Wouldn't they have not 'jumped on another import yet' because Hodge won't make a decision for a while? Or because every team looking for a fresh import tends to wait until later in the off-season?

Newley would be a good fit (plus a 9-point import), but he seemed to be doing alright in Europe last time I checked.

Hodge won't be back - he's inked in the US.

I'd go for an unkown - a similar moulded player to hodge (ie, guard that plays the 2/3, but can cover the 1 spot should Mahersy or Davidson breakdown and Kersten isn't ready for big minutes yet)

C Schenscher/Cooper
F Ballinger/Catallini
F Holmes/Hill
G Hodge/Maher
G Davidson/Kersten


Would be better :-)

Inked in the US? Please tell us more!

I dont think dave thomas would come back to Australia and play for Adelaide and come off the bench... He'd wanna start

Anon - He is listed as a free agent on the NBL.com.au website.

Sign Dusty Rychart and carry him until he naturalises next year even though he is probably not the position they need right now re an import. Look long term as the coaches will get a years grace regardless of their first years' results. Having Rychart coming off the bench as an Aussie in year two is very appealing.

Catt = 1 plus an option.

As for Hodge, he is NOT inked in the US. He is looking for a roster spot for next season. If he doesn't get it, he is committed (although only verbally) to Adelaide. Hodge is VERY much the 6ers focus, but they have alternatives in place.

If DT plays anywhere, it will be Melbourne.

I don't ask about the names of the Hodge alternatives....I don't know and I don't think they'd tell anyway, since not all other rosters are locked down.

After that import place is filled (or before) It's really just looking for a backup forward to slot in behind Balls and Jake.

As for Hodge, he is NOT inked in the US. He is looking for a roster spot for next season. If he doesn't get it, he is committed (although only verbally) to Adelaide. Hodge is VERY much the 6ers focus, but they have alternatives in place.

Izzy, and what would you do with the starting SG spot? Maher with Hill backing him up? Any concerns over the PF glut you'd then have with Holmes, Ballinger and Rychart all as (presumably) long-term holds?

And if Maher misses games through injury? Could make things difficult.

So he must have signed a deal in the last 12 hours then.

186891 - fair point, but then it's a classic catch-22 situation. Wil Post is a fairly reliable source though.

Kent - Not sure about 12 hours, but around 24 hours could be right.

Talks with Hodge are still very much happening "irrelevant", so unless you know something we all don't know then please do tell. Hodge will give his decision in July when by then he is hoping to be signed with an NBA club, if not he will be back playing for the Sixers.

i would go with a new face as it seems to have proven in the past with imports for the 6ers.
when Brooks was new we won 2 titles. then when farley came in we won one more.

I think we have a snowflakes chance in hell of getting Hodge next season.

I'd trust in Boti telling me that Hodge has been signed somewhere else, or besides that, a "OMFG HODGE SIGNS WITH !?!?" on this website.

Newley will basically be backstabbing the Sixers if he goes and continues playing in Europe for the next 5 years or so, considering his hook to us was "I always wanted to play for the home team". At least that's what I think of it.

I would have liked Smyth to have stayed on with the Sixers as a scout; he's always had a knack for picking good imports; but then again, would be interesting to see who Ninnis chooses in potential absence of Hodge.

As for the others mentioned:

Crowe: He went from top notch import to luke warm over the season; had he played a standard over the whole season, the Blaze would have won their 1st playoff game

Groves: Decent SG, but personally think he's past his prime in this league, haven't really seen him pack much punch under Heal's coaching and I'd probably give him this season to see what he's capable of.

Ere: Great Shooter, but not really needed in the current Sixers lineup. Already have decent scoring with the existing team, and with Hodge in, you've got a player who has better stats. Hodge would have probably won MVP had he been a sixer since day 1 (I'm talking League and Club MVP)

Please people Hodge will go for the offer that best suits him and his family - not because he simply likes Adelaide Frog Cakes & Pie Floaters.

Yes Issac, this year I would have Maher at the 2 with Hill or even Burdon backing him up. The import they need currently is a combo 2/3 man ala Hodge but if that can't be done Dusty is a good stop gap taking into account the future tradeoff. Holmes concerns me as he plays like a 4 without the size. He is not a natural 3 man at this level! Having Dusty off the bench when he struggles is, to me, good insurance once Dusty naturalises. Year 2 Davidson and Maher retire then you go get a point/2 import and start a young local at the 2 (Hill etc). Cooper gets moved on giving a Hoban time to develop while Dusty provides his 2,3 or 4 years as an Aussie. This to me is good succession planning.

IMO, the risk of losing Maher to injury is a bit of a worry in that situation.

With a SG/SF import, you have every position covered. Davidson goes down, you start Maher. The import goes down, you start Maher. Holmes injured, start the import at SF and Maher comes in at SG. Same if Ballinger is injured, but Holmes plays a bit of PF and Cooper could too. If Schenscher goes down, start Coops, back him up with Ballinger and Holmes while the import covers at SF.

If you brought Dusty in and Maher is injured, Holmes can't shift to SG, and Davidson would be too small for that spot meaning Hill is the only option.

