Cooper? White? Any chance of it being a returning player?

Liked what White has been doing at SEABL level this year worth another year

I hope they do land Wilkinson as that makes the breakers weaker and Kings average up from shite

Wilkinson would be a good fit.. but didnt he have some sob story about not playing for another NBL team other than the breakers?

Cash rules everything.... surely.

As far as i know Luke Cooper is already signed...?

alexkrad, tell me about it. It's a job. None of this "If I can't play for the Breakers, I can't bear the thought of being in any other uniform playing against them" crap.

nat: it's Martin who is already signed, if Cooper was signed as well, that would give us: Henry, Madgen, Martin, Bruce as well as chuck Harvey in there...

Looking at the team already signed:

Henry* / Martin
Madgen / Bruce
Harvey / ?
? / Dann / Garlepp
Crosswhite / ?

if we get another guard it will be pure madness... Shane has been quoted, at least in passing that after the 4/5 import to come, we have enough points (7) for a good local player, so it will be interesting to see who the next one is.

Wilkinson would be a great fit I think (as he would on most teams) but especially with Crosswhite where he won't be required to work AS hard on the boards as that was really never his strong suit, and he has a really nice shot from range as well, so having that extra threat would be nice. Not having that big flashy dunker might be something that fans will have to get used to though, playing a lot more white boy basketball lol...

alexkrad/Isaac - I don't think it was really a sob story, I think it's just one of those things that you say when you've had a good couple of seasons somewhere and from all accounts it WAS really like a nice family environment there, so of course you'd be sorry to leave, even under good terms

Ahh Luke MARTIN!

Wookiee, he acted like it was a bit more than that:

he did all but rule out going to one of the Breakers' rivals in the Australian NBL.

"I would say it would be unlikely to see me in any Australian uniform. It would be extremely difficult for me go over and play against the Breakers.

"I don't want to play for anyone against the Breakers."

Ahh Luke MARTIN!

Yeah, while I think he's a really great bloke and a handy back up, with the players ahead of him, I would have preferred he ask to be released to go somewhere that needed him more and get young Nate Tomlinson in to get a few backup minutes if needed... Frees up a couple more points to improve our options for a more legit starting SF and blood Nate for the future... Do what Cairns are doing, sign for two years, option for third, keep his points low... He had a solid college career, groom him to run the show down the track... With him growing into a role and Bruce getting more minutes and experience and comfortable running the team, in two seasons we might not need to rely on an import PG, we'll have that solid Aussie backcourt and be able to spend our cash and player points elsewhere...

@Isaac: ah right, I didn't think he went as far as that last line in what I'd read... In that case, suck it up, boyo (him, not you)... Maybe he's gotten a taste of going somewhere not predominately english-speaking and he's reconsidering based on a young family... One thing to go in the off-season chasing cash, but you wouldn't want to do it full time when you've got a viable option...

If Gary DID want to stick around though, where would his options be? Not Perth, obviously, or Adelaide, with DJ and the other Ranga there already, Cairns are looking ok without his services, Gold Coast possibly (can you imagine his hair clashing with the Teal? ugh), throw Melbourne into that basket as well and who's left? Townsville and Sydney?

I would like to see Wilkinson stay in the league, even though I can't stand the guy - he's one of the few NBL players today that you love to hate.

I've never understood the hate for Wilkinson... He's enthusiastic and gets his team and crowd pumped up, those are good things... Bit over the top if you're a fan or player from the opposing team I guess and we've never been close enough for his chest beating to be of any consequence really lol...

Besides, he's a ranga... you make exceptions for rangas as they're always a bit special ;)

He's easy to dislike for opposing teams because of that carry-on. Rickert was the same, Redhage, etc.

how do you know/why is iti 100% out?
is it he's or heal's decision?

Whats up with Iti?

Dude didn't get on the Court at all for the Wellington Saints in the final.

And got 2/3mins a game other games.

Poor attitude or just lacking in skill?

He was considered an NBA Draft prospect at one stage! What went wrong?

His development has regressed big time. I'm not sure if it's injuries but the guy is about 5 steps slower than he was just 12 months ago.


Back on topic - Kings are having some issues with the league front office, so player signing can't be announced until they're resolved.

Yeah it's disappointing about Iti, as he showed some great signs in the pre-season, was always up there for the oop from Martin and signs were looking good... Even in the open trainings they had he was up and down and playing like you'd hope that he would during a game, but it just didn't translate...

His minutes this season in the NZNBL have been a real shock though. It's disappointing, as MACDUB says, he had such potential, and is a really really nice bloke and was always one of the very last out with fans wherever they went anywhere, so I don't know if it's a confidence problem - not getting the minutes so not really knowing what to do once he gets on, but needing the minutes to get the confidence, etc etc...

He could certainly improved his foot speed on the defensive end though, as he was a liability for racking up early fouls as defenders got by him, so even if he DID have the chance for minutes, he wouldn't be able to make the most of his opportunities...

But yes, back on topic, it would be really interesting to hear what the deal is with the NBL front office, or at least if it's the import first choice or the last local to join the team that is the target here... It' snot usually a visa issue for the imports at this stage, so my guess it's a player previously with the NBL and they might be quibbling on player points maybe? Either way, would like to be a fly on the wall...

Nat, can you hint at the issues? Unpaid dues of some sort? Not committed to some league program?

In other news, Matty Nielsen is getting crowded over in Khimsky apparently... would be interesting to see if he would come home a year or so earlier? That would be a huge pick up if he could be convinced...

I know, not going to happen, but it's really drool worthy...