No doubt an improvement on Ubaka, still hunting up his stats though.

His resume is average, but we'll have to see him play before judgement is made. He certainly adds to what is already the longest and most athletic team in the competition and that is very hard for teams to counter.

Paul, I'd have to agree about his resume. Solid final year in college, but doesn't seem to have translated into anything spectacular.

Apart from his last game he had a good 2012 summer league with New York, scoring in double figures, dishing out a few dimes and hitting 50% from long range.

Summer League doesnt mean a lot team wise but you generally have to have some decent individual talent to do well there. Looks strongly built and athletic from the clips on ATF.

What's his +/-?

I was also thinking that the injury to Dennis is probably a blessing in disguise. I mean, you can't see Tomlinson getting this much liberty and as many minutes because Dennis is a specialised PG. Great for Nate and everyone else on the team because Dennis would have taken a lot of shots off Worthington, Goulding and the second import. All Tomlinson does is facilitate them and keep them all happy. It could be argued Goulding's development and confidence wouldn't skyrocket the way it has if Dennis was there either.

Should be good but not great. Still easily an upgrade on Ubaka

Goulding was a gun before, he just consistant know and he wants the ball. Good on him, i like to see guy's make the next level, alot of other players just stayed the same when u can see they a better than what they are. Great times for the nbl! Just hope the crowds pick up every where.

Doesn't seem like a dominant player for the NBL, but still a solid addition to a Top 4 team.

Jermaine Beal wasn't expected to dominate.

True, but most players that aren't expected to dominate ... well, don't.

Depends who was to be expecting Statsheet Stuffer.. I watched Jermaine Beals demo tapes before the season started and I knew the guy was legitimate... and when people wanted to ditch him 3 days in, I knew he was gonna find his feet.. His shots just weren't dropping but I could always see he was quality so I am glad Perth stuck it out with him.

As for Farrakhan.. I think he is going to be a solid import. It was a shame it didn't end up being Luther Head or someone with real NBA experience.. as I understand Farrakhan has only got as far as try outs.. but I think he is going to have a tidy collection of highlights and will probably be in the better half of imports this season. Lets be honest, with Chris Goulding/Wortho/Morrison etc on the team, its not like they are looking for a guy to carry them anyways. I think if this was last year, people would be excited about this import... but right now, if you don't have real NBA credentials you warrant cricket noises and tumbleweeds.

I wouldnt say Beal is dominating, but his resume is excellent so his high level of play isnt surprising. Farrakhan doesnt have that background, but then neither did Deleon and he certainly had his moments.

Read these:

http://www.nbl.com.au/article/id/czoa7zdxt3h71sj2ourv9wxka

http://m.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/beal-deal-gives-wildcats-cause-for-optimism-20130902-2t0fs.html

And look at where he's played in the past. He wasn't expected to be anything spectacular, just a good fit to the system.

And considering the opportunities he gets (because of Perth's ideology and sheer talent level), I would definitely say he's dominating.

Point is, you can never really tell how good a new import player is going to be.

How good did Showron Glover look on YouTube?

I really like Perths import tandem. They are like a 2 headed dragon, if One is off their game... the other is on, but more often then not.. both are on, and i have yet to see a game where both are off.

Beal is a great player... Dominating? not quite.. But I reckon that by years end he will be seen as one of the top 3-4 imports in the league.

Sorry Statsheet, Beal was expected to be a good player - he was Vanderbilt's best player and SEC First Team in his senior season and then was one of the best players in the Brazilian league which is a decent quality.

Agree that you never know until they hit the court how well theyll fit the team or the league.

Hopefully Warney's mate, Joe the camera man doesn't start working for 1HD, otherwise we might start hearing

"Farrakhan can't shoot, Farrakhan can't pass and Farrakhan can't defend".

Seriously though, great for the league to have another highly credentialed import.

It will be interesting to see how these changes pan out for Sydney and Melbourne. Right now it looks like a Perth v adel final but I hope Syd and melb make it interesting it will be good for the NBL.

Sydney are in the four and have Harvey, Young and Ellis to add.

Prior to these recent signings, I had Perth vs Adelaide for the final, but who knows now.

You're right Paul, his resume is decent. He has performed pretty much on par considering his playing experience.

But I will say this. He is an elite player. He's not dominant in the sense of the word because he doesn't have to do so much. But given the chance, he would.

Anyway best of luck to this new bloke, hope he succeeds. Cairns is all but out of the playoff race, so it's all inconsequential for me.

If Cairns were wise.. they would update there own import situation. No ones getting wowed by Wilson..

Yeah, Beal definitely has moments where he takes over a game. Will be interesting to see how teams start guarding him after a number of really good games in a row.

I would also chop McCamey and bring in a combo forward.

I think theyre the league's leading scoring team over very close, so I dont think they need any more scorers. They simply need to clamp down harder, firstly by stopping the ball in transition.

Cairns sounds like a good fit for Sanders. Someone who can play D and also keep the opposition D honest if needs be. No ego, real team man, which will keep Fearne happy. Because let's face it, Cairns won't have the balls to sack Fearne (who is the real problem), too much club history.

cairns issue doesn't seem to be on O....the guards are scoring and the forwards are pick up the scraps well.

To be honest it appears more about D and also decision making under pressure with T/O's or poor execution of sets which is very unlike Fearne coached teams of the past.

Cairns should sack its imports I think. Grab sanders on the cheap and add a fringe NBA combo guard.

Anony.... No way is perth missing the play offs.. you can definitely put them in. Adelaides looking strong too

^ I noticed the TAB is no longer accepting bets on Perth making the Top 4; Adelaide paying a mere 1.05

I love Nate Tomlinson, what a gem of a player (so glad to have him in my Dream Team) and I wonder how this signing will affect his court time and his improvement.

How good a player do the people on here think Tomlinson will turn out, keeping in mind Stephen Dennis will be here next season to take away court time and other opportunities

Well done on Melbourne parting ways with Ubaka

Proud. Nate Tomlinson will probably end up being a pretty solid starting point guard for a team in the next few years. Might not put him in Boomers calculations but I think he will probably get ya 8-10 ppg, 4-7 assist pg in a few seasons.

also, is stepehen dennis definitely back next year? if so thats good for the league cos hes a great player