Same starting 5 as last game for the Cats - i.e. Almansa & Okwera in the front court.

Martin starting instead of Harrell tonight.

DJ off the bench too.

Am worried about sixers. Overdue and they like beating the cats. Danger game. DJ off spell be shooting like now tomorrow.

36ers gonna double Cotton all game and just leave plenty of open shots for everyone else.

DJ wasting no time out there

DJ in one of his hot moments. Gotta ride it while he's in rhythm since it'll eventually fade out.

Get him looks ASAP before the Cats put the clamps on him lololol

Worst fears..

Good start by both sides, Sixers would be happiest after slow strart. Rasmussen has done well on Cotton so far.

Windler gonna get plenty of looks tonight.

Pathetic the amount of 2nd chances we give teams.

Sixers happy to keep leaving him open. Good on em.

Flop warning??? He had Montrez, going through him at the rim... lol nbl ref's really just have no idea. The whole world knows when a player actually flops, just not the nbl refs

Sixers defence isn't great as we know, but why does every team shoot the lights out here without fail?

Refs calling every thing for cats, Pinder being the main beneficiary.

Hate to say it but this looks over already

Sixers just don't box out, react quickly, to many ball watches. They also don’t D up properly, there three imports were being talked as best in the league, Davis been trying hard but the other two so inconsistent. Martin should have been put on plane and told come back fit, compare him to what Windler is doing. Sixers locals also should be told go and play nbl1 south and not that soft league where they star, Marshall has been so disappointing on both ends, Mayern as well. Cats just rolling but not certain this is a true test, hopefully it can change in second half. I do feel the 50-50 decision have gone all their way through.

Is the owner also an assistant coach?

What a rabble!

Standards?

Sirously thought was danger game for Cats. So wrong. Something not right in city of chirches. Would you think season is really on verge now. Roll on cats. Very impressive win.

Cats just rolling but not certain this is a true test

Yep, solid response by the Cats to that pathetic outing in Wollongong.
Pretty sad stuff from Adelaide though.

This is not upto my standards.

Cant believe we sacked ninnis for this, even cj bruton was better than this.

Montrez may as well be let go overseas, he has checked out,

i agree we should not have kept Martin after showing up injured and out of shape.

Another wasted season.

Is Donate Russo-Nance's 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal the best statline ever by a bloke playing 90 seconds of a game.

Sixers gone, team is rabble. Humphries, DJV, Dech good pieces, Davis should be kept, find some local that play and understand D, keep DJV away from any team selections. Find a coach from the fiba game who understands x and o. Season gone again for Sixers.

Perth certainly play finals, we will see how they go against better opponents but certainly look competitive.

Sack him immediately

At least got burgers..

Sack him immediately

I think your initial instinct was more on point. Can't judge a team's level when their opponent is as bad as the Sixers were tonight.

Couple of thoughts from the game;

The NBA centric 'pick & roll' or post Humpa/Montrz and space doesn't work in the NBL - the best teams have a system with multiple options.

The team is poorly constructed - the 'we're only going to play 7-8 each game' was foolish and illustrates a lack of understanding just how much depth is required in the NBL.

Poor, poor, poor body language - the commentary was pretty bad however some great points were raised re lack of huddle, talk on the floor, coaches sitting looking defeated and no Montrez in post game huddle (likely waiting in the changeroom to blast the team.....as has happened several times).

Club obviously putting a lot of stock in Keanu....what Dech is back who gets cut/dropped to enable Keanu to remain in the main team?

Weston and the rest of the lemmings sitting behind (and owner/other family sitting next) to the bench isn't the greatest of looks - let the three coaches work, talk, discuss, strategise without being crowded.

Horrible to watch
Body language looking defeated
It seems like so bloody long ago we were a decent team...

Fck off back to where u came from.

Sixers are an embarrassment to the state of SA. Zero heart, fight and resilience.
But here are the answers for a coaching crew who have no idea. Make a game plan..... and then do the exact opposite. You guys are way out of your depth, obviously.
The substitution pattern is bewildering, and I mean wildly mind boggling. You consistently play the wrong people at the wrong times and the best sub of all was taking DJ out just after he scored at the start of the last. Just when you needed someone to get rolling you pull him. His body language as he walked off said it all and rightfully so.
And Rasmussen on Cotton, seriously???
Clowns, the lot of you.

Absolutely woeful, Sixers, especially the last quarter.

Who are the on-court leaders for Sixers? DJV is too focussed on his own points. Humphries is too emotional and nice. Davis is too young and quiet. Harrell is just focussed on being entertaining and looking for someone else to blame. Martin ... yeah, nah.

They need a focussed and objective player like a Wagstaff or a Delly to organise them, and to give encouragement, compliments when they do well, and a real spray when they slack off.

Maybe then we'd see more effort and desperation and a more competitive team.

Cadee.asked before why he doesn't get more of a role.

