Isaac
Years ago

Cairns cut imports Owens and Thornton

The Cairns Taipans have released both of their imports from the 06/07 season - both Kevin Owens and Damon Thornton didn't quite provide the scoring punch that coach Alan Black had hoped for.

Backup guard Luke Martin is signed for 07/08 but has been given permission to negotiate with other clubs.

The Taipans have signed Nathan Jawai, Martin Cattalini, Gary Boodnikoff and Aaron Grabau for next season. They will look to retain Darnell Mee and possibly Matt Smith, Kane Oakley and veteran shooter Anthony Stewart.

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KingJames
Years ago

Yeah not much of a surprise there. Owens had some good games early on at home but always struggled on the road and also had a very poor ending to the season. Thornton was average the whole way through. He was entertaining though with his dunks and blocks but other then that I correctly nick named him Damon "No Game" Thornton.

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Kent Brockman
Years ago

Booga will be devestated not to see MARK DAVIS MK 2

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Jimmy_The_Snitch
Years ago

Luke Martin would be a nice fit as a point guard at the Sixers. Brad Davidson and Luke Martin in the back court with Maher, Sutton and Hill to round out the 5 guard rotation.

PG: Davidson / Martin

SG: Maher / Sutton / Hill

SF: Import / Nash

PF: Import /

C: Cooper / Wheeler / Dodman

As nice as it would be to sign Brad Newley to play as a small forward, it's extremely unlikely to happen this off season so I would go after Ben Knight or Derrick Moore as a strong presence inside.

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Isaac
Years ago

IMO, the last thing we need is Luke Martin given that we have Davidson, Sutton and Maher.

I suspect that he's been moved on from the Kings and now Taipans for a reason.

I think Knight has re-signed with Singapore too.

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thedoctor
Years ago

Jimmy - Sutton at SG?

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Jimmy_The_Snitch
Years ago

Well don't really worry about him lining up in the 2 spot because it's all about being versatile. As long as all 5 guards named can play the point guard or the shooting guard spot, it doesn't really matter. Phil system is about being versatile, not structure.

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Isaac
Years ago

Wouldn't pitch Davidson or Sutton as shooting guards.

So far, unless you picked two outrageous imports, that roster would be bottom four IMO.

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Izzy
Years ago

5 guards?

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XY
Years ago

5 guards in a 12 man rotation is fine, but I agree with Isaac that that team is still bottom 4 (5 next season) stuff.

We need to recruit more than just Martin to compete. We need to look at targeting at least one more Aussie who is in the top 10 in the league or thereabouts.

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Kobe24
Years ago

Don't bother with Luke Martin, Adelaide should be going after Matt Smith. He showed great glimpses this season. Under Smyth's 'let em just play' style, he could bring a lot to the table, whilst also being low on the points system.

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Isaac
Years ago

The Cairns Taipans have just announced that they have released Kane Oakley and Anthony Stewart.

Oakley will be playing the off-season with the Forestville Eagles while Stewart will suit with Hobart alongside Mark Nash in the SEABL.

They have also announced that they have re-signed backup big man Matt Smith. Smith had something of a break-out season, posting strong numbers against some of the weaker teams in the league and showing good potential.

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Hoops

Cairns cut imports Owens and Thornton

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