Olgun Uluc has also confirmed this by his tweet

https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1130703589326741504

How would they handle the minutes between AJ and Boone?

20 each?

Both are at the tail end of their careers but still capable of starting minutes.

They're going to have Boone, AJ and Anderson. That's a pretty good frontline. You'd expect Perth must be picking up Cam Bairstow now looking at the spots left.

#weflyasone

Boone - Ogilvy
Import - Froling
Blanch - Coneradd
Import - Grida/Dech
Naar - Glover

If they add an athletic 4 man who's a tad too small for the position in Europe, and an experienced combo guard who can play on and off the ball, they actually look decent. Problem is after paying Boone they may only be able to afford a Jerry Evans/Jordair Jett type combo in those spots, which changes everything. And if Anderson does actually return to fill the other big spot, you'd hope the combo guard import is top notch.

After summer league Wildcats will be signing Shawn Long. Shawn told the Wildcats he wants to try out in the summer league but if that NBA dream falls through the clouds he'll sign with the Wildcats on a 2 year deal with an NBA out clause.

You've got no idea Melbourne Boy

Boone's been a very good player in the NBL

I'm a little surprised at the signing, but I guess he likes Australia and the league. You'd have to assume, being the Hawks, that this isn't a big budget deal, in which case its a great signing.

Pairing him and AJ seems a bit of overkill, but only a bit. Hopefully this combo can carry them for a couple of years.

Let's face it he's signed with the Hawks because none of the bigger teams want him at whatever he thinks he's still worth. The fact is last season showed he is cooked and that's why the battling Hawks have him. Good luck to Boone and Hawks all the same.

What in particular do you disagree with Rowdy? My expected Hawks rotation or my budget import comments?

Sam Froling should benefit from playing with Boone, Andersen and Oglivy.
A sizeable quartet it reminds me of Melbourne Tigers having Nevill, Heliwell, Tragardh and Burston.

At this point AJ is a reserve 5, so I don't think it's overkill at all. Hopefully his new deal reflects that, $$$ wise. Good signing I think, but really going to need a scorer with that 2nd import spot. I think they should look at a swingman for that 2nd bigger $$$ import and maybe bring back Jett as 3rd import.

I love AJ and if this gives him the incentive to play hard and use up his 5 fouls knowing that Boone is on the bench waiting to return then we could really see his personal pride come to the fore.

I know that I've suggested that I'd be ecstatic to see what Rotnei could do with the improved league and signing a great rebounder in Boone makes me think that Rotnei would let quite a few fly if he does indeed get signed. What would his asking price be at this point in his career, surely Rotnei wouldn't be a budget import yet.

Any chance that Conklin returns?

If Andersen returns then they only have one slot open. Maybe they start Grida and go for a primo PG.

Both MB, they'll have a scoring G come in current one on the rumour mill looks great, as well as Andersen being re-signed. I think Boone would of cost a bit but not as much as some people think.

Great to see Boone remaining in the NBL

Andersen return doesn't make sense if they now have Boone and Ogilvy. You wouldn't play Andersen at the 4 these days.

So you don't actually disagree with me, maybe just didn't pick up my scepticism about their financial position. You seem informed though so on a serious note, give me your potential rotation, interested to see now that the roster is nearly complete.

"A sizeable quartet it reminds me of Melbourne Tigers having Nevill, Heliwell, Tragardh and Burston."

LOL. We all know how that went.

I guess reality is you have a new coach, with new ideas, new preferences, and none of the allegiances.

But also, have not seen anything official on this yet???

Personally, if you were already stuck with AJ, and with AndersEn playing well off the bench, then signing Froling, Boone would not have been a priority.

Still, it adds fuel to rumour I've heard about Andersen signing elsewhere.

It didn't go well for the Tigers.

I think Andersen will end up elsewhere anyway.

The Long to Perth rumour still flickering while his signing with United yet to be announced.

A sizeable quartet it reminds me of Melbourne Tigers having Nevill, Heliwell, Tragardh and Burston.

Long to United *has* already been announced, hasn't it?

Don't forget Gleeson as coach who ultimately got sacked. What a McPeake shitshow that team was.

Anon, I think you will find that's because Boone plays through his injuries. He never missed a game in his 2.5 years with Melbourne.

Boone did this great interview with Liam earlier this month before he signed with the Hawks:

How does your body feel?

Great. In fact, despite what anybody wants to say or think, I haven't missed a single game in my NBL career. Not one. I've played all 80-or-so games of my NBL career, however many it’s been. I have never missed one.

I’ve had to leave a couple of games early with injuries but never actually flat out missed a game. I don’t think there are too many people who could say that in the league, who have played that number of games.

That’s interesting as there is definitely a perception that you’ve been banged up.

Yeah, that’s because I’m a guy who even if I get hurt I will still play. I’ve played through injuries my whole career.

Most basketball players, most athletes, play through injuries and I’ve played through some very serious ones. I think my time in China really helped me do that because I essentially played on one leg in China for about eight or nine games because they wouldn’t let me sit out. A lot of places in Europe, they don’t let you sit. That is the whole reason why I ended up having to leave Turkey in the beginning, because my shoulder was injured and they wouldn’t give me time off. They just decided to bring someone else in instead of giving me two weeks off which was all I needed.

Okay but why would you carry that approach into the NBL with Melbourne United who are a club who clearly don’t operate like that?

No you’re right, they don’t. They are very well run in that sense. They had a great training staff, a great support staff who would never force a player to play. If anything they would always err on the side of caution. There were several practices that I was forced to sit out of last season instead of practicing. Of course, practice is practice, games are a different story.

In my view there was just never an injury that came up in the last couple of years that was something I couldn’t play through. There have been a couple of times where I literally had to go out in warm ups to see if I could do it, but I was still able to do it. I’m just not going to sit out unless I legitimately cannot play.

Sadly the perseverance to play every game is why he is cooked now.

Intelligence guy, but I don't think he will gracefully work his way down the rotation to allow his body to play smaller minutes to keep the second unit competitive.

Best example I can think of is Dennis Lille. He could have been the leading medium pace bowler as he matured, but he pushed his body to continue as a pace spearhead. This shortened his career.

Intelligent guy.

Another auto cowreck effort.

Anon

Lille had great control, line, movement off seam, swing. Occasional effort ball would surprise with pace.

What more could you ask for in a medium pace bowler?

This a Ronnie Corbett skit? Started with Boone. Lillie is just a f'rinstance. Can we stick with Boone? (Lillie was good though, wasn't he?).

Ewww stickball!

Ok. I'll stick to Boone.

He was clearly the best centre his first couple of seasons in NBL. Other teams recruited to counter this. Boone started to lose his edge. He is now no longer the best centre. If he accepts this, and scores a reduced role, it will prolong his career. But a reduced role will result in less money. Between Jawai and Boone, any team would compete really well up front, but would any team take the risk? AJ should be more physically reliable and serviceable that Boone, but what about his effort?

Boone is an import. he can't work his way down the order unless he becomes naturalised or a tea wants to burn an import slot. He's also unlikely to hang around playing for pizza money, unless he's made his home here.

Lillee WAS a first-change Medium pacer by the time he retired. He was also 35, which was old for a Test Cricketer in the 80's.