Coach or Trez won't be around much longer, trez hasnt shown any poise since return from suspension,I was shocked to find DJV and trez on bench at start of match so something must have happened in last 24 hours .Trez doesn’t interact in team timeouts. Wells sat on bench much of the 4th and let that clown waving his arms around. 3 over 20 point losses shows there’s no unity in team .We won’t be playing in finals this year ,got Syd melb and Jackie’s in next 3 games .Very disappointed,first q was good after that too many subs and all our best was in the bench .
I think there be some big talk in next 72 hours .

Sad very sad indeed. Nothing changes that even indicates the coaching group has done any scouting on the opposition. Just keep playing awful man to man defence & then blame someone else when you haven't done the right thing.

I'm not sure what standards the GM set but he needs to have a good hard look at himself as well.

Don't see anything changing & who would want to come & play here or even stay here to play.

I haven't seen any individual improvements with the group, except Davis who's agent must now be looking to get him somewhere better than this train wreck.

It's all about the standards.

Wells out of his league. His reactions during games borders on at lost with team effort.

To quote Aunt Marge from the Harry Potter series, "If there is something wrong with the bitch, there is something wrong with the pup".

This team lacks any sort of character which is a reflection on the organisational culture at the moment and those running it. What we see on court matches what we see at the top: no responsibility, accountability, effort or positive decision making. The whole thing is clearly toxic and needs to be cleared out. The 36ers brand is just being tarnished now by the idiotic egotistical management/ownership group. They all need to go.

I was at the game and I must say I am in awe of the fans who keep turning up in great numbers each week hoping for something to change. Surely that can't continue with performances like tonight being the norm now.

I have never felt as disgusted about the 36ers as embarrassed for the fans as I did tonight.

Think season is nearly done. Need dramatic uplift. Cats reign supremely. Jesse the general. BC the marvel and windler and tinder. It's a complete template.still more soldiers to return.. feeling gd..march on Cats.

Extraordinary indictment on management and ownership that since the 36ers last qualified in 2017-18, even the "small market" teams, Cairns (twice) and Illawarra (five times, including this year), have played in the post-season.

It's almost a special kind of incompetence that you can take all that money, support, and history to just convert it into... nothing.

Long time reader, first time poster (that I can remember).

Trez has mentally checked out, he is gone. Playing not to get injured. But by doing so his NBA shot is also gone. Euroleague middling import is in his future. Would be surprised if he is picked up by an NBA team now. Time to hang up those 5-10k pairs of shoes?

What is the coach doing? That's a few games now he seems to be a bit lost. What was with the 2-3 zone? 36ers got torched when that was run. Not saying Scott would have been any better but the league seems to have figured this bloke out and he can't react.

36ers need a starting PG like a 120%+ Cadee to sort them out and run some not crap offense each play down the floor.

Humphries, mate I feel for you. Biggest victim of the Harrel signing. You're a quality big in this league, but in the absence of a secure role and regular known minutes you are floundering. Leave, go somewhere that can use your skills. Doesn't have to be NBL, cash in on the ex-NBA part of your resume and go fill it up somewhere while you can.

"What was with the 2-3 zone? 36ers got torched when that was run."

Are you talking about the zone later in the game? If you are Harrell actually called it because I believe he is too lazy to play defence. Wells shook his head at him but it was too late to change the call. Wildcats came down and made one pass to an open 3 which they splashed. Wells changed the defence straight after that.

Nic Barbato (Ninnis sacking press conference) :
'We felt...umm...putting together a great roster that we think can go a long way this season. Ummm... We just felt like the standards that we accept as an organisation to reset the basketball culture to get back to winning ways weren't quite there.'

Are you going to take responsibility for this shambles Nic? Or are you going to throw Weston under the bus?
Cos one of you is to blame, who is it??

It's both of them Pablo.

Karma.

Agree with Karma

@AaronBryans
Isaac Humphries incredibly raw on @abcsport after the 36ers 6th loss in 7 games. Alluding to a disconnect between the playing group and their coach. #NBL25
"No one knows their role."
"Is Mike Wells' message getting through and it's a playing group problem?"
"No"

"We're struggling right now," Humphries said on ABC Sport.

“You guys don’t see a lot of stuff that happens behind-the-scenes ... we need to be better for you guys out there, but it’s a collective from what happened during the week and it’s just a hard environment right now.”

https://nbl.com.au/news/cold-as-ice-humphries-delivers-scathing-review

So something happened during the week, Harrell now coming off of the bench and Humphries says he doesn't know what his role is nor does anyone on the team.

Looks like one of Wells or Harrell is probably gone, perhaps both. That clown GM Weston needs to admit he's not meeting standards and step down too.

What an absolute shitshow.

Mike Wells looked a bit defeated in his press conference too. What is going on here?

Signing Harrell was a mistake.

One embarrassment after the next fir the schmozzle of a club. All the while the owner perches himself next to the bench during the game and Carrie's on like a two bin watch. A fish rots from the head.

Ditto that signing Harrell was a mistake.
Clearly in the way of himself.
His attitude stinks and it's cancerous having him remain.
I think the whole organisation (including the ownership) needs a clean out.
Ninnis is quietly having a chuckle to himself right now.
Or feeling sad at how his club has become a rabble.

