All very good points for and against, but can we realistically say that there's room under the salary cap to fit Ennis even if he becomes available?

It's been talked about that a lot of the local talent has taken pay cuts in the past to fit other players in, surely that can't keep going on and Perth would still be at or near the cap with the team they've got? I doubt Nate would have come cheap, are they using marquee money for him?

I think, just like there were questions raised when United signed Warrick, there'd be similar questions raised if they managed to fit Ennis back in?

^that's one of the reasons against this theory.

It's not public knowledge if anyone on the Wildcats roster is on Marquee Money.

BUT - If it is someone, then it limits what Ennis could potential earn.

I suppose it comes down to what Prather's salary is. As it would be a direct swap - unless no one is on Marquee Money.

If Ennis becomes available and wants to come to Perth, you do what it takes to make it happen.

I admit I didn't really read the post because it's long and it's Friday afternoon, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if Perth are keeping an eye on Ennis. Teams tend to do that, you'd bet Adelaide did that with Johnson last year. As Alex says, you do what you can to make it happen - maybe that means potentially cutting Prather.

Although I suspect the reason Prather isn't in the news much is because of Nate Jawai, he's the interesting one.

Wouldn't surprise especially with Ennis's contract not being guaranteed. Ennis is worth it!!

I like the theory but cant see it happening maybe mid season when the cats shooting coaches are pulling out there hair trying to get prathers shooting mechanics improved and his strengths in defence and slashing to the basket fall away who knows but I think ennis will be snapped up by then.

I suspect when Ennis came back recently to do a clinic it was to work out specifics if he's cut by the Heat.

James Ennis is supposedly watching this game back in Miami...the plot thickens ;)

Prathers gone down with an ankle injury... The thick plot thickens. Haha

Our advantage is our disadvantage.

We've had a core group for so long that are great playing together. But throw in some new stuff and we look all over the place.

Prathers jump shot or lack thereof is a big issue as the team is probably the worst shooting team in the L.

I think its basic marketing that they would focus continued advertising on Beal - he is more recognisable. Same reason why Ced is used more than Charles. Why market a player who the fans may not know?

I think regardless of if Ennis comes back or not, the Wildcats are going to use Nate as much as possible in adverts and who can blame them... Basketball players look huge in the community and Jawai looks massive against everyone on the league and he is a commodity that the league has had very few of.

I doubt that Nate will stick around after this season so if we can use him as an attraction and get him fit and firing and it ends with 10k members and a successful season then I think Marvon and his staff have done precisely the right thing.

If we can also get Ennis then WOW!

Nate is predominantly being use on the bus adverts because he doesn't exactly fit on a taxi decal.

Beware the grassy knoll

#358, have to disagree mate, they beat New Zealand yesterday who are considered around the traps as the championship favourites

^And the Cats had three of their starters basically not playing either

Ok, a few things:
1) It's no "theory," if Ennis gets dumped by the Heat and wants to return to the Perth, the Cats will take him in a heartbeat. Unfortunate for Prather, but that's the nature of his deal as a short-term import.
How MUCH the Cats can afford to pay Ennis is another story. If its true that Nate is their Marquee player, then things may be tight. Reality is that Ennis might not WANT to return for what the Cats can pay, but then he may decide to suck it up for a year.

2) Prather does feature in advertising, but obviously he is NOT intended to be a banner player. He's only here for a year, so obviously the Cats prefer to hype those they hope to have stick around. That's just smart branding, nothing sinister.

3) Prather's outside shooting is a HUGE concern.
From the outset, Perth went looking for somebody to play on the wing. His ability to do that became even more important with the loss of Greenwood, and the signing of Jawai (which drastically shifted their profile.)

4) Prather IS expendable.
I'm not saying he will go, I have not seen anywhere near enough to even speculate. Simply saying that is the nature of the beast. He's the short-term import. He would hardly be the first import cut early in a season. He's not only the easiest to replace, he's potentially the must vulnerable.

5) Apart from the inevitable injuries to Knight & Redhage, the backcourt is the Cat's vulnerability. Last year they had Martin, Beal, and squat. Greenwood was supposed to be the answer, Prather's ability to play on the Wing was supposed to help. As we have seen, a couple of injuries and we're down to starting Kenny & Prather in the backcourt.

Actually, I think it IS all about 3-point shooting.
When the Cats (including Martin and Ennis) shoot well from outside, they win 'ships.
Last season Martin couldn't buy a bucket, U'U lost his touch, Daniels was weak from range, and that pretty much left us relying on Beal.

Muggish analysis. It depends how you get three point shots. Everyone knows the key to offense is to get quality penetration and be a threat in the paint first. Whether that's off the dribble in half court, by getting there in transition or by posting up. 3 pointers that come after attacks of this nature are far higher percentage and even guys like Prather will knock down enough in these scenarios. Having guys that can shoot it and finish off plays is one thing, but more scarce are guys who can create it in the first place. Obviously you need a balance of both, but people making it out like Ennis was some sort of 3 pt gunner. His main threat was athleticism attacking the basket, primarily in transition and secondarily from slashing/cutting. The 3pt shooting was gravy which allowed him to work off the other talented Wildcat team mates.

No, Ennis was no 3-point gunner.
And whilst we would all welcome him back, it would only IMPROVE our problems without solving them.

When the Cats went to the US scouting, they specifically went looking for somebody who could play on the Wing. At the time I thought that was a strange target for an import, since we already had Beal. When I saw Prather's highlights, he looked like a typical SF, somebody who liked to attack the basket, and at the time I didn't see a problem with that (although I wondered how successful he would be against the bigger defence in the NBL.)

In recent years the Cats have been a bit light in the back court. Martin is awesome as a PG, but doesn't contribute a lot of points, and our bench was underwhelming, leaving a lot on Beal's shoulders. We assumed that our "last" spot would go to a SG, somebody would could add a few points off the bench. Instead we lost Greenwood, and having "replaced" him with Kenney, we filled our "last" spot with Jawai. AWESOME signing, but its left us very front-court heavy.

They got Prather based on having Greenwood. When he left they had to get Jawai as he was Best Player Available, they would've got more of a shooter if they had of known about Greenwood.