Nice pick up.

Import/Kenny
Newbill*/DKD
Import/Kuany
Loughton/Walker
Hawaii/Loe

Not bad.

Plus one more local. Who are the options there?

Can I get some negative reaction please?

LoveBroker where you at?

An OK signing

Great signing. Beast at both ends when he puts his mind to it. Should really flourish in Kellys up tempo game style.

Love this for the Pans, was hoping he may pop up in Adelaide

Tough Guard at both ends who turns up every night.

Great signing.
I liked his game last year

The last local will probably be a wing player.
Hopefully Cairns have learnt from getting inexperienced types like Scoochie Smith and budget guys like EvansJr.

Hope for Cairns sake they get two great imports for last spots so they can be competitive.

A very good pick up for the Taipans. He is to me a good-at-everything guard like Shannon Shorter.

Oddly enough I think he would do well under Fearne's system, hopefully he can produce for Mike Kelly.

love this, great pick up. similar competive attitude to wortho but without the shattered, broken body.

Loved his swagger in NZ.

Kinda like Shannon Shorter but actually has game.

Made some big shots down the stretch when NZ needed him.

Will be fun team to watch and not a snooze fest like the last few years...

And is not a tool

Shorter leads the NBL in muscles per flex, also in flexes per 36 mins

Good signing for the Taipans a versatile player who was probably the Breakers best import last season.

Taipans will be Wooden Spooners, worst roster in the league. Only chance otherwise is if they sign 2 legit imports which they don't have the money for.

Melbourne Boy, everyone (apart from Taipans fans) seems to think that way before the season begins, every year. Bet you didn't think they'd make the semi-finals two years back. Stop hating. See how the rest of free agency turns out, and let the season play out. I'm sure we will surprise many this year.

Anon you're correct, and love him or hate him Fearne extracted as much as he could, but the NBL becomes more of an arms race each year, every roster appears stronger except for this taipans one.

This sounds just like Dennis with the Crocs before they folded, young roster, uptempo, new coach, energetic and competitive, yet bottom 2 all season despite coach of the year.

For a start Yarra Boy, Taipans can't run last while Bullets are in the league.
With a miles better coach they can't run last!

Loe > Egwu
Kenny > Weeks
Newbill > Gliddon
Any import guard > Scoochie.
Any import SG > Weigh.

They are way ahead this year already.
Have the balls to report back when they are nowhere near last in the new year!

How can you say Kelly is a good coach before his first game? I hope he goes well but he may be terrible! And to call him better than Lemanis (who btw I'm not the biggest fan of) is crazy.

You're on Thunder Jam, Let's remember this, and in the new year we'll revisit. For the bets sake I'll say they're in the bottom 2 by the start of January, if not you lose to Yarra Boy.

I'd love to see the Taipans grab Cedric Jackson. I'd love to see how he compares to other imports in this era, he's older so maybe cheaper too?

Other import, id like to be a knock down 3 like Devondrick Walker type as they lack outside shooting but hopefully DKD has refound his shooting touch as he'll make a difference to this lineup.

I could see this team making a playoff run this season... if they can gel like a proper team (something I have my doubts about with Kings). Good luck to them all

In my opinion, team looks worse compared to last season, which wasn't close to the playoffs and with a proven coach.

Egwu = Loe (one rebounds one shoots)
Loughton = Loughton
Gliddon = Newbill
McCarron > Budget Import
Smith = Import (Can't afford better)
Jawai = Jawai
Weigh = Walker
Evans > Kuany
Weeks > DKD
Heuir < Kenny

Melbourne Boy, either your judgement is way off, you didn't watch much Taipans last season, or you're reaching in order to make your point.

Walker absolutely craps on Stephen Weigh, Kenny is better than Weeks (you want to compare like-for-like so no use comparing DKD to Weeks), this year's import PG will almost certainly be better than Scoochie (don't forget Scoochie didn't have bad pedigree coming out of college. He wasn't exactly budget. Jawai will surely improve his production (mainly because he should be healthier), Newbill is better than Gliddon. And why are you comparing Jerry Evans to Kuany? You should be comparing him to the import wing we are going to get (again, like-for-like).

Our team looks decent, even if we don't absolutely hit the jackpot. Decent for 6th.

I watched lots of Cairns Manu, maybe you didn't? they're all fair comparisons and my list above is accurate from the rotation used in the second half of last year compared to what will be this years, so to your points...

Weigh and Evans were the backup forwards who I rate higher than Kuany who's never played and Walker who didn't have a contract until Perth found him a role off the scrap heap.

Heuir was the backup PG, Weeks played off the ball, so DKD would be the SG matchup, and I'd take the guy who's had a few big games rather than the shooting drill and warmup specialist DKD. I'll give you Kenny over Heuir.

Also now that Newbill wouldn't have come cheap, I wouldn't be pinning my hopes on a saviour at PG with the money that will be on offer.

Jawai improving his fitness (cough cough) or should we say health is a HUGE if, and if you're using that theory Loughton was old 3 years ago, we can't expect the same production in 18/19.

Finally I'm not comparing Evans to this years import because he didn't start, I'm comparing McCarron to that other import, and again I think the teams MVP from last season will be hard to top in that comparison.

Sorry Manu, wooden spoon looks likely to me, I can't see 2 other teams finishing below that uninspiring Taipans roster.

I guess the bookies agree with me.

Sydney Kings 3.00
Melbourne United 3.25
Perth Wildcats 5.50
Adelaide 36ers 7.50
New Zealand Breakers 7.50
Illawarra Hawks 11
Brisbane Bullets 11
Cairns Taipans 15

In a nutshell Jawai is the only high paid local and he never plays, the other locals would struggle to get a contract elsewhere. Then the imports combined are worth less $$$ than every other teams. Cairns will not only come last but probably win 4-5 less games than 7th.