Wow Ice comments cut raw.and a what's with harrel disappearing off court straight away. Unless injure very poor team statement. All in buy in. Still stadium is packed and entertaining so sixer admin be happy. Any pr is good pr.. would you rather full stadium. The product is marketing well..

This garbage was worth alienating club legends for? Weston's "standards" are exactly what you could expect from someone who throws a club champion under the bus. No ability to read the room, no concept of club history, no idea. All self-serving bullshit and it's come home to roost. Worst run of 20+ losses in club history.
There's no reason this team shouldn't be highly competitive. They just need a game plan, defined roles and someone to hold them accountable on D.

Sixers have a lot going for them. Great stadium, supporter base, history, good basketball people to bring in and more accommodating media than some other markets. Need to make sure In this clean out no more throwing out the likes of Kell, Drimic, McVeigh, Creek etc. So, need to think long and hard about everyone on the roster particularly the young locals.

Funny how Weston disappeared from behind the bench in his assistant coach role towards the end of the game.... One of the issues is that if they move Wells on who steps in, as there isn't a real assistant there currently. Babrboro should piss off as well... I cant believe they sell out the games with this product.....

But Weston has NBA experience and international experience with olympics. Wow!

On the last Boti podcast, Brett Maher said that there was an incident at training the other week that caused Montrez to leave training half way through

It did not sound like he knew what the incident was, but he did say that he believes the roster construction has too many Alphas. Either too many guys who want be be in charge or too many guys who has been told that they are the leaders who need to take charge

Given Ice's comments alluding to poor role definition it sounds like the latter, too many guys have been told that they are in charge.

Harrell is a liability. He can't dominate the NBL without a system revolving around him because he’s limited offensively. He’s a talented player, but he just doesn’t understand how his actions brings the team down, and constantly claims to be misunderstood. It’s not all his fault, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this has lots to do with him. It hasn’t been worth the trade off, sadly.

Ballin Fan, no one should be in charge! We shouldn't have this egotistical "my team" mentality in the NBL you see in the NBA. I would guess that Harrell walks over everyone.

Another regrettable game to go to.

1. Adelaide can't defend, how you give up so many wide open shots is extraordinary. I guess this shows the sheer value of Dech.

2. They need to get Humphries into it early, he’s so much better when he’s on from the start. When he’s forcing it and starts missing the absolute bunny shots, you know Adelaide are in for a long night. It’s also a problem when he tries to avoid foul trouble because nobody is defending and he’s last line of defence. That results in him sitting on the bench for foul trouble.

3. Davis needs to get rid of the over dribble and play with intent - when he does that he’s so much more lethal.

4. I’m done with Trez, that was a horrific night and Martin isn’t up to it.

5. DJV has regressed, he was playing better when he was also doing playmaking.

6. Why so little of Cadee?

I’d love to see something like:

C Humphries/small minutes big
F lengthy defensive Import
F Cleveland/Mayern
G DJV/Dech
G Davis/Cadee

It's odd with Cadee too, cause when DJ was out he was listed as the Captain on the team sheet, then barely played?

Among the myriad issues that the club/team is experiencing, obviously something has soured behind the scenes, the roster construction is unbalanced. Martin and Harrell effectively duplicate eachother, and together with Humprhries you have players bumping into eachothers' space and role.

If Martin's money/spot was shifted toward a swingman, things would be looking much rosier. Imagine Windler on this team, for example.

They should be doing better with the roster regardless of the above, but unless Marshall/Dech/Mayen play out of their skins there is a huge deficit on the wing against... everyone, really.

Cadee is not your solution, how many teams has he played on that played finals, one if I'm correct with bullets under Lemanis. There is some good pieces there, they got get a coach that’s fair but hard, DJV is just a chucker now. Humphries is a great piece, Davis can be an mvp with right coach. Rasmussen has shown intent, Dech fine. The coaching spot and selection of imports needs urgent attention. Coaches, Weaver, Forde, Chance, Mackinon, last two probably deserve a chance but still a risk. Kelly would be a good assistant. It’s got start now, this season is done. I don’t know anything about the owner other than what is said on here, he’s certainly spending money, most owners do have a say, Smith brought the kings back from death and he certainly talked to all, he used to take players out to dinner before he signed them, get a feel of who is coming in. He does not sit next to bench but clearly has a view of bench from where he and the owners sit. The Nbl needs the Sixers, it’s time for a decent clean out but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

Cadee not the answer but sure can be part of the solution.. he is team me guy.. gel. Guy. Why not get his experienced arse on court. Martin is also under used. Could be anything but seems to be hesitant to step up. Need confidence boost.

Martin would be in the worst import of the season award, Cadee gives nothing for the future.

Yeah I'm not sure Cadee is the answer to anything. If he is we're screwed.

Not sure I should post this but went out for lunch with my family today and my brother who follows everyone on Twitter he said someone formerly involved with the Sixers said on there two things Harrell supposedly walked out on training during the week and supposedly an unamed player was involved in a punch up with Wells. Don't know if I can believe that second bit though.

I don't see Wells lasting to the end of the season - I think Weston will sacrifice Wells to save his own position.

Their season is basically over, so they have nothing much to lose by bringing in someone else.

