good to see that you're familiar with media outside of sa and don't claim that others who do keep up with their local media are know it alls when it's all public info- haha!

I've heard Ebe has priced himself out of the NBL.
No one can get close to what he wants.
And only one team this year will be under the salary cap - the Hawks. And every team bar the Hawks are at one million plus.

yeah.
i wish kerlie would stop trying to revise his offer price and bending on his word.
the amount of times he's said if we don't get an answer by fax from his agent by such and such a date, we're gonna pick up those 2 college kids.
the fear of loss to get ebi to commit to a decision just ain't working- lol
i hope he makes it in europe though- i think he's better than having his wings clipped in the nbl.

so shane heal and brendan joyce still haven't struck a deal?
their wheeling and dealing has been going on for ages now.

duh! you are obviously having a go at my last comment to you which clearly you do not understand.

What i am telling you and what others are telling you repeatedly is that just beacuse it is written in the paper or you heard it on the radio does not mean that it is actually what is going on.

As far as Ebi goes he was on 195k USD net. that is what he banked after having car, house living allowance etc.

This is a thread about the Blaze and Shane Heal not a Bullets, Ebi Ere thread.

Duh, a lovely snide remark with little relevance to the topic at hand. I follow news sources around the country covering all clubs - for years this site has covered and linked to stories from many newspapers, TV stations and the like. I also follow clubs via various non-media sources and, in particular, the two that I follow most closely - the 36ers (long time fan, and they're a client) and Breakers (brother plays for them). I would never claim you were a know it all because you seem to know only what's getting run in the media and that's just part of the story.

Hinson would be a good pick as an existing NBL import for the Blaze. Groves wouldn't suit considering the last time he suited up with Heal.

duh! good to see you're a tosser.

Is Hinson available?

ebiwtf- this must be the first time a topic got off topic.... hhmmm....
isaac, i wasn't having a snide dig at you at all- quite the opposite.
kent did ebi himself tell you what he earned or DID YOU READ ABOUT IT IN THE MEDIA?
the thing is, people post what they read but when it doesn't support their own beliefs, they crap in it.
much different story when you hear something you'd LIKE to believe....
lockstock- get a life!

duh. i got that info from his Manager.

People dont usually post what they read, they post what they have been told by people who know if they are not indeed the source themselves.

Have you stopped to think that the people on this forum may know a lot more about situations than you have read about?

Most often information shared here is not available in the media, or it is on here weeks before it is reported on ( see CJ and Boucher signings and many other pieces of info)

yeah that's right-
the players themselves are ALWAYS going to tell you 100% truth- even if it makes them look bad!
and i'm sure that in legit interviews, EVERYTHING is always wrong, even to the point that when they're on tv it's somebody else dubbing their voice and saying something different to what came out of their mouths!
no wonder so many of you get slammed for trying to act like you're in the know- please!
you say you're in the know and then have digs at other guys who claim to be in the know also.
seems the problem is that some of you don't like anyone other than yourselves being supposedly in the know.... you want to be the first or only to hear it, otherwise whatever's been said isn't true.
do the players themselves know that you guys bicker about eachother's so called in the know knowledge like kids?
probably not, because if they knew that, they'd probably stop telling you things,..... that is ofcourse, if that's what actually happened.

Nice work Lockstock!!

When did DDFan become a Bullets fan?

Duh, you are making yourself look silly via absurd arguments (e.g., false dichotomy regarding "EVERYTHING" in the media being wrong, especially when the point is that it's not the whole story) and by not having some trust that you might be arguing with someone who would know a little more than you suspect.

Sure, there are people on forums everywhere who talk shit and claim rumours (that are vague, incorrect, or old), but that's not the case here. Spend a bit of time working out who knows what and you might start picking the right fights?

Now, anyone want to talk about the Blaze? Marty - good point about Groves.

