Mr Skywalker!!

That's Australian Boomer Lucas Walker to you

At 34 nearly 35 he will fit in well with Bogut ( same age), Kickert 36, Lisch 33, Newley 34.

Keeping a spare import spot available is a smart move too.

Sigh... well, in all honesty, I'd prefer that he start over Kicks, but they're putting a lot of faith in Bogues staying healthy and the new kid and Kickert to match up for maybe 20mpg at the 5 this season...

Nothing against Waxy, he works hard even when he's not always getting results, and that's more than I can say about Kickert, but the last couple of signings haven't made a whole load of sense to me...

Ahhh, the NBL, where your never too old, too far past your prime, just plain over the hill...

Melbourne United/Tigers - check
Adelaide - check
Brisbane - pre season - check
Perth - check
Cairns - check
Sydney - check

All he needs now is to get his tour card stamped by the Breakers, SE Melbourne and Wollongong so he can make a play for the Hobart team

Good on him happy for Waxy wasn't a fan of him on the 36ers but it would've been a bit sad to see his career finish 'early' whilst he's still athletic and a decent contributor.

This Kings team will run out of puff down the stretch too many oldies being relied upon.

LOL, WTF?
I thought this was joke!

I guess its pretty simple, they're STILL paying way too much for Kickert.

So their 5-4-5 is:
Hunter
Bruce
Moller
Kuany
Walker

There's a few interesting lineups this season, and it will be interesting to see how they actually take to the court.
The Cats won a ship with one guard on the bench and Hire backing up the 2, so not every bench has to mirror the starting line-up. Especially when it comes to locals, sometimes you make do with what you can get.

I still find the selection of Tate to be curious.

Remains to be seen how good Hunter is. Cos yes, they are betting a lot on Bogut staying healthy and playing big minutes, Hunter backing him up, and Kickert starting at the 4

Great to have Lucas Walker & Finn Delany in the league!

The Kings said sometime ago that they were starting the season with 2 imports and may sign a third one during the season, that Tate will be their starting PF and that Kickert will be their back up centre this season.

I don't think he went to Cairns for more money pretty sure Perth told him he was no longer required.

The Kings said sometime ago that they were starting the season with 2 imports and may sign a third one during the season, that Tate will be their starting PF and that Kickert will be their back up centre this season.

Just curious, how many crack pipes HAD they smoked when they said that?

Most of their guards are bigger than Tate.
We're not talking about a guy who is an inch or two under, he's 6'4", and will be up against guys who are 6'9.
And their problem is Bogut aint very quick, so if they're relying on Tate to get back on D, they will get hammered.

I can only assume that when Weaver was told Bogut won not only the MVP but DPOTY, he assumed our league was full of physically challenged midgets.

"What do they do against teams like Adelaide who can start two 6'11" perimeter shooters?"

Hope they can score 130 and win 130-120

@Zodiac - if you've got where they said this handy, I would love to save it off and throw it at them when things go tits up... Actually, anything tits is good... when things go testicles up... I haven't read every single thing from them, maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen them state that, I would have assumed that they'd be super cagey about it just so they can make excuses down the track...

Re-signing Kickert was the first sign that they're fucked... Barely 9ppg and from memory at a much reduced clip than what he was known for... Has been on a serious decline and lacking any heart muscle most of his career, but last season was a huge dive and he was one of the first ones re-signed? Nope... Casper was a great get, and to re-sign Lisch, even Newls (at I hope a reduced price) but the re-signing of Kickert, especially so early, was a huge black mark on the new management and it will come back to bite them in the arse...

Kickert/Moller/Waxy is HARDLY having the PF spot covered, especially when you have who to back up Bogut for at LEAST 15mpg? Certainly not _aniel Kickert...

"The kings obviously don't have the money anymore that JVG stint had"
ROFL
Violet Crumble fans making (nonsense) excuses already.
Kings still easily the highest spending team.

Bogut - Highest paid player in the history of the NBL - by a long way.
Ware - Probably 2nd highest. - Lured from MU even after they made biggest offer in history.
Lynch & Newley - Still on very good coin
Kickert - Obviously still being paid too much
Tate - Would not be cheap
Moller - Lured away from MU.

"Re-signing Kickert was the first sign that they're fucked."

Yes, word of wisdom from the WookieE

As I said right from the start, the issue is the bench-cap (aka "5 for 5")
If they've paid Kickert too much to squeeze him into the cap, then that meant their last player had to fit, and be a cheap option.
That's exactly what happened. ie Walker.

People rubbishing Tate need to remember that he's still young, and has had only one professional gig out of college. He has huge upside.
Weaver would have had an eye on him for years. He COULD turn out to be yet another great import SF.

It will be interesting to see how Weaver actually manages this roster.
On paper it seems very thin at the 4 spot, especially if Kickert has to switch to the 5. Perhaps he sees Tate coming off the bench to dominate other bench 4's with his speed & athleticism.

I think this just appears especially weird, because so many of us said from the outset that Sydney needed a gun import PF. But have to assume Weaver has a plan, and just can't wait to see what it is.

Any coach is an upgrade over gaze. Kings will contend this season just on that one change.

Also David Wear leaving is a godsend

"Kickett would be on not much, minimum"

{cough} Bullshit {cough}
For the umpteenth time; the fact that they had to sign Walker, indicates they already had 6 players who couldn't possibly be squeezed into the cap. Kickert is the only logical result.

"Lisch and Newley on reduced wages as they have settled in Sydney and have young families."

Yeah, cos that's how it works. Good players would never leave for more money, and raising kids in the most expensive city in Australia is the perfect reason for taking a massive pay-cut.

"Ware would still be on less than what Kennedy was earning at Melbourne last season."

Ok, I can see that neither Math nor Logic is your strong-suit, but try and follow me here:
Kennedy played for Melbourne.
Ware was given the biggest offer in Melbourne's history.
Ergo, Ware was offered more than Kennedy.
Sydney offered Ware even more money. From which I think we can safely assume he's getting a lot.

"Moller went to Sydney to get more time as Melbourne are always stacked"

Yes, cos its not like any of these guys are professional athletes. They all play for love and minimum wage.

"Both Perth and Melbourne have spent more than Sydney"

ROFROFL. Sure, you keep telling yourself that.

"don't forget Bogut salary is part shares"

Bogut is getting over $1M per season.

Dazz you sure seem interested in what Sydney are spending.
Chill man.

Crivelli and his lies being exposed certainly helped us with Utd being poor at season's end. Crivelli, Troy, JvG... NBL GMs lol.

Thanks for the review, anon... I've got no doubt that Walker will be a competent backup, (& it's good to hear that Jordan was hitting the boards well) but it's still lacking that starting quality big... Hopefully Tate will find his feet, but he's going to be up against it with his spot pretty crowded and really doubt his ability to play the 4 in the NBL if that's what they were thinking...