I also heard about the punch up between a player and Wells at training a couple of weeks ago. It's been kept very quiet.

I'm dubious about a punch-up unless it was started by the coach. Otherwise, the player would be out of there in a flash. (in any organisation with a bit of respect and integrity, that is.)

But if the player was Harrell who is supposedly being paid by the NBL to be there? Sixers might not be allowed to release him if LK is paying the bill?

I just don't see Wells as the type, Joey Wright okay but not Wells but if that rumour is indeed out there on social media and Harrell now coming off the bench too. Wells might not be a great coach but trying to coach Harrell would be a nightmare, Craig Randall on steroids.

If we literally aren't allowed to release Harrell just give him a couple of minutes off the bench to entice him to walk.

Good thoughts, Zodiac

JT, that's a good point about the big man rotation. Adelaide had already invested in Humphries as there long term 5, but with Harrell now on board, they were suddenly forced to balance both. I wanted to see either one start with Martin instead. But this is also on Wells for not making it work. Martin, like Cadee, has not had a clear role.

If there was a physcial incident at training, chances are Harrell was the player in question. I think I saw on social media too something about Harrell calling a zone and Wells shaking his head at him.

All good points about the league interest in Harrell, and how this complicates his future.

Regarding Wells, I do feel for him though. Important to remember that Adelaide started off reasonably well and were playing an attractive style. I don't know what's going on but Adelaide just haven't recovered from the Melbourne incident. Also need to remember that Wells has signed a three year deal, and Adelaide are still paying how many coaches? Unless he resigns, I really can't see how they can replace another coach.

I was supportive of the Harrell signing at first, but also cautious about the negative. Those who saw it coming have been proven right. Who knows what will happen now? Still 10 games to go and no one knows what's going on...

It wasn't Harrell.

Posted to echo Eddie's comments. The fight wasn't Harrell and it's incredibly unfair to Trez to suggest it was him.

Well, you can't really blame people for playing a guessing game on a forum? Did not suggest it was him, simply said he'd be be my guess given the pattern of events. It wasn't a formal or offical declaration with a wide reaching audience, but thank you for pointing out it was not him and I apologise to Harrell.

I alluded to the fight the day it happened. It wasn't Trez. The team has locked down around that situation now.

Maher also said on the Boti Nagy pod that Trez had walked out at training. I had also been told this and that he is known to be last to arrive first to leave type of guy. Just grating guys now that he isnt pulling his weight in all areas. Wells is overwhelmed with how to handle the egos.

I admit I was starting to think if true it was probably Harrell. Good to know it wasn't but that just means it was someone else still there so two potential troublemakers. Not good. Even if we punt Harrell it's probably not going to change much then.

Not unreasonanle to guess Trez re the fight, if they dont want people to guess then just open up about who it was and what happened.

Yea, it seems Trez just needs to go, just let him take the next over seas offer he gets.

Contract or no contract I wouldnt keep Wells, hopefully we have learnt dont be so NBA obsessed. If we cant get the proven Gleeson, Buford, Weaver types, I would give Jacob Chance a go.

John Patrick who Josh King worked under for a few years in Germany and speaks highly of as a great defensive coach is someone I would also look into. I think he coached Cooks at Chiba last year too.

This is all a mess, and changes need to be made ASAP so it doesnt also flow into next season too.

How do people feel about Humphries comments?

John Patrick is defence first coach, has Justin Simon with him in Ludwigsburg, he certainly doesn't put up with any shit, it’s systems first. Some of Ludwigsburg supporters say it’s over defensive and some were calling for King to come back. Patrick is born in the US coached in Japan and Germany as well as playing there, speaks, English, German and Japanese, one smart Cookie, he rules the roost and makes changes during season if you are not performing, it’s easier to sack imports in Europe. Waardenburg played the back end of the season there three years ago and Cook was with him in Japan last season.

Q Anon, had it in my head the timelines of events involved the altercation and walkout happening together in the past week, and this explained the supposed tension between Wells and Harrell during the game. This is the only reason I guessed Harrell, and not because I want to blame him for everything.

Jonno, it might well be justified if Adelaide finish 9th, and Wells has failed to control the team, but how many coaches can Adelaide pay at once? Plus, how can they keep sacking coaches before someone else steps down?

KET, Humphries comments might be subject to more context when heard on audio. He said 'ahhhh' and then 'no'. To me this could have also been a dismissal of the suggestion/question as opposed to a direct no regarding Wells. Either way, clearly problems there and Wells also looked a bit defeated.

Wells should admit he's way out of his depth and go home. And KD should not be re-signed.

Master Chief valid points re paying multiple coaches, I guess I think it needs to be done regardless and will cost the club even more money in the long run if they don't.

John Patrick sounds like the first phone call I would make as to who replaces Wells, but yea who knows if he's interested or available. But I would certainly ask the question.

The Sixers need a defensive minded coach who is system first and wont take shit and sets the culture. I even thought of Aaron Fearne as a potential great option, but also no idea on his availability or interest, i believe he is coaching in the NCAA.

Why wouldn't Adelaide want to re-sign Davis?

