Who is the main assistant these days?

Jamie Pearlman is the lead assistant

My 5 cents worth. The team had lots of strengths and potential but never quite gelled on offense, and it's defence was pretty poor. Bringing in the right imports and the right coach should raise every player’s involvement in the team and their effort levels at both ends.

McCarron - I take your point about freeing up the money, but I don’t think Sixers have seen the best of MM. He’s a great spark-plug off the bench in positions 1-3 but not a specialist. His 3-point shooting used to be really good, but now he has no confidence and it’s woeful. If he can get back to the United MM then he’s worth keeping but on much-reduced salary; keep if he takes a pay cut
Dech - another who’s a good bench player, and who also has been inconsistent; keep unless you can replace him with a better local
Drmic - deserves to start at 3; keep
Marshall - great potential; start him to bring it out; just not sure whether the 2-spot is the best place for him; keep
Cleveland - despite his big contribution, release him and look for someone who fits Sixers needs more consistently
Franks - ditto
Clark - ditto
Galloway - again, great potential, but I wouldn’t start him yet; keep
DJ - RELEASE (and I don’t believe he will play in Japan for long, if at all)
Harris - like Dech; keep unless you can replace him with a better local

CJ - demote or release
His assistants - release

Brandt is playing in div 2 Japan, his numbers are very solid but his team is really struggling. Royce Vague is in the same team. These guys are not adding strength, in saying that Kay, Brandt and Moller were very good for Australia in Japan. I'm not certain if Bevo doesn’t want to coach anymore but he’s surely still an excellent coach and was the coach in Japan.

First things first obviously CJ has to go. The last year on his contract is likely a team option if so wouldn't cost anything to fire him even if it did he's got to go anyway.

Franks & Cleveland are both likely to be team options if another team tried to poach them a buyout might be in play. I don't want to see Franks back here next season. His rebounding declined a fair bit from last season at the Bullets from 8.8 to 6.5, he scores a lot of hollow points, his defence is too poor and frankly I wasn't impressed with his attitude one bit. Thinks he's too cool for school good luck with that in Europe.

Cleveland I'm still really on the fence about. His numbers are quite similar to what he averaged last season on that Hawks semi-final team when he was the DPOTY. I got the impression last season he had more to give and was perhaps being under untilised on a very good Hawks team but his numbers are virtually identical this season. Too many times we needed someone to step up this season and he didn't or gave us nothing completely like last game. Clark's a mediocre import who shouldn't be back.

The last year of McCarron's contract is likely a player option and I can't for the life of me see him walking away from that $350k-$400k. He'll never see money like that again in his career. Just tell him at the exit interview he will be coming off the bench next season and maybe even as a third string PG anything to try and entice him not to pick up that option.

After 13 years we have to finally cut bait with DJ. We've never won anything with him, his refusal to play defence has always totally screwed the composition of our starting lineups now with the added issue of his offence declining to the point he had to come off the bench and is almost at the point of being too much of a liability to put on the court.

The time is now that DJ's finally out of contract and a free agent. The last three coaches had to coach with one hand behind their backs because of him the last thing we need to do is burden yet another new coach with his presence. DJ can keep threatening to go to Japan or whatever, good luck to him no serious team will put up with him and his crap and even if he did go over he would probably last about as long as he did in Poland. Five years straight we've missed the playoffs, time to finally put an end to this nonsense.

I get your point Hoopie but would be keeping Cleveland. He is an elite defender and athlete, plus has been expected to take on a huge load with others (apart from a few) not putting in defensively.

His attitude is great and he is willing to put team on his shoulders if needed.

If we get better defensive bigs to straighten us up / help guards and create turnovers, then I think Cleveland is an elite scorer in the open court. He did get caught out with some soft offensive fouls in last game but that was when he hesitated and created a half court situation with set defenders in front of him. I expect he will learn from that and think that was an anomaly

The team lacks good frontcourt defenders and players who can create shots for other people. That's where I'd be looking with recruitment.

Our backcourt defenders aren't much chop either as seen last game against United when Goulding, Tucker and XRM went a combined 15/29 from the 3pt line.

