Pretty tough for Cadee. Minutes will decline substantially.

Unless they plan on running a Blake, Cadee and Lisch 123 lineup small ball for parts.

Cadee will be pissed. No way Blake is coming here to be sixth man and play 15 mins... I think the Kings roster is too stacked, where the hell does Jules fit? Do we just give them the ring now?

This signing interests me.

Was hoping for a solid veteran import but this goes way beyond expectations. Great pickup. Ask Cadee whether he wants to be the low man in a 3 guard rotation that wins a Championship and get to learn from a solid NBA player, or play 30 minutes in a team that falls short of winning it all. I think I know what he'd prefer

Might as well call the engravers for the trophy now. Might get an early bird discount.

How does Adelaide not play against Sydney until Round 11?

Well, that was unexpected. Honestly, at Blake's age, I'm not expecting him to play a lot more than 15-20 mins a game. Amazing.

There's no way Cadee is going to lie down and give up minutes the way he's playing, Blake will have to play well to move into that starting line-up you'd think.

Blake won't "automatically dominate" but he is EXACTLY the type of player the Kings needed. Whether he plays 15 minutes or 25, he will complement Lisch and Cadee and fills out their team nicely.

If you told me Khazzouh wasn't coming back, I'd probably still tip them for the title. But once Khazzouh and Blake are in and going, they will have every base covered. They've been impressive already, and now they add the perfect missing backcourt piece and eventually, a quality big man with range. It's...scary.

Their pieces just fit. Blake has been a career role player so won't expect to put up 15 shots a game. Lisch does everything- no real weakness to speak of, and can take over games where necessary without forcing it. Cadee is a lights out scorer at his best, but his facilitating is improving. Maric is the banger, Khazzouh brings scoring, Powell can hit mid range or attack the rim. At the forwards- Whittington and Newley both good defenders who are mobile. Garlepp, I don't even know where he'll fit once the whole team is healthy. My query was on Gaze but the early signs are good there.

Where is the money coming from all of a sudden?

Anschutz Company

Spot on LV. When I posted after the Breakers game the other night about what the Kings needed, Blake is a 100% fit in every way. Just couldn't have imagined a player of his calibre finding his way out here. No he's not going to tear the league apart, same as Powell, but they're both experienced pros who've been good role players on successful teams in the NBA. Both having played for my other favourite purple and gold team is a bonus as well.

You're right too Paul. When I said Cadee would be happy being the "low man" in that rotation I wasn't meaning he'd be happy to ride the pine. Blake coming here is going to make him better because he's going to have to work harder for his minutes and also how much he'll be able to learn from a great pro PG. The competition at practice will make both him and Lisch better players. They'll both relish the challenge and the opportunity

Good call, Duke Fan.

Let's not talk about Sobey I'm the same sentence as Randle or Blake.

He's played a handful of quality games.

Gaze on the Blake signing:

"He gives us more insurance," Gaze told The Sunday Telegraph.

“If something were to happen to Jason or Kevin now we didn't feel like we had the guy who we could throw in there and provide some minutes.”

Blake is 36, but Gaze doesn’t see this as a problem.

“He played more than 50 games last season (in the NBA) averaging 17 minutes per game so physically we feel he’s OK,” he said.

“We need a good 20-25 minutes from him with the capacity to play 40 if we need him to. Steve is at an age where he can help Jason and Kevin on the floor and can also educate some of our younger players.

“These moves come at significant risk, but we felt it was worth it.”

The change comes at the expense of import Michael Bryson. Gaze said he looked locally but couldn’t find what he needed.

“There were no other Australians that could step in to the role we were looking for,” Gaze said.

“It was disappointing because I really liked Michael and although we didn’t see the best of him here I thought he had a lot of upside. It was just that circumstances were we needed back up in that spot.”

Blake said joining the Sydney Kings was an exciting prospect.

“They are a great organization that I have heard nothing but great things about,” he said.

“The same applies for the city of Sydney and Australia overall. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to experience a part of the world I have never been to.

“I can’t wait to meet my teammates and coaches and get started.”

What salary cap?

Apparently LK has responded by cutting Devin Williams. Rumoured replacements include Tim Duncan.

So, they've got 2 legitimate NBA players, 3 ex-Olympians, Cadee, Garlepp, Khazzouh (when he returns), another import who is playing great at the moment and Hill and Prewster.
That team is ridiculously stacked.

Good year for the Sixers to concentrate on developing young players and forming a team for the future. With Sydney and Melbourne (and a couple other teams), we were never realistically going to challenge this year.

Ho..ly...shit...Kings are 3-1 and about to get better. Great signing

Blake is a good fit. But this is history repeating itself.
Not so long ago Brisbane had a stacked team that won the chip. Other teams try to keep up - players salaries are inflated across the league and clubs will chase success. We will never learn. The league can not afford this and their will be fallout as their was previously. Our league is very strong. Spend any surplus on marketing. By the way - the extra import has had zero effect on improving the league.