Unless he has issues with Wells or is an ego problem, I don’t really see why they wouldn’t?

If we could get John Patrick, I would tell him to bring Justin Simon with him.

We need to get less big names and guys who seem to be good with culture and defend, etc like Justin Simon and Marcus Lee

I would be aiming for a team something like

Humphries/Marcus Lee/Gristi
? / Mayen
Justin Simon/Dech
Vasiljevic/Marshall
Kendric Davis or similar/Rasmussen

Starting PF I would be looking for a local stretch 4, best NBL options could be Majok Deng or Sam Waadenburg (appears Waadenburg will be a free agent, Deng not), or even look overseas to Brock Motum if not crazy expensive which he probably is. Adelaide kid in college Cameron Huefner could also potentially fill this role nicely.

Apparently Wells had a DP defend Harell and all hell broke loose from there.

I would like that team with Waadenburg and Simon

"With the Sixers' season in freefall following a third straight defeat, Crosscourt can reveal stat-stuffing import Kendric Davis and coach Mike Wells were involved in a heated exchange during the FIBA break.

Davis and Wells butted heads in an emotional outburst at training, the pair seen yelling at each other as tensions overflowed."

Ah Rightio, here we go again with a Sixers Sh*tshow.

Like fking clockwork.

KD will be in line for a very big payday at the end of the season and it might be best to save some of that coin and try and find another import PG who could provide similar at cheaper cost. It's not like KD's production has lead to wins.

I would like to see the Sixers try and get Isaac White to come home. He's a FA at the end of the season, would be an upgrade on Cadee and can step into the starting PG spot if between imports or something.

As much as I would like him to come back I can't see Dech re-signing. He's been jerked around too much and probably wants a break from the abject chaos of every 36ers season.

Heated exchange is one thing punching on with the coach is something else.

Davis and Wells have been tense with each other since the start, so no surprise it eventually boiled over.

I agree I don't see Dech returning but we need him badly he’s our only player capable of defence.

I’d be pissed at the 36ers for driving him out if that happens with their constant chaos.

It’s so hard to be a Sixers fan seriously, it’s like the club is designed to torture the people of Adelaide.

I did think after Harrell was ruled out KD probably likely. I couldn't see any of the locals doing something like that and Martin is way too easy-going and lackadaisical to be riled up to that degree by any coach I think.

A bit odd then that Weston wants to re-sign KD, perhaps he's picking him over the coach?

Jonno, but there is supposedly an association between Wells and Weston. I would guess that a Wells departure would mean a Weston departure too. I can foresee a Wells resignation if things do not improve. Why bother here any longer when you can probably get a cosy assistant job in the NBA paying more money? I do agree with you if things don't improve, but also feel moving on from Wells is a complicated decision.

How close did Adelaide actually get to signing Goorj or Gleeson?

For the hell of it off the top of my head.

Under contract: Vasiljevic, Humphries, Marshall, Griscti, Rigoni (team option)

FA's: Harrell, Davis, Martin, Dech, Mayen, Cadee, Kubank

I think all three DP's are out of contract too Rasmussen, D'Arcy, Ipassou.

Master Chief, happy for Weston to go too. Neither meets my standards.

But yes, I agree its complicated and prob doesnt happen

What im saying is what i would like to see done, and believe it would be better than this mess.

KD has shown he is an elite player in this league. Put the right pieces around him and a decent coach and you have a good team. I would argue the below would have been a playoff team and also would have been good to watch

Humphries
Galloway
Import 3 (eg. Cleveland)
DJV
KD

Backup import Big
Dech
Mayern
Cadee
Marshall

I was disappointed we let go of Galloway, his ability to space the floor at the PF spot worked well next to Humphries and he was showing good signs at the end of last season. Obviously also would have helped for some continuity with Ninnis being kept on as the coach. All a pipe dream now.

Unfortunately Weston and the other cronies wanted to go for big names and have ended up likely costing themselves a lot more concocting an unbalanced roster with a lacklustre coach and overall shitshow.

Didn't think the franchise could go lower than after the blowout loss to Tassie last year which lead to CJ’s sacking, I guess here we are though. The question I have is, how long will the fans keep turning up?

I don't think moving on from Wells would be that complicated. Probably would be after the season, too late to save this season now really, and he would likely walk straight back onto an NBA bench so no need to pay him out.

It would be a big blow to Weston's ego and credibility though given Wells was his hand picked choice and that he was willing to fire a favourite son in Ninnis to get his guy into the job asap. I don't think Weston would be able to stick around.

Sixers have the talent but the pieces and chemistry don't fit together.

Need to get defence/chemistry over talent.

Unfair to all blame on Wells.