Ah, the reuniting of Cortez and Shane. That one I want to see, but suspect it will be with them squaring off on different teams.

i look silly?
because i don't claim to be in the know?
that's your opinions if it makes you feel bigger.
i don't want to parade around info that might or might not even be accurate that comes from players themselves all the time anyway.
some of the people that post that kind of stuff also post here, so how accurate do you think this forum always is?
some food for thought for you too- there's always two sides to a story or opinion.

Would Heal be worth the points though? Back end of his career and more and more injuries.

Brendan obviously has faith in SOJ so why the need for Heal?

They have shooters in Harvey and Mac G already so another chucker may not be best for harmony.

Had Hawkins stayed healthy for the whole season they could have gone a bit deeper into the playoffs as they lost a bit if edge with Whitehead.

No, because you're very quick to deride any who disagree just because some might be wrong or incorrect with their info. And because your arguments are really quite bizarre.

Great to see we're back on topic. I thought I must have gone to Ozhoops by mistake with all the crap flying in this post.

I restate what I said in post #183495 "How can the Blaze sign Heal AND get an import"

They're on 58. Their current points are 9 - Harvey, Hawkins, 8 - Cameron, Frank, Melmeth, 7 - McGregor, 5 - Joyce, 4 - Demos

While I still have no idea of what discounts they can get, with Heal on 8, they'll need to shave an extra 8 points from the list above to get a new import, or shave 7 to get a 9 pointer import (or shave 6 points to re-sign Jason Crowe at 8 points!!!!!)

As today's GC Bulletin story makes it clear that Heal is the Club's #1 priority, the points issue has to be the main reason for this frustrating delay. (which is driving me crazy).

While I'm slowly warming to the idea of actually cheering Heal, I don't think I'd want this at the expense of a second import.

I'll stick with what I said in post #183594 "A new import guard (+10 points), some deductions (-3) and bringing Aucoin into the main squad (+3)"

Some internal ratings would be lower - e.g., Demos would probably be a 1 internally rather than a 4 unless he entered free agency this off-season?

If they had the points, it sounds like they would've already signed him. That they're trying suggests they can get fairly close and are begging the league for concessions.

The internal ratings should be publicised (as with past years), IMO.

uh ok whatever

Im with you Blazefan...
I am slowly (very very slowly) warming to the idea of Heal in the team.

That being said I believe its still a bit of a stalemate with Brendan being very keen on having him in the group and Claxton possibly not so keen.

isacc, i would suggest brendan will be looking at a power forward /centre/shot blocker for the import role. There is no way he will be going for Shooting Guard or point guard. Shane/Daniel/Harvery will be the guard rotation.

People regardless of how much you hate him, shane would be an asset to any club as player. he will be remembered as one of the best point guards or even the best australia has produced so far.

His addition to the blaze will add maturity, direction, and he will be able to excute the plays joyce wants on the court, something crowe struggled with.

He is also a marketers dream and will assist with the corporate dollars coming to the blaze. The blaze may finally get a naming rights sponsor, something they failed to do last year.

Statman if you had to provide a report on the blaze. Joyce would pass - he got the team to the finals.
Claxton - a marginal fail as he has failed to provide a naming rights sponsor to the club.

Claxton - support Joyce on the team he wants as Brendan has a proven record for creating success. Clacker should focus on getting a naming rights sponsor!

They want yet another big man? I can appreciate that Melmeth and Frank aren't going to be your centres on a championship team, but to me, even Heal and Harvey backed up by Joyce and a virtual rookie is a pretty light combination in the back court.

Should've got their shot-blocker instead of Hawkins if that's what they wanted. Or run with the import point this season and let one of their forwards go next season to free up a spot as most are overrated under the points cap IMO.

Correct Isaac, 31 points on Frank, Melmeth, MacGregor and Cameron doesn't look like great value. But who else could they have realistically got? Vukona is the only one that comes to mind and at 8 points I doubt he would be an upgrade on the others. If they get away with getting Heal plus another import then it doesn't really matter that those guys are costing them point space.