That said, after this season, the Dusty plan would be decent if he's happy to play a role off the bench - good guy, has friends here and fans like him.

Anyone know if there will be room in the team (inc dev spots) for Burdon, Dodman and/or Hoban? Would suck if we couldn't find an opportunity for all three.

Yes Issac all valid points for this year. However as I said earlier this will be a 'grace' year. Nobody expecting miracles and as long as they make the top eight which they should, nobody will bring the knives out.I say plan now for years two and three where the scrutiny will be fully on and results expected. Perth will take Dusty if we don't as they like the 'wall' look and there is some merit in this. Without Maher or Davidson we need a point guard/off guard as an import which is the scenario facing us in year two and beyond. Dusty is simply critical in this situation as a naturalised Aussie thus allowing the import to be a point man. Get him now or somebody else will.

No-one inside the 6ers knows of Hodge changing his status.

At this stage it's still NBA first option, 6ers second.

That said, as I have said before, I still think he hs the ability to make the NBA. I just think he's too good for our league.

I hope they get him.....good for the 6ers and good for the NBL.

And again, the 6ers have alternatives in place.

Great to hear 36ers are still said to be Hodges 2nd choice if he doesnt make the NBA as he is an absolute fav of mine and i think he would be in the top 3 for MVP of the league for sure should he return!
Dicko, without obviously naming names, are the alternatives the 36ers have in place similar players to Hodge being SG/SF's who can also run the point??? have any of them played NBL previously??? or they looking at Hodge or a 'fresh face'???
I would also love to see Dusty back, especially as an aussie, but i dont think we can afford to burn an import spot on him at this point, as especially if we say signed dusty, then a month later hodge says i missed the nba id love to come back, and we are like oh our import spots are full, i would hate to see that scenario, as i am a dusty fan but Hodge is a far better player, legit MVP callibre so would chose Hodge over dusty any day of the week. Having said that should either Ballinger or Dusty naturalise in the near future and dusty still be a free agent i would love to see him back in 36ers uniform, i just dont think we can use our 2nd import spot on him it has to go to Hodge or a SG IMO

IMO I think Dicko is right and Julius will not make the NBA and will probably come back to the 36ers. Sure he has some good figures in the D League but so do a lot of other players vying for the same type of spot in an NBA roster as Julius. Also the NBA now looks to Europe for players. There are a lot of players in Europe that also fill the Julius type mould that are also younger, taller and just as talented. Julius is a great guy, extremely talented (particularly for the NBL) but he is battling against a LOT of other players for very FEW spots available on an NBA roster. I personally look forward to seeing him in a 36ers uniform this coming season.

Jonno, I believe this is the exact time to be getting Dusty i.e the first year when you get some lee-way re results. I'm sure the new coaching staff want to get off to a great start first year, all I'm saying is look deeper to when it really counts. Of course, I guess the other argument could be they are thinking along these lines with Ballinger naturalising. I know Dusty will naturalise to continue playing, not sure about Balls. Dusty to me though is more flexible to the roles required of him in the current Sixers environment.

ANON12 - think you need to re-read Dickos post. He thinks Hodge will make the NBA.

i do see the logic in your argument and like dusty and think he would be a great addition for the role you have said, but however to me it comes down to a decision of Hodge or Dusty, who would you take??? i would take Hodge personally for this year and the long term, i have know idea what Hodge is thinking or anything but i see him as a potential long term 36er also, he is around 24 years old, should he miss out on the NBA this year most likely he would probably never get back in as the NBA does seem to recruit younger guys ie under say 22 or 23 most of the time, and if its true he does not like Europe then it could be possibel he would do like a Rob Rose/copeland (and many others) did and play the rest of his career out here in Australia. so on both the long and short term i would chose Hodge over Dusty, being the main reason i wouldnt sign Dusty as an import (unless Ballinger naturalises) this season. as a naturalised player i would sign dusty in a heart beat. Should hodge say make the nba, then yes your scenario has some good in it and i wouldnt be against it but my personal preference would still be for the import SG.
The main thing i would absolutly hate to see is us sign dusty as a import say tomorrow, in a months time Hodge call back and say hey guys ive missed the nba im in, and us being like um we have no spot for you and having Hodge possibly sign with someone else and play against us, knowing he wanted to be a 36er!
What would your reaction to that be??? i think most fans would hate to see this, as dusty is great but i think most would chose hodge over him if it came down to that decision.

Yep, Hodge is the first choice for this year if purely looking at what import we need for this year - agreed. However without Maher and Davidson which is the likely scenario for year two and beyond we'll need a pure point guard import who can spend time at the 2 spot. Dusty is the insurance which gives us this option as burning an import spot on a point guard doesn't render us overly small as Dusty fills that void.

Izzy - Are you forgetting that Balls also will naturalise in the next year as well? I just cant see there being room for both players in the same team at this point. Both pretty much play the same spot and are both still worthy of big minutes.

Who is to say that we cant sign Dusty further down the track once he is an Aussie?