A bit part of the new system was the supposed transparency and accountability, with salaries publicised, and reviewed for market value by an independent committee.
Well, that appears to have been conveniently forgotten.
The points system was poorly executed, but at least it was transparent. You knew what players were worth.

I'm not convinced it's "win-win."
For starters, without the promised transparency, how do we even know they'll be paying the proper amount of tax? I doubt the Kings new owners would have agreed to invest so much money without a sweetheart deal from LK & Jezza, they certainly wouldn't be happy handing over a massive subsidy to the poorer clubs.

I must be wrong but I THOUGHT the extra Marquee locals were supposed to be in place of Imports?
But they have Lisch, Newley, Maric, Khazza, PLUS 3 imports.
I'd also like to know who their 5 under $400k are?

I actually don't mind the idea of Sydney trying to "buy" some success in the short term. If its gets Sydneysiders off their arses and along to NBL games that IS a win for everybody. But above all else it MUST be sustainable, and I don't see how it is?
You'd think that AEG would know what they're doing, but maybe that's the problem. Perhaps like most Americans they assume that whatever works in all their other franchises will automatically work here?

Who knows, perhaps they are exactly what Sydney has always needed, but it smells suspiciously like just another Seppo come to edjumicate us ignorant hicks.

The Wildcats would not be where they are without their past and present benefactors, but Bendat (and Stokes before him) are proud Aussies who have made their squillions and now like giving back, getting their name on a Basketball Centre, etc. They're happy to dig into their deep pockets and get back nothing more than Happy Birthday from 13,000 fans.
Same with LK at MU and the NBL as a whole.
Now obviously Anschutz makes our guys look like a bunch of homeless peasants, but does he have the same commitment to Australian Sport?

Didn't really watch much NBA for ten years or so. Got no clue who this bloke is, but looking him up on Youtube, jeez all I can say is Kings really got themselves a good one !

There's a Portland highlights from 2014-15 season. That's barely 2 years ago, so most likely his game is still close to that version of himself. His pinpoint passing is scary, I wonder if guys in NBL can catch them and finish. Incredible 3 point shooter and good speed for an old guy.

There's also some footage of his nasty side, shoulder charging Kenneth Faried ? Real feisty, tough bloke. I'm salivating to see what he'll do to Kev White or Wortho if they pull the same stunt they did on Powell heh heh.

oh shit
oh shit
OH SHIT
This signing got me REAL worried

I know a lot of social media is blowing up with "call the trophy engravers now!" and other such sentiments, but as a long time, long suffering Kings fan, I'm not quite ready to book the championship cruise. I still think it will be a close competition and a battle to make the final 4, and once that is decided, it will all come down to match-ups a la last season (Illawarra, despite being the form team going in, struggling mightily in Perth for quite some time, and En Zed bullying MU).

I do think Blake is a good addition though and from all accounts is a good team man who will find a role. I know a lot of people see the Kings as already having enough at the PG position, but I've always seen Cadee as a small SG (who hopefully can still develop his playmaking skills) who is best looking to attack, and Lisch is just as dangerous off the ball and this gives you the opportunity to see more of that side of his game.

Blake gives you a guy who is a solid shooter but also a willing facilitator, as well as leadership and experience in pressure situations.

I still expect Cadee to be starting alongside Lisch until Blake becomes accustomed to the system and we how he fits in for a few games before deciding on who to run with in the starting 5. Obviously who closes the game is far more important. Ultimately you have 80 minutes for the back-court to fill, and apart from those three I can only see Prewster being used sparingly so there should be plenty of minutes as Blake, Lisch and Cadee should be able to slide between positions playing in tandem.

My bigger concern, though it is a good problem to have, is where does Khazzouh fit into the rotation with Maric, Powell, Garlepp and Whittington all deserving of game time. Personally I really like Whittington at the 4, using his quickness to advantage and his ability to shoot the 3 and create space for Maric and Khazzouh in the post. Powell has been excellent, still is accurate on his jumper, and will ultimately get his share of minutes. It seems as though Garlepp, who finally managed to turn the corner late against Cairns, might be the odd man out, as I am not sure if he has the footwork to defend the perimeter as a 3-man (despite his improvement in range beyond the arc).

Whittington has the lateral movement to slide into the 3 spot. So it gives them the versatility to go small when Newley needs a rest by playing all 3 guards or to go big with Whittington at the 3. Or even a monster lineup with Newley in the 2 and Whittington 3. There's plenty of minutes in the 4/5 for Powell, Maric & Jules. It's certainly going to be difficult for Garlepp to find minutes though and Hill & Prewster will basically be hoping for blowouts to find some time.
I'm sure Coach Gaze is very happy to have the problem of finding minutes for people. It's great to have so many weapons

Duke Fan - yeah, I imagine that Whittington would start seeing minutes at the 3, and possibly Newley at the 2 in certain situations. It appears that Gaze has a lot of combinations he could go with based upon match-ups.