Good old Sixers, every January it's another wasted year.
The whole Ninnis sacking was an absolute disgrace, especially when they had brought in Wells and made up crap as to why the change. That being said, prior to the Melbourne fiasco, on court things weren't too bad. The defence was terrible, but apart from Sunday is there any above average defenders amongst the main rotation? Add to that signing an injured and out of shape import to big bucks was stupid. Harrell as a replacement was a good idea, but that's what he should have been, a short term replacement. Some nice highlights, plenty of media attention but clearly thinks he's above the league and a couple of incidents before the Melbourne incident showed he wasn't in tune with the squad. So once Martin was back, in hindsight it obviously would have been better letting him go, but even at the time everyone was saying how big a coup it was, especially with no NBA out clause.
But back to Wells, who really knows what has been happening in the background every week? That's why a great assistant coach is valuable, someone the players can vent to and be a middle man and advise the coach who has no idea about the league and it's players some honest feedback. Again a poor performance from management not providing the correct resources. And based on Humphries interview, it's pretty clear there's no real defined roles out there. Who's the scorer in the backcourt, Davis has been excellent but DJ just seems to shoot whenever he wants. On the Kings he was able to be the 4th option, shoot on offensive rebound kickouts, and take an occasional bad shot. But for some reason he was announced the franchise player, allegedly having a say in things he shouldn't. Actually it's not really a surprise because who else would play for such a badly run franchise.
Humphries has been good at times, but again what is the game plan. Every broadcast it's the same thing, get the ball inside to him early to establish himself and get him confident. But with two ball dominant guards that never happens, why not tell him to concentrate on cleaning up the scraps and rebound everything in sight. You look at other bugs in the league. Harrison has clearly overtaken him, actually think Hunter would be better as with a few other locals. Humphries is very talented but also very weak mentally, do you really want that from your 7 foot centre that he constantly needs reassurance every game to play hard?
Martin in terms of financial return is just horrible, would have been better keeping Starling. Would have been better off bringing in a Prather type with some experience that would tell DJ to calm down, mentor Davis and if Harrell was there to stand up to him.
And I hope they finally move on from Marshall, the great local hope. He showed a lot of promise a few years back but failed to show any progress apart from a few buckets here and there. Hopefully it's not going to replicate itself with Rasmussen, has the rookie hustle but hardly a capable long term starter.
And what is Cadees role? At this stage hes a capable scoring backup PG, but is that what the team needs? Whoever he subs in for, Davis or DJ, the other is going to demand the ball. So JC is in and out, hardly ideal for the supposed main backup.
Dech battles through most games and look like he's the only one with a role, guard the oppositions best perimeter scorer. But with Mayen, he's the poster child for having no idea of what he's supposed to do out there.
But now the situation looks untenable, for Humphries to make those comments and rumours of physical altercations with Wells, plus the Harrell drama, what's good old Adelaides solution? There's no obvious Scotty interim coach that springs to mind this late in the season. And who would want to based on history. Someone like KB would be a good replacement in terms of link to the past but brings his own baggage. Rupert wouldn't take a pay cut unless his sons were promised starting roles. Hell, bring back Joey. It'll never happen but I'd say he'd be the only one that could clean up this mess, but then again he left in hardly ideal circumstances. But it's just something that Sixers management would do, they are really that bad.
Good old Adelaide, along with death and taxes, there's nothing guaranteed like them managing to stuff things up. Looking forward the the usual end of season review, usual suspects of Phil and co will come in but management will just do their own thing. Yet people will come into next season full of hope expecting things to change. Best thing would be to vote with their feet for the rest of this season and boycott the shit show.

It is complicated in the sense that from a club perspective, you realy have to flip a coin to decided which situation makes you more of basket case. Adelaide signed Ninnis, hired a GM to make better basketball decisions, who drove the sacking of Ninnis before the season started, and now the coach he replaced Ninnis with could justifiably be sacked for losing the team with ten games remaining. Like many agree, firing Wells should mean a Weston resignation. But then, what do Adelaide do from there? Kelly goes back to making decisions? The whole point of Weston was to make better basketball decisions. It shouldn't be complicated but I imagine it would be in reality. I am reserving proper judgement until the end of the season and until some understanding of what is really going on transpires. Lots of things could happen between now and then, but signs are not good.

Zodiac, I don't think Wells would agree with you after signing a three year deal and relocating across the world. I am sure he would expect to be paid out.

The third year is likely a team option so probably one guaranteed year and NBA pays a lot more than NBL. I doubt Wells would be willing to get into the trenches and fight the owner in court. Easier to just chalk it up to experience finally got a chance to be a HC and move onto greener pastures.

First and Foremost Matt Weston has to go. Sacking Ninnis when they did had huge risk if what happened was where we are now. Weston clearly did not rate Ninnis, poor standards was a BS excuse.
I do have some sympathy for Wells in the sense publicly at least he has handled himself well and looks a decent guy for mine.

That said how the team plays is on him and that's professional sport

Just a short while ago weren't they talking about locking up Harrel and KD to longer term deals?

They were with Davis, I imagine bringing his mum and sister down for Christmas may have been part of that. The only news about Harrell was teams in Europe were trying to grab him, but he was locked down in a deal with no out clauses so that went nowhere.

And Harrell's downturn in play pretty much began after the leak that Panathinaikos wanted to sign him.

Yea, Trez is clearly having a tantrum over that, I think they should have said give us 200-500k and you can exit your contract, at this point I would let him go for free to just get rid of him, I would rather lose with hard working, hungry local players than lose with his carry on.