I think Drmic, McCarron and Dech is a decent starting point for a defensive perimeter group. I'd be more concerned with the other side of the screen if in charge of Adelaide's recruiting..

Cleveland ain't that smart though, goorg kept him to simple stuff on D and O.

Jamie Pearlman is the lead assistant

Hopefully they can keep Cleveland. He is obviously a key defensively. Imagine how aggressive he could be with strong defenders behind him.

I too was a bit surprised CJ got the job initially over Pearlman as Pearlman was already at the club and more qualified than CJ but I guess CJ had a closer relationship with JVG.

If for whatever reason Pearlman is now not suitable just give the job to Mick Downer who is even better qualified than him.

Did CJ chose MICK DOWNER and why?

The biggest thing from this year for me wasn't the disappointment of expectations vs reality, or even necessarily losing when someone has to.

It’s that they worked so hard to pack in a record number of people to watch and managed to repeatedly get absolutely smashed. They frequently showed zero effort.

All those people paying their hard earned dollars, giving the 36ers a chance and hoping to be entertained, and 36ers couldn’t be bothered even putting *effort* in to make for a competitive loss.

How is that justifiable? The players ought to be judged on that.

What I don’t want to see, is Adelaide be like Carlton. Dumping players and coaches so frequently achieves absolutely nada.

Step 1) lockup Cleveland
Step 2) lockup a defensive big import to replace Franks
Step 3) lockup a point guard import to replace Clark
Step 4) retain everyone else except Acouth (that includes Sotto)
Step 5) Make MM be SG or SF and never PG
Step 6) Make Sotto starting C and never play him alongside DJ
Step 7) Tell Dech to practice his threes in the offseason

"Our backcourt defenders aren't much chop either as seen last game against United when Goulding, Tucker and XRM went a combined 15/29 from the 3pt line."

They ran over multiple screens (moving screens if Lee was setting) to get an uncontested shot, so tough for defender to follow.

Perth have done this well for Cotton for years.

36ers only screens are for the ball carrier, not shooters running without the ball to get free, need to get much better at that which is on coaching group.

https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstAdl/status/1617432762289455111?s=09

Great to see Davis still rocking the Fubu but wonder what Randall is saying about CJ not being the problem.

Adelaide haven't seen the best of McCarron. United would love to have him back. Personally I think in the right system he’s a genuine PG gun, strong leader also with the ability to hit the boards and provide tough defence 1 through 3 as shown when playing for the Boomers. For some reason the fit hasn’t yet worked at Adelaide, was he originally trying too much then lost confidence? Hard to tell. Rumours of a big salary make it hard, but surely you back him in to deliver?

"Rumours of a big salary make it hard, but surely you back him in to deliver?"

It's been two straight seasons. I don't see how we back him to deliver. He hasnt even really shown glimpses in that time. Maybe he delivers elsewhere but it's just not happening in Adelaide. CUT!

"What I don't want to see, is Adelaide be like Carlton. Dumping players and coaches so frequently achieves absolutely nada"

And the definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Keeping players in Adelaide is like rumaging through a toilet bowl, wondering which pieces of corn to keep. Clue: Theyre basically all shit.

But if we are going to do anything other than scorch earth the team, the only players I have any vague interest in retaining are Cleveland, Harris and Sotto off the bench.

Inevitably we will end up keeping more of the core but with their current attitudes and outputs no one else deserves a contract in the league.

It's time to move on from CJ as well. There are so many little decisions JVG made that have come to haunt us since he left and CJ Bruton is one of those. He wasn't able to get anything out of this team. On paper they should have done better. A team that beat an NBA team in any context shouldn't be missing out on the NBL playoffs - not when 6 of 10 teams make it. It's just ludicrous.

Marcus Lee should be the cats number 1 focus in the offseason.

"And the definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Keeping players in Adelaide is like rumaging through a toilet bowl, wondering which pieces of corn to keep. Clue: Theyre basically all shit."

I agree repeating the same dose isn't going the be solution, but nobody is saying you keep seems the exact same. Interior D was always a critical failure in this side and it’s the failure that was fatal. It had consequences that produced a ripple effect making other aspects also appear worse than they would probably otherwise be: PG role for instance, scoring percentage for instance. Turnovers for instance.

