under the basket types.with Boone being a bit more dominate in the paint and a better rebounder.....Think the 4 needs more ball skills, be able to get to the basket and have a 3 pt threat to draw the defense out, as well as getting in for the rebounds. Would prefer Boone to Maric as a starter...Having Maric on the bench gives depth in that position as 5's are prone to having foul trouble......Don't think Garlepp at the 5 is a great idea as your only backup.

Prefer someone like a more consistent Wittington at the 4. Think we should have 3 imports at the Git-go....... best to trial them trying to find that jewel, and be willing to cut them to find the right fit. They can always have family issues.

[Nerf Herder]

Fair call, I didn't see many United games, but when I did I liked the look of Boone but couldn't tell you off the top of my head where he played (I assumed 4 but with either Majok or Andersen, it's a bit of a toss up) so will happily differ I just liked how well he worked inside without demanding the ball, made the most of his opportunities, but was able to dominate when he had to... If that means, starting Maric off the bench, all good... I still see Truck as integral to the team, so I hope he still comes back...

I still have a thing about starting 3 imports (if we include a import PG), I don't know why, it just doesn't seem very Australian team to me if we do that...

Looking forward to seeing what Blanchfield can bring... The Kings posted that video catch up with him today with some really insightful fan questions... Should be keen to prove himself I think, so Drewie will have his work cut out managing minutes for everyone, but I look forward to them being able to share it around a bit more and not wear everyone out by the halfway point...

[s**tkicker]

Heard last night Garlepp could be released to Wollongong.

[Nerf Herder]

Heard last night Garlepp could be released to Wollongong.

Did this pop up on Hoops? Seems pretty crazy really... I know he wasn't one of our stars, but he's a solid player that has been with the team for a while, and chemistry should count for something (unless there's a lack of it and more to wanting to be released/happy to release him), especially when we don't have any other bigs signed...

Slightly concerning that JvG/Drewie seem happy to blow things up without any clear idea on what they seem to want to do... They let Moller go, apparently they put an offer in but Melbourne's was too good... Not sure if melbourne overpaid, or we lowballed, but that kid has some solid potential and I'm disappointed we lost a local kid to Mexico...

Truck's option wasn't taken up and there doesn't seem to be any word on him still getting signed (was hoping it was a budget/balance sheet sort of thing), Jules is understandable that they wouldn't want to take a risk on, considering his lingering injury concerns, rumours of not working hard enough in rehab and then previously soft on court reputation as well, but Truck missing is disappointing...

It's not like there is a super large pool of quality Aussie bigs waiting to suit up in the NBL that are that level of quality... Gazey didn't seem to use the bigs real well last season, I hope he's not discounting their value to team success and putting all his eggs into the backcourt...

I wonder if they're hoping that they can pick up Jonah Bolden if he doesn't get drafted, that would be an exciting pick up...