Re the cost of getting rid of Wells, the complication is pretty much just a function of paying him out, like what would he be on 200-400k?

As others have said he may be happy just to go back to his NBA Assistant career anyway and it may not even cost us much at all.

Get a buy out of similar amount for Trez then problem solved.

I also reckon my suggested roster with lesser name imports is probably a few hundred k cheaper than the current roster, so you can also balance it out that way if needed, its not like we are winning with these expensive rosters, it might force us to be smarter with selections and not just follow NBA names as coach or players.

I love KD and think hes an elite player, but if hes an attitude problem, fighting coaches, etc, its prob best to move on,

with selections next year I think we need to prioritise defence and culture, get a group of hard working players, without the drama bull shit that the fans can get behind and respect.

Building a healthy culture is an accumulation of small things done every day, like stopping the nonsense of the owner and GM sitting adjacent to the bench. What exactly is their role supposed to be? This sort of thing just marks the club out as weird.

It's hard to figure out because we don’t know how bad things are.

Is a Davis-Wells relationship ok/repairable?
Is a Humphries-Wells relationship ok/repairable?

What’s DJVs relationship with people in all this?

A best case scenario is probably Wells adjusts and finds a way to get Humphries into form by focussing on him early, Dech returns to make us of a disaster defensively, DJV goes back to doing more than just chucking the ball up playing as a second ball handler to Davis and Davis focuses on defense which he’s actually decent at when he wants to be and avoiding the over dribble by playing with intent - drive and dish or shoot.

If that happens then at least we could be medium termist and do as suggested above something like:

C Humphries/Griscti
F Pardon type or Waadenburg/Mayern/Rigoni
F Simon type/Marshall
G DJV/Dech
G Davis/Rasmussen

I feel like you get continuity but become more defensive oriented. When you have Davis and DJV and a rolling in form Humphries, you get plenty of scoring as it is. There’s only so many shots to go around. Plus if Dech can shoot the 3 at a decent clip that can help create space.

In this instance depth wise, I’m still placing a lot of faith in Davis with his PG skills but at the same time we want to see DJV return to more PG stuff as well because he has actually been pretty effective with it and probably helps his three point shot because he can get in form other ways than just chucking up shots hoping for the best.

Less of a disaster defensively*

Sixers should also get a next star with realistic role/expectations to help depth wise.

Imagine Lewis with the above depth chart.

No way a trio of Humphries, Pardon and Simon would work on the offensive end. Simply not enough spacing. Waardenburg or similar would be a much better fit. Add a next star role player as Basket91 suggested would greatly enhance their depth as well.

Just not sure if DJV can ever be second wheel on a contender but he probably thinks differently.

The main thing is finding a coach who can integrate the team into a coordinated defensive system. This is possible even when you don't have a team of defensive studs when you have good scouting and systems in place as long as the players have the IQ to follow the rules.

Look at how King has improved SEM in that area despite a few of their personnel lacking individually in defense. Similarly with the Hawks. Of course, Tassie is the poster child of great team D. You need to be confident that when you commit to the rules and your player breaks you down the rest of your team and rotations will have your back.

On the other hand you have Adelaide and Perth who have to have great scoring nights and/or their opponents missing so many open looks to get a W.

Adelaide were just awful at that end last game. I doubt Windler has ever had so many wide open looks in his career. Looks that were not created by anything other that putrid defensive effort on most occasions.

X's and O's are just as important at both ends.

If they get thumped tonight against Sydney then a head will roll.

I think so too with a break in schedule next game Saturday at home. A flogging tonight and something will have to happen.

I just can't see who or how? Weston sacks himself? The Serbian assistant takes over? (I forget his name and mean no disrespect to him).

Wells being fired or Harrell released. Ideally I would prefer to see Harrell punted to see what Wells could do with this group without Harrell's nonsense but if true the NBL are paying most/all of Harrell's salary I doubt Harrell will be released no matter how much he dogs it, too valuable to the NBL.

Weston won't fire himself so if someone needs to be sacrificed to make it look like they haven't given up on the season I think Wells firing most likely. Honestly I don't think it would bother him too much either.

As usual, fan since the old snakepit, on the money, you need good defenders but as King has shown at SEM, good team D can cover for players that D is secondary but score a lot.

Waardenburg stayed at Cairns because he probably got paid overs, I'm not certain he’s the answer. Pardon is a five man. Dech is a starter, like Swani Lo Bo is at hawks, even Goorj has started Leafa while Kuol is out. You need these guys to set the tone. Successful coaches around the world work on defensive strategies first, not only the nbl, Vickerman, Roth, Goorj, points flow from good D.

I think it's possible Harrell leaves before the end of the season, but I think Wells will see it out, and Adelaide will review the season from there. Wells might be fed up too. Still 10 games to go, and who could possible take over?

Anyone who cares, the object is to sell to the members and fans that you haven't given up on the season. If they stay put the rest of the season, and keep getting flogged, crowds will decline hurting the bottom line and that would likely flow on to next season in effecting membership sales, merch and of course sponsors.

If this shitshow continues not doing anything the rest of the season would be disastrous.