Reality is, if the opposition are always scoring easier than you, the pressure is on. If the opposition are always set, it makes it hard to move the ball and avoid turnovers. It forces shots out of you. If you’re busy trying to patch the interior, it makes the perimeter wide-open.

If you don’t have a semblance of continuity, it’s impossible to build chemistry and culture. You’re better off making tweaks, getting your balance right, making sure you have a bias towards culture guys etc.

The idea that they’re all shit also just isn’t right. Adelaide keep letting guys go that show potential like McVeigh, Pinder because we reckon they’re shit instead of creating a structure that gets things right and develops players and team strategy properly.

MM isn’t bad, we just don’t use him properly - we need that Ervin type import next to him.

Cleveland is a star. But carrying the team can make him look forceful.

DJ is still a star offensive force - he looks shit when he doesn’t get the ball much because then he no-longer passes the cost-benefit of his defence vs offence, not to mention there’s nobody next to him to save his ass because they were silly enough to go offence-only bigs. You can have 1 that does that, not all 3.

Dech is a talent, but inconsistent time and structure isn’t using him right.

Drmic is good and a shining light in the effort stakes, something we need more of not less.

Sotto is developing and would likely be even better next year. Why wouldn’t we want to keep him at the right price?

"If you don't have a semblance of continuity, it’s impossible to build chemistry and culture. You’re better off making tweaks, getting your balance right, making sure you have a bias towards culture guys etc."

Tasmania have proven if you get the balance right from the start you can have a good team. Adelaide may be able to keep bits and pieces but I think any and everyone should be on the chopping block. We know where we are weak. We know a few players who maybe help us so far. But beyond that, I have no special affinity to any of them.

"Sotto is developing and would likely be even better next year. Why wouldn’t we want to keep him at the right price?"

The question is what price is the right price? He was taken in basically as a promotional piece. I've heard he's on a tidy number. He is going to be serviceable as a back up big but if his money is any more than that, Adelaide should be looking elsewhere.

=

Anyway, as I said, inevitably some of this core is going to stay with the team. I just dont want to see any special treatment or favouritism, or anyone kept just for the sake of continuity. We are weak as piss inside, so any combination of Johnson, Franks and Sotto WILL NOT cut it. We also have no real point guards, and the constant balance problem that is Mitch McCarron, his contract price, and the fact he fits neatly nowhere.

Step 4) retain everyone else except Acouth (that includes Sotto)

Step 5) Make MM be SG or SF and never PG

Step 6) Make Sotto starting C and never play him alongside DJ

For some reason the fit hasn't yet worked at Adelaide, was he originally trying too much then lost confidence? Hard to tell. Rumours of a big salary make it hard, but surely you back him in to deliver?

It's time to move on from CJ as well. There are so many little decisions JVG made that have come to haunt us since he left and CJ Bruton is one of those. He wasn't able to get anything out of this team.

If they need to look where to save big $$$ then Sunday needs to leave. Far too many $$ to sit so much on the bench.

DJ is contracted, not much point hypothesising him leaving unless there's rumour floating around which inevitably leads to mutually agreed departure.

Besides, I don’t believe the nonsense that having DJ prevented Adelaide succeeding in the last. He actually worked very well in the moments they had with Motum and with Humphries.

They didn’t get DJ the ball this year on offence, so used him incorrectly. Everyone knows you need him scoring to win the cost-benefit analysis on him. He won’t score without getting decent ball volume. That’s a coaching and structure issue, not a DJ issue.

The value is probably a till there for another year if they aren’t dumb about it.

" MM is shooting 18.8% from deep this season. He should not be SG or SF."

That sounds like a slap-dash argument to me. By that reasoning, he shouldn’t be in the NBL period, especially given most here say in no uncertain terms that he shouldn’t be played as a PG.

The shooting percentage is a daft stat to rely on for a player that shot so little during the course of the season. Combined with how bad the 36ers were this season at making space because they kept having to generate offence from a score (opposition were set) and zero player movement - why would someone shooting very little and usually a forced shot at the end of a shot clock ever be expected to have a good shooting stat?

DJ shot like shit this year, does that mean he shouldn’t be relied on to shoot?