Skip, yep you are right re Ballinger. Just think Dusty is more of the role type player that fits that naturalised scenario better. Happy to come off the bench, be the garbage man etc. One thing that hasn't been factored into all of this is the points total! What is a newly naturalised player worth points wise??? In either scenario I'd be a nervous man if I was Cooper. Hoban is much better value all round IMO.

The past 2 years have been a disgrace. This coming season already looks much better. Even so, let another fairly poor year go by for the sake of building for the future. How can anyone go past Ballinger and Rychart playing as Australians and then getting 2 new import guards. I don't think anything can be that attractive at the moment to give up this position for the future. As for Hodge, I've said it before, if he was serious he would be signing with Adelaide straight away with an out clause. Its ludicrous to be waiting for him when he hasn't even shown that he is more than just words.

FYI....I don't know anything about the Plan a, b or c guys if Hodge doesn't work out.

ANON12, I think just writing him off like that isn't fair. Julius was (going by stats) probably THE best player in the DL while he was there. 28/8/6 @ a great clip. And, at the end of day, those Euro kids drafted (there is only about two that would be similar to Jules predicted to go 1st round, so 2nd rounders, like Ingles) will have to fight for a roster spot anyway, and lots (1st or 2nd round) spend some extra time overseas anyway.

We will just to wait and see how he goes in Summer League. But, from what we do know, there would be a very good chance of him getting back in the NBA.

EC, he's more serious about the NBA, that's the issue.

Izzy, I don't think Cooper would be that worried yet - a newcomer like Hoban has no experience in the league, no knowledge of opponents and so on. Would take him time to get up to speed. Worst case, Coops sells up and gets a role with another team - not exactly a tonne of reasonable big men available.

A naturalised import would stay as a 10 and be eventually rated based on their performance (e.g., Ballinger would stay as a 10, Rychart is unlikely to drop below 9-10 given that he is pretty efficient on court). Assessing Kersten and Hill and then locking them in longer at low point values is going to be a real key in loading up the team, should naturalised imports be part of the roster.

Does the team really need to replace Ballinger's import slot once he does Naturalize?

I don't really see the point considering the depth the team already has. Besides, naturalising doesn't change the way a player actually plays his game. All this crap about having multiple imports etc. and always making sure you have two is basically insulting the team you'd be playing for.

"Thank god an import spot has now freed up since Ballinger got naturalised. We REALLY need another import to supplement the crap we have on the team"

Please, just get a 2nd import and playing a full season with the one team setup.

Marty, its the ability to shop around for what you want and need that is not possible in the limited talent pool available from Australian and NZer players. It is really quite simple, you just have to look at the absence of quality top level Aussies on the free agency market to know the value of a free import slot.

Check out this link with some brief news on Hodge.

Check it out

http://linky.com.au/t0qso

Is it safe to say that out of the 17 points left we still need 2 development spots which will take up 1 point a piece? So that leaves us 10 points for an import and 5 on someone else???

C: Schensch/Cooper
PF: Ballinger/5 point player
F: Holmes/Hill
SG: Import/Maher
PG: Davidson/Kerston

Given that we had Dodman on the list, does that mean he is now no longer a Dev. player? I have heard rumours that Phillip Smythe has tried to convince both the Crows and Power to add him to their rookie lists!
My guess would be Burdon and Hoban. Unless you could sneak maybe Reardon in there instead of Burdon.

They have 19 points AFAIK and the development players don't count.

Would Reardon be too old for a development spot? Not sure how old he is.

If all are eligible (not sure if they are), it's got to be between Burdon, Dodman and Hoban. If they went with Hoban (tearing up the ABL this season) and Dodman couldn't get a gig anywhere, considering AFL wouldn't be a silly idea at all for The Goat. Seems that Singapore considered him up until they added Sam Harris.

Wonder if Jordy would consider a move to Wollongong or Townsville (both need back-up bigs)?

I believe they only have 17 points. They thought Kerston was a 1 but he is a 3 point player. I actually said a while ago that Dodman would make the change back to footy due to Smythe not playing him enough over the last two years. But now it's actually Smythe trying to lure him back into football!!!

Surely we cant blame Smyth if Dodman goes some where else its now Ninnis and Hill who decide who they keep.They havent contracted him so they dont want him simple really.Time to move on he has nothing to do with this team now.

Well the Power may need a couple of Rucks sooner rather than later and poopies last recommendation ended up ok . Hoban may have a greater ceiling than Jordy and surely deserves some development .

As for Dusty , no thankyou ,simply not required with Ballinger and Holmes .

Burdon deserves to round out squad .

Stumps on Ozhoops has pointed out that Newley would only be a 9 point player on return, which would mean if by any slim chance he did come back, we would still have a full 10 points available for a final player (import).

How about this for a side?

C Schenscher/Cooper
F Ballinger/Holmes
F Hodge/Hill
G Newley/Maher
G Davidson/Kersten

From NBL.com.au
Non-restricted players returning from or having played overseas will be allocated a PPR according to the following:

NBA / CBA  10 points
NBDL, European Leagues  9 points
Other International Leagues  8 points

I have been told that there is virtually no chance that he'll be back this coming season.