$$$$ and Will Weaver's NBA connections?

Where to for Randle now?

Wow. Didn't see that coming. Happy though!

IMHO Melo Trimble will be a league MVP and a GF MVP before he moves on, provided he spend at least 2 more seasons in the league.

If he stays even longer with one team, he'll be a bigger team and NBL legend ( or at least as big) than/as "amazing" Grace is in Perth.

Big call I know. But his progression last season was very very special IMHO.

Oh s***, Sydney aren't messing around any more!!

And what's adelaide doing?
Sweet FA as usual

Now if Sydney can make Bevo their next signing, watch out league

Is Ware really much of an upgrade over Randle? Averaged 0.1 ppg more last season, but had worse shooting percentages across the board. Couple of years younger I guess, but still slower than Randle anyway.

Oooh Will Weaver, Missed that one

Ware is a better defender than Randle.

And 3 years younger.

Ware's a lot better defender than Randle and not as selfish either.

If I had to pick between Ware and Randle would go Ware easily.

Sydney did well with this one.

Ware's partner is also uninitiated in the arts of platter throwing.

Yeah fair call on Ware's defence I guess. I just feel he’s a little over-rated shooting-wise. Cotton and Trimble a notch above him IMO, so it feels like Sydney settling for second best.

No way is Trimble better than Ware. Ware is the best point guard the Kings could possibly get. Period

IMO

Cotton
Ware
Trimble
Randle

Sydney then daylight is starting way earlier than normal for #nbl20

There's defense

But the other areas I'd nominate Casper over Randle would be

1. He's more clutch and

2. He seems to have a better attitude and team first head on his shoulders. Casper just comes across as a good vibes guy. A smiling assassin.

Randle would be better off with a team like Adelaide.

Offseason just got a bit popcorn.gif. Awesome.

Wow!
Do you think its fair to say that rumours of the money being turned off at Sydney are false?

Great for Sydney. Don't know who is doing the signings, but whomever is clearly very proactive. Makes my concern that they would be slow out of the FA gate look quite ridiculous.

It would be interesting to know what these guys get paid, as its difficult to speculate on the mechanics behind this move. Maybe Randle was asking for more than we think, and Casper was on less at Melbourne.??
Who Knows!

It's also possible that Melbourne were dicking him around, talking to others (like Trimble.)??

Sure, I don't really like to see players dollar hopping like this, but who can blame them. They are professionals.

Ware was MVP this season IMHO (due to Cotton's injury.) Randle is no crab, but Ware is a big improvement, especially defensively.
Randle wasn't a bad fit, but I feel Ware will be better. Randle is a better fit at a team where he needs to be the number 1 scoring option.

Be interesting to see if he stays in the league.

Assuming Bogut returns, and they can get at least one more gun import, they are currently shaping up us the big improvers this off-season.

Sixers didn't get rid of Creek, told him to chase his dream. Reminded him of his 1 year to go on his contract and if successful then when he gets paid, so will Adelaide.

Sobey loses the plot. He can flat out play however is known to cause more issues than a team made up of Wagstaff and Drmic Clones. His game against the Jazz was well respected. He shouldn’t have signed with anyone and chased the NBA big money instead.

Major Deng scored a couple of buckets one game and then thought he was the best player Adelaide has ever seen. Another problem child gone packing in the off season. Should do well in Cairns away from his immature social network.

Although it's disappointing losing Casper, getting Melo Trimble would be a great get

He's only 24. Sign him for 2 years and he might significantly improve over that time.

As awesome as the prospect of seeing Ware and Lisch locking down in the backcourt defensively and then running plays for each other offensively... I'm kinda disappointed that about didn't get time to bring in some 15th player on NBA roster types as I was really hoping for some brilliant and exciting players that we haven't already seen. Great for Casper still and citizenship a possibility ?

Wow, this is a huge signing and I'm the same as D2.0 and quite happy to look a bit foolish in thinking that with their coach still in G-League that they'd be quiet, but it looks like the new executive team is working hard early on...

Agree that Casper is a better player than Randle overall and would seem like a much better fit as well... Team oriented doesn't have to mean singular team loyalty no matter what, just seems like a butt-hurt United fan comment...

People comparing Cotton and Ware need to realise that they two very different types of players... One's a PG and the other is relied upon to score as many points as possible... Kings don't need someone like Cotton, they need someone like Ware...

Do you think its fair to say that rumours of the money being turned off at Sydney are false?

Clearly nothing to do with a team oriented guy.

Here we go again...Oh no Kings can't be beaten next season!

Save it people, nothing is a certainty,just like this season.

Randle back to Rads. The lure of the silver balls and the spirit of dazzle land always brings them back.

Nobody's saying they can't be beaten.
fact is Sydney did better than I expected this season (with Gaze at the helm)
Remains to be seen how good this new coach is.

All we're saying is that this is a very powerful signing, and give them an extremely good squad, which could become even better depending on who they sign at the 3 & 4.
And that at this point in time, they are the big off-season improvers.
Again, remains to be seen who everyone else signs.

The other positive to this signing is that the Kings can afford to ride Ware hard. He played big minutes for MU, and looks resilient. But should he get injured, Lisch can still play good minutes at PG.

Losing Gaze is a massive improvement.
Losing Wear is a massive improvement.
Gaining Ware is a massive improvement.

Sydney looking very strong next year.

They'd have to get Marty Clarke or Moose Robilliard as coach followed by Scott Christophersen as an import to go backwards.

Article from the Advertiser.

Casper Ware rejected the "biggest offer" in Melbourne United's brief NBL history to sign with arch-rivals Sydney Kings.
The Kings revealed the free agency coup which will see Ware, 28, link up NBA champion Andrew Bogut in the Harbour City.
But United, now flush with funds to spend on an import guard, remains bullish about building a squad capable of winning another title.
United chief executive Vince Crivelli thanked Ware "genuinely" for his services the past three seasons.
"We made him the biggest offer we could possibly make him... while Casper has been great for our club we simply couldn't match the offer the Sydney Kings have made," Crivelli told the Herald Sun.

"We accept that... he will always be a championship-winning point guard for the club.
"Now, to us, he's the opposition and we'll go on our merry way and continue a search for the players that make up the team that we hope can battle off for the championship."
The 28-year old Ware led United to the NBL championship in 2017-18, and capped off stellar season last year averaging 18.8 points and 4.4 assists to earn third consecutive All-NBL First Team honours.
Ware, who is currently playing in Poland, will join the Kings in coming weeks.
"I'm really happy to be joining the Kings," Ware said.
"It was a big decision I had to make, but this is a new challenge for me and I'm excited to get stuck into it.
"I’ll always respect the time I had in Melbourne because of winning a championship there, but with (Kings coach) Will (Weaver) and Andrew and the roster they are putting together at Sydney, I’m excited about what’s ahead."
Kings coach Weaver, who replaced Andrew Gaze in the off-season, spent time with Ware at the Philadelphia 76ers previously.

"It's a rare privilege to team up again with one of the most enjoyable people I've ever coached," Weaver said in a statement.
"Clearly, adding a player of Casper's calibre is exciting for our team but we are equally pleased to benefit from his competitiveness, character, and selfless mindset.
“The best players always want great teammates so his choice to become a King is also a compliment to the men on our roster and a reflection of our commitment to provide Sydney with a team it will rally around.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Interesting that United got outbid by Sydney. Just how much are Sydney spending? Newley, Lisch, Bogut aren't cheap. Bogut's deal I am unsure of as he is getting equity in the Kings so that might not count under the Cap.

Then there are 2 more imports to come.

Sydney team looks good ...

DON'T SAY IT
DON'T SAY IT
DON'T SAY IT
DON'T SAY IT
DON'T SAY IT
DON'T SAY IT

...On paper.

"spent time with Ware at the Philadelphia 76ers previously.

"It's a rare privilege to team up again with one of the most enjoyable people I've ever coached," Weaver said in a statement."

Kings' media people need to check their facts, before fabricating such "statements".

Weaver was the video coordinator at Philadelphia.

Difficult to say.
Comments like "biggest offer in Melbourne's history" and implying they were outbid by Sydney, points towards a huge salary for Ware.
(If you believe the reputed salary Anderson was on when he returned from Europe.)
And (as I have discussed elsewhere) you'd have to wonder if we aren't getting stupid in our bids for a select few existing imports.

But it's all supposition.

Could be by "biggest offer" they mean in aggregate, because they offered him 4 years.

Or could be that the Sydney offer was overall more attractive due to other factors??
The one thing we know for sure about Weaver is that he is very highly regarded in the G-League. Presumably that comes with great connections if Casper has dreams of returning to the NBA.

It's also not uncommon for clubs to make hypothetical offers when a player is already heading out the door.

It's clear that MU has healthy financial backing, and prior to Sydney's new ownership, had possibly snuck past Perth briefly in the spending stakes. But I don't get the impression that they overpay??

If it's the coaching, I would not leave Vickerman for Weaver. I think Ware has lived through half a season of Demopolous which makes Vickerman so much more stable to stay with.

Word on street
Vince (ceo) supposedly told Casper during negotiations that he was highest paid player on the team.

Come to find out, kennedy was making much more.

If it's the coaching, I would not leave Vickerman for Weaver. I think Ware has lived through half a season of Demopolous which makes Vickerman so much more stable to stay with.

Randle to Cairns is picking up steam. I think he lands there.

Likewise with Sam Froling.

Picking up steam in reality or just you talking shit again?

Zodiac good sir, I expect a retraction upon announcement of Randle's signing with Cairns

Yeah yeah alright lol