What’s to say given the right structure and ball usage/volume of shots, that MM and DJ wouldn’t improve their shooting from this year?

I don’t see MM as being any worse than a Gibson type. Just need to get the setup right with the PG and figure out effective integration of Drmic and Dech.

“If you want a more defensive minded team Sotto is a word that should not be spoken.”

Sotto is more than decent offensively and at least a little bit of a menace on D by virtue of size and blocks. If you have a defensive import PF, why wouldn’t you want an offensive minded C anyway?

Aslong as you don’t have Sotto and DJ on at the same time, and there’s a defensive big on the floor, I don’t see it being a fatal issue that we had this year.

Bronny James doin a Terrance Ferguson.
Bronny's father, LeBron would like to play with his son.

DJ is contracted

Sign Marshall. Adelaide local. Need to make sure Sixers keep him as he is going to be a very decent NBL player. Looked good against United. Keep him and you have a captain in a few years time and someone to build club around. His development could've been fast tracked if didn't sign Clarke and have to move him back to DP. Move on DJ, Sotto, Franks. Get a defensive big who can actually set screens and play 30+ mins who can also score. Have barely seen a half decent screen set by Sixers bigs. Keep Cleveland. Has heart. I felt for him against United. Could see he had set himself for a big game, had respect for 98 championship players, ran over and shook all their hands as they left the court. Very respectful. Then he got the 2 fouls in a minute and rest is history. Try and get Isaac White back home. Not sure what you do with MCcarron, can't just play a defensive role as Goulding smoked him last week. Probably too expensive to pay him out. Keep Harris and Galloway.

Marshall's already under contract for next season when he'll be upgraded to the roster per his contract.

The Adelaide 36ers have announced talented South Australian youngster Nick Marshall has re-signed with the Club for the next two seasons that will see him as a Development Player ahead of NBL23, followed by promotion to the active playing roster for the 2023-24 NBL season.

https://nbl.com.au/news/nick-marshall-re-signs-with-36ers

Ooh thought DJ was signed a year longer.

I'd keep Franks over DJ, but perhaps not realistic?

Nice thanks!

I'm one of CJs biggest critics, but the way they handled the CH sacking there wasn't much left to sign. Indictment that Pearlman didn't get the job as the default choice. And wasn't that all over about how he was going to bring DJ off the bench, looks like he had the right idea already.
MM has been bad, United can have him back if they agree to pay his current wage. And I think it's safe to say his pay packet isn't rumoured, it's fact. He's just an ok guard that benefited being on a really good team and being rewarded by a totally incompetent clown of a GM. Could a buyout be arranged, tell him here's a $100k, go back to Melbourne and they can pick up the rest. Would think he'd like to leave this marriage as well.
Only Adelaide could have a player that dominates against future lottery picks, shows fantastic promise in regular season when given an opportunity, but relegate him back to DP. Could Marshall have had his contract redone to put him on full roster after signing Clarke?
I can't think of another player that has played so many games for a club, can still produce on offence, but is not universally liked by the fan base. There's been "legendary" players that still think they had another couple of seasons in them that have moved clubs, but not many would shed too many tears on DJ leaving. The Carmelo Anthony of the NBL.
Keep Cleveland around for at least another year and see what he's like in another regime. Keep investing in Sotto lest he's another Pinder. Then invest in a hard nosed big import. Have to get a scoring PG to run alongside MM and Dech. Keep Drmic, been good in a bad season. Frank's can join Wiley and others that cashed in whilst here. Get White if else to satisfy the complaints we need more locals. Yes to Galloway and Harris to make up numbers. And try to find a hustle player to get crowd fired up. Drmic did play that role, but would be good to have options.

Ive heard sotto has been told the team won't take up his option and is already looking to Europe over the off season. I don’t see any other teams picking him up.
DJ will get his jersey on the rafters next year (rightly so) but I don’t see him being offered anything. The deck extension was a terrible idea and whoever did it should be fired

Just a thought which quality coach or player would want to come to a club that's got a history of shitting on them. The only reason would be for cash cause it appears to be a place to go to ruin your career.