Assuming Wells won't be back next season one coach I would like to see the Sixers go after is Adam Forde. He's out of contract at the end of the season and a bit of talk around the Taipans might not be interested in bringing him back.

He gets buy in from his players to play hard and respectable defence from them even if they're lacking in the talent department. Plus being from Perth he might appreciate being a lot closer to home.

Would like to see what Forde could do with a bigger budget. Got 5th at Sydney during covid year with a ton of injuries and Cairns have been competitive bar this season.

I keep forgetting Forde had that season in Sydney and did well with a horrid injury situation? DJ played under him too? I would like to see Forde too, and I don't want the league to be taken over by foreign coaches.

Zodiac, it’s not that I disagree with you, I just can’t see it happening for that reason alone. Plus, Adelaide fans have put up with lots over the past few seasons and still turn up. If it happens, I think it will be stage managed as mutual or a Wells resignation. I don’t think Weston is going to sack Wells before the end.

Agree, Mc. It will be heavily stage-managed to avoid losing sponsors (or pissing off fans, not that they matter as much).

Wouldn't mind this next year for Sixers
Humphries/back up next star big/Griscti
Import (Doolittle type player)/Mayen
Import SF/Marshall
Vasiljevic/Dech
Import PG (Davis or Kell)/Cadee (culture/leadership)/Rasmussen

If you get a couple of spots and balance right it doesn’t take much to turn it around.

Forde kings beat United three games from the season end in double OT, I was there, united went on to the championship and kings missed out on percentages, they were equal fourth. Kings had to win back to back game in nz and lost the first one to play finals. Im going on memory on details but they were a bit unlucky. Bruce had a big game for the kings but moller got indigenous award, I think he had 10 and 12 and was massive on the boards, it was a cracking game.
I mentioned Forde previously with a few other coaches, would Wells be happy to be an assistant again or has that train left the station. Forde won't put up with management telling him what to do. Kings actually offered him an extension but it was for only a season and he took the Cairns job.

Need to follow perth model. Get in local aussie coach who knows the system. Get your Aussie base of players and build around key import. Then stick true.

Under this current owner across multiple coaches
we seemed to have been targeting score first dribble forever point guards who are rumoured [not always confirmed] to have created culture issues behind the scenes.
Maybe its the owner's want list
rather than successive coaches picking the wrong player/s?

Goorj definitely and possibly Forde also
would not work with a point guard who kept the ball for most of a possession so many times.

It was clear though that Wells and Kendric have been working on getting other players involved early in the game. Kedric had what only four points until the half, and clearly was doing his best to get others set up, but its not his natural skill set and its very late in the season to go with this new approach. But at least there is effort and some application into getting the point guard approach right.

Is it possible we are seeing Davis overdribble because of the over complicated sets and general over coaching?

If he's forced to do specific things and wait for specific cuts to happen or players to get themselves available, it’s hard to put the blame on him.

Especially when we have seen many many times where he has played with the kind of intent we are hoping to see more of. It’s not like we have seen a refusal or inability.

Yes Ket for sure it is completely possible.

It just seems to me we have had a succession of these types now [with Trey Kel being the massive exception ] so i am just suggesting it may not be the players or coaches fault entirely, its just too far much of an unlikely coincidence.

To me was it in the last quarter when Harrell was not getting any touches let alone a single touch i recall, [or was it the third quarter he did not touch the ball at all] we as fans why arn't we talking about how this could even happen? was the game commentary talking about how bizarre this was? Instead everyone is highlighting the fact that he missed a huddle, but why was that? where is that conversation?
he walked out on a training, why was that?
sure both symptoms are bad, and we can only guess the causes,
BUT we have seen this before with other import PGs and PFs before....

so yes Ket its entirely possible, i am just suggesting our recruiting targets [which DO definitely restrict our coaching recruiting options] may be partly to blame also.

We can talk about the offence, but even when that was working well early on this team had no chance of overall success because it didn't know how to defend. Biggest fix has to be at that end.

What possible local coach would want to come to Adelaide??? Joey goes amongst tension with players and management. In comes Conner Henry, didn't do a great job but in one of the worst cases of mismanagement gets fired after quarantining. Apparently mainly due to disagreement with management. If there was someone lined up they pulled out so in comes CJ Bruton, totally out of his depth. After a couple of years of incompetence he walks or is pushed, nice guy but a puppet. Scotty takes over, does what management wants by benching players and giving others minutes so is rewarded with the job. In another unbelievable move, he's sacked preseason and replaced by Wells who was obviously brought in to do the job anyway. Now we have Wells in the middle of a players revolt that's really in an untenable position. But if he walks, who's taking over, Murray the magpie. Because there's simply no-one else on that bench and no-one in the country that would take that poisoned chalice.
So no Australian coach would take it no matter how big the pay cheque is. And any overseas coach would look at the situation and definitely think twice unless they're desperate, in which case we get a second rate coach yet again.
Even if Forde is let go he'd be nuts to take the job. He could simply take his time and wait for another job to open up, because coaching the 36ers is undoubtedly the worst organisation to work for.
I've been saying it for years, fans need to vote with their feