Changes the dynamic for SEM a bit.

Looking like
Browne/Adnam
Kell/Madut
Broekhoff/Te Rangi
Creek/Anticevich
Qi/Williams/Pineau

Mustn't have much faith in Pineau

Wowee

Big for Phoenix, big for the NBL

I hope he plays better this season and Mitchell actually runs the ball through him. Last season he went extended periods as a screening cone in the offence, never seeing the ball.

Big signing, literally and metaphorically. That's a helluva 5 man rotation

Great now United have to play Phoenix 4 times. I find the nbl fixtures really strange. Get rid of this extra game against your so called rival.

Wish nbl could turn the Blitz into the Cup so it could be a legit tournament rather then pre-season.

I don't see an issue with an extra game vs rival, and I think 36ers’ rival is Perth, the most successful side in NBL history. If you want to compete for a title, beat your rival.

Point of the blitz is mainly to be a preseason hit out that doesn’t count. If they turned it into something that counts, it’s no longer a pre-season hit out.

They could try to introduce an FA Cup style type of thing where it sort of counts a little more but also really doesn’t count.

Great signing. Was effective last year until Broekhoff got injured, then Phoenix changed their defence and asked Qi to do things he wasn't capable of. Hopefully they have learned that lesson, and hopefully Ryan gets a full season in!

Yeah, if Qi and the other Phoenix can stay healthy this is a much stronger looking squad, and a top 4 contender.

This does illustrate pointlessness of pre season predictions too

Had United 5th, SEM 6th. Now SEM jumps at least one spot, maybe more

Still ultimately their championship credentials will hinge on Browne and Kell

I had SEM 8th I would be willing to put them up to 5th now. He's a big inclusion and if used better by Mitchell and keeps out of foul trouble he could dominate.

He has no problem tearing it up in China against better big men than we have in the NBL and internationally with their national team too, it's on Mitchell to do better. I don't really rate him as a coach, neither do the front office really only re-signing him for one year but he can't bugger up this coup again.

I suspected SEM had something brewing all off-season there was a report earlier that Zhou Qi was going to re-sign even though he declined to pick up his option at the end of last season and the team had left a spot open on their roster all off-season. Smith-Milner will be back but as a nominal replacement player now.

There was just no way they could seriously expect to do well with the roster they had meaning Williams who is unfit enough as it is would have to play as an undersized centre, would get exposed and likely need to be replaced. Pineau is no starter either. It just didn't make sense but with Zhou Qi back it straightens them right up and makes them a likely playoff team and outside chance as a title contender. If Mitchell uses him correctly this time and he gets a little better run of it from our shitty refs they could be right up there.

I think this unfashionably late re-signing may have been financially motivated too because Zhou Qi won't make his debut until Round 4 despite being a free agent as he has been all off-season too so likely SEM didn't have the funds to pay him for a full season including training camp/pre-season and that's probably why the signing has been announced this late and to reassure their fans on the eve of the season rather than announcing it three weeks in.

I remember the Sixers did something a bit similar with Josh Childress, they couldn't afford to sign him for a whole season so waited until mid-season to sign him.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Broekhoff playing a 6th man role either, with Qi-Williams-Creek starting at the 5-3 spots.

I don't know I think they need Broekhoff or some sort of outside threat out there to open things up inside, Zhou Qi and Williams are inside players and Creek's not really a big enough outside threat.

He's a bust. Can't defend, can't even hide him in a zone. Another bad signing.

Well he certainly wants to be better than last season.