I'm starting a completely unsubstantiated Jaron Johnson rumour just because it'd be sheer poetry to have him come in on Friday and torch the wildcats and end their playoff hopes.

Great title by the way.

OMG WHAT!!! Didn't see this coming said fucking nobody.

Cairns had no choice, nothing to do with personal reasons, NBL will release a statement shortly.

I cant believe he lasted this long

I'm with CT. Does anybody have a tracker on JJ? He was the guy Fearne wanted in the first place. I was only saying this morning it's a shame for JJ he didn't choose the Snakes. He'd have been a better fit for the Taipans than he was for Perth, and than Fu was for Cairns.

No disrespect intended for Fu, I think he was very under-utilised.

Yes, showed a lot of potential in the first few games and preseason, expecially on the defensive end.

Likeable chap, no doubt, but did he change the outcome of a single Taipans game?

I see he may have legal issues in the States...

Cairns don't have much time. Tomorrow is their 21st game.
Will Joey accuse them of cheating if they register somebody before tomorrow night's game?

And yeah, it would be great for the game if they could somehow get JJ onboard in time for the game. Nice to see him back in the Jungle. He's more a 2/3, but they also have Weigh who can play the 3, so that would give them good options.
With Trice, Gliddon, and Weeks, they wouldn't need him to play the 2, so he could be a great option for them. Plus it would be nice to see him continue in the league.

Snakes don't seem to utilize their imports right. Fearn stifled Torrey Craig and looks like he's done the same to two of Cairns' three imports this year.

Cairns have signed US import Tony Mitchell. Played 21 games for Detroit Pistons couple of years back.

Could have done this two months ago given the playing time this guy ever got. He was always shaky putting the ball on the floor and his decision making was not good. Catch and shoot was his game but he never really got the opportunity. Is he paying the price for Trice's inability to take over a game?

Why does everyone have to make up some fake reason to sack an import?

Personal reasons and a replacement announced the same day?

Taipans have previously made a point of not sacking imports, no matter what they get up to or how bad they play so I wouldn't be surprised if there was genuinely a problem somewhere. Jeez, the stuff that Jamar Wilson was allegedly up to only got him benched (although if he hadn't been playing so well I admit things may have gone differently). They stuck by digital mccamey and markel starks too, despite all the problems they had on court.

Far as I'm concerned I wish him well and hope that the new guy can come in and light it up for a month.

@CT said "Taipans have previously made a point of not sacking imports, no matter what they get up to or how bad they play so I wouldn't be surprised if there was genuinely a problem somewhere".

I agree with CT and although I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be quoting from a newspaper article on here, Mark Beecroft has made the below comments in todays Cairns Post.

"Fuquan has some things he needs to take care of, they are private", Taipans boss Mark Beecroft said last night.

“People will draw a line between performance and what has happened, but if we were making a decision based on performance with Fu, this would have happened earlier".

"That is not the situation here and we have supported him. We have been working together on how we deal with this and we wish him the best as a club".

“Off the court he has been great for the club, he has given his time to engagement programs.”

"People will draw a line between performance and what has happened, but if we were making a decision based on performance with Fu, this would have happened earlier".

I tend to agree with @Freethrows in that I think Fu was under utilised by Fearne.

^ Another "premium content" online article from the Murdoch Press. I don't know why I bothered to follow the link in the first place, given the garbage that Murdoch papers pass as news, and now I'm none the wiser about what was or wasn't said in the article. I doubt it would have provided me with any factual information I don't already have, although it probably did pass opinion and/or rumour off as fact, as per usual for this publication.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwzSdXjAh9U

Mad hops, so he should help a lot with the Taipans rebounding. Loves to dunk it, has a nice jump shot, with decent range. There are no defensive highlights, but he has lead his division in BPG, so he may be a guy like McKay who will challenge and change shots in the key way.

If he's the guy, it'w a bit of a strange signing for Cairns, as he's not really a replacement for Fu; more in the mould of a PF than a SF.

I had thought they would be looking for a slashing scorer, but that's never really been Fearny's stock in trade, so what was I thinking?

Freethrows, i think the concern is Wortho's injuries and having someone who can cover.

Wrong Tony Mitchell. The guy we've signed is out of Alabama, 6'6" small forward.

89' Mitchell not 92' Mitchell

Ouch!

Imagine if they signed JJ then released him after 3.

I know there are two Tony Mitchells, on another thread it was the '92 Mitchell, not the '89 Mitchell.

Now I know which Mitchell it is, I'm happier with the replacement like-for-like in terms of size and position. I'll have to have a look for some video of him to see how he plays. Or, I could wait until tonight.

Wrong Mitchell.

It's here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yisjgAO9Rs

Top lol there, CT. Good stitch up