Frisbee14,

Re: DJ off the bench, I never heard the Pearlman thing but what did happen was a few days before CH arrived back in Aus from his off-season break in the US, DJ (leaked via Boti) that he was thinking about walking out on his contract to go and play in Japan. A few days later when CH got out of quarantine he was confronted by JVG over something and immediately sacked.

There was talk it may have been over CH's refusal to give Mojave King big minutes, which always seemed unlikely but the timing re: DJ's Japan threat suggested perhaps CH wanted to bring DJ off the bench last season.

Re: a buyout for McCarron, of course it could happen in theory but that suggests United (or another team) would be interested in signing him. I think it would be more likely Delly returns to United next season.

Re: Marshall, he was only ever playing on the roster as a temporary replacement for Randall. Once we signed Clark he had to come back off the roster and I'm pretty sure there are restrictions about a player in that situation then being swapped back in for another player, say a Harris. Marshall will likely be effectively replacing Harris on the roster next season anyway.

Ive heard sotto has been told the team won't take up his option and is already looking to Europe over the off season.

If Illi has to retire because of head knocks, United could possibly want him back. Would be very unfortunate for Illi but his health should be first priority.

It's more of Franks taking a lot of touches from DJ than DJ's offense declining. Playing those two together has been a foolish idea that CJ has kept doing. Franks has been taking too many shots and beem demanding the ball too much that has rendered DJ of little use. On the defensive end, they're both terrible individually and as a front court combination. Team can keep DJ but make sure to send Franks away.

Cleveland may not be the sharpest head there but the combination of athleticism, sheer hardwood and intensity has kept him as the team's most valuable player. If he was smart, we wouldn't have seen him playing in the NBL, he's definitely an NBA talent.

Dech and Clark have been playing off their natural positions and that's probably the reason behind their struggles. In the first place, why sign one like Clark when what the team badly needs is a pure point guard?

Marshall may look good on spot minutes on the offensive end but is a terrible defender. In, fact he's the team's worst defender, not DJ.

Galloway has the potential but needs more reps. Great shot blocker but needs to work harder on the boards.

It's not a bad idea to keep both Drimic and Harris.

Keeping Sotto may not be all about money anymore. Yes, 3rd year is team option but they're not dealing with Joel Bell anymore. Wasserman now handles Sotto and if the team is to keep him, playing time would be guaranteed. What the team is set to lose if he doesn't renew is the league's current #9 in Player Efficiency Rating, #2 in total rebounds percentage, #6 in blocks percentage. And no, it's not true that he doesn't play defense. He tops Adelaide in defensive rating and defensive rebounds percentage.

As per CJ Brutton, if he stays, expect even worse next season.

Absolutely agree Penn the Aussie content is fine. The imports have been outstanding, haven't found the right combination of players/ coaches to bring the best of the locals. M

Agree with the two posts above.

Small tweaks can make the world of difference. I like the players as individuals but as a team they're underwhelming and disjointed.

The memo should be "get the right puzzle pieces".

If we scorched earth it, we’d still be having to find those glue guys and balance, but we’d also need to find all that fundamental talent which is mostly tied up.

I don’t agree with guaranteeing time, it’s daft. What they should be doing however, as a matter of course for all players, is a mutually agreed vision for each player in their type of role, what they are there to do, the development aim etc. That should include rough estimation of minutes, starter or bench or hybrid.

Think Goulding and Boomers for WC/Olympics - he had his role, he knew why he was there and he focussed heavily on delivering what was expected on him. Adelaide need that sort of clarity for players so they can focus on delivering.

I don’t think players had that clarity tbh.

If you let DJ leave and Sotto isn’t back then suddenly you are in a world of pain without Franks because you’re not going to find Aussies anywhere near that lethal. You’d be downgrading in talent too far probably.

Cleveland might be on a 2 year deal but that’s usually a 1 year deal where second year they get a bigger offer overseas and exercise an out clause. So in that sense, I’m hopeful Adelaide can make it work to get him back.

I liked what I saw from Sotto. Yeah he’s young, yeah he’s not brilliant defensively, but he should hopefully improve a little. His size deterrence plus blocking combined with a proper defensive import PF, and that will be dramatically different to DJ and Franks defensive combo.

Have DJ as a proper punch off the bench getting the ball volume and he will return to positive on the cost-benefit analysis.

Have a smaller rotation time-wise, but Harris if re-signed can plug-in for 10 minutes whilst the import PF is having a breather.

Give McCarron the Gibson type role, he can play wing and shoot it fine, he just needs to hold that role not the one he currently has. Grab an import PG that’s speedy - like Ervin, Jerome Randle (without the overdribble), Walton Jr type.

I actually don't mind the keep most of the Aussies, just use them properly and get the imports right idea, as long as we get a new hopefully more proven coach, not exactly sure who do we try and get Bevo, or do we need to find our own version of Buford/Roth out of the g league

I would definitely look into seeing if we can get a marquee Aussie back from overseas tho like a Kay, Reath, motum type, which would obviously require letting a couple of guys prob McCarron and DJ go to free up the cash

I'd definitely go for a import PG like Walton and a import big like Lee and keep Cleveland


This is basically what we did when we let Marty Clark go and got Joey Wright as coach

If Beveridge still has the fire in the belly, I would love the Sixers to give him the coaching gig. He's a proven defensive coach with a lot of success in the NBL. He did have that big fall off his roof a year or two ago though, so I'm not sure what his health is like. Whoever it is, they've got to be someone who can build a great team culture and get everyone playing as a unit like Scott Roth has in Tassie.

Other than that, I see two key problems:
1) McCarron - not a starting point guard, but paid like a star. His inability to shoot or be a threat to beat his man off the dribble puts a low ceiling on our offensive options. No realistic Aussie options. Got to find an elite import point guard like Barry Brown or Walton.

2) No elite defensive big man. Sotto could maybe get there in a couple more years, but I have my doubts we could hang onto him long enough to really benefit from the time we put into him. Best option is to somehow lure Nic Kay to Adelaide. Failing that, probably has to be an import big.

Get the right coach and fix 1) and 2) and you can fill in the rest of the team around them. Easy said, not easy done!

Bevo with a a young up and coming coach who is keen to learn and take over after a few seasons, good point though that he still needs the fire in his belly. Mccaron under Bevo could probably play the point, he did well under Vickerman, similar coaches.

Franks - going
DJ - wants to stay but is being pushed out
Cleveland - has picked up his option
Sotto - going
Drmic - negotiating
Marshall - main roster

CJ is not going anywhere. The assistants, well.......

CJ...others are being sounded out. The review wont be kind on CJ

Q Anon,

Bit rough on DJ being a very loyal player for this long & a club legend in the eyes of many. Unless it's attitude related, i think that's a mistake as DJ still has lots to offer as a bench scorer or starter with more defensive minded 4 or 5. Maybe that's a stretch on the evidence of this season, but I just thought there would be room for DJ if he wants to stay.

If DJ wants to stay on a Veteran's Minimum type deal, we could do worse as a scorer off the bench for like 15 mins a game, but if he's still looking to get good money, he has to go find it somewhere else. He's not a big money player anymore.

I think DJ is a big asset and has been mismanaged this year. From all reports his benching was not handled in anyway how you would expect a 14 year vet to be communicated with.

The club cant afford to disrespect another club stalwart. That says the culture hasn't changed. That is not good for recruiting. Enough people already talk about the 36ers culture.

The other issue is that if he goes the 36ers will be replacing the entire frontline. Local bigs aren't easy or cheap to get.

Dj should stay but he has to except he's going to earn less, try not to force everything when he’s on to get his stats up. If he doesn’t like that probably better going to Japan or Korea where he’ll be able to dominate offensively. I don’t see any other nbl team taking him.

Almost starting to sound like CJ will be back.

Barbato said the club would not listen to outside noise around coach CJ Bruton, who is contracted for next season but copped criticism over the team's lack of success.

"CJ’s a great part of our club and we’re with him," Barbato said.

“We’re going to work together to ensure that we get the best outcome.

“We’ll sit down and work out what we need to do and how we need to do it.

“He’s got to focus on the games and that’s important for our fans and then the time will come for us to sit down and work out where best we go with this.

“We want him to be part of that whole process.

“I’ll get reviewed, too. We need to look at ourselves and ensure we become a club that is successful on the court.”