Isacc It's pretty simple if anyone one's to come close they need a dominant centre to counter act Anstey. Melmeth and Frank and Pero simply cant match him.

While slightly exposed with limited guard rotation of heal,harvery, joyce, demos (can play the position as well). I belive a big able to match Anstey is required and would not only assist defensively but also add another dimension offensively. Clubs realise that hence 6ers going for Luke.

While Clacker may have been pushing against signing Heal, I think he's been outvoted now, going by what Blaze co-owner Owen Tomlinson, said in today's GC Bulletin article.

By the way , if anyone hasn't read the article, here's the link
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/05/01/10615_gold-coast-blaze.html.

Also DrB makes a good point. If they can get Heal and an import, they should go for the extra forward. Melmeth missed a fair slice of last season through injury which possibly cost the Blaze two games. Also with Pero, and Mags, approaching their mid 30's, a bit of extra power forward spark maybe the go.

And while we all hope Hawk can return to his best, we're not going to know this for sure until after the preseason at the earliest.

Still I'm hanging for a decision 'cause I'm so over reading about CJ.

Can't see Blaze competing for top spot and I'm not sure that should be their immediate priority - they should be building towards that perhaps?

I would offload one of Macgregor or Cameron (although Macgregor isn't overrated at 7 points), cover the forward spots with what they have, etc. Alternatively, get rid of Melmeth (too expensive off the bench, and not going to be starting C for a championship team these days) and go strongly for ... you're right, there's no one around.

Rogers and Loughton will stay in Perth. Smith in Cairns isn't good enough. Jawai won't move. Tragardh? Knight from the Pigs? Cameron won't be enough. Burston or Horvath might be about it, but you wouldn't want Horvath and Frank anchoring your team (not a whole lot of D there).

What about forgetting about Hawkins and using the import spots at PG and C? And go for a guy like Rickert who is fairly mobile?

Hawkins is contracted for the season, so i suggest if he wasnt he wouldnt be there.

I cant see joyce hiring PG as he obviously has faith in Shane and Daniel and the rest of the guard rotation. To which i do as well.

I would have my imports as PF and C. Get rid of Melmeth, have Scott McGregor coming of the Bench as well as Frank and Pero.

annom i agree with u in reference to the hawk being a great defensive player.He also seems like a great team mate and the players and coaches look like they want him to be part of there team.

last season blaze relied to much on harvery, if they are successful with shane that will be a great offensive threat to have and will add more dimension to there offensive.

good to hear claxton is not the gm, as he clearly doesnt have the business skills.

Agree with a lot of what has been posted above...

Unfortunately Melmeth, Pero, Frank and Mcgregor are all good off the bench but not quite up to it any more as starters. I would guess that if 2 year conracts wernt signed last year 2 of the above would be out the door to be replaced by an import PF/C
Hawkins IMO still offers (pending how he has recovered from his stroke) enough to warrant his position. His defence is exceptional and his personality seems to bring the team together - on and off the court.

As far as Heal in concerned - agree totally Drb. Whle I personally have never liked him on court if he is avalable and not asking obscene $ then the club would be foolish not to grab him. His experience would be invaluable on court and should help Joyce and Demos mature plus his profile would add to the Blaze brand.

Hawkins is useful but even if he were contracted, surely they could've got out via concerns over his medical conditions? They just have such a logjam at SF/PF.

I think they overachieved last season and will be surprised if they contend next year to be honest.

The Blaze would have performed ten times better if Crowe hadn't died in the arse during the second half of the seaosn; the man was doing ridiculously well during the first half. I still remember his near Triple-double vs. Sixers @ the dome early last season.

Shane Heal; while a bloody good shooter, is basically at the point in his career where he should be benched and brought off as a sharpshooter. If you noticed his performance with the Dragons; you'd have noticed most games he has quite a few dull spots until he gets in a pressure situation and can go and rain 3-4 long bombs to tie a game back up.

You'd be better him for his marketing and have him off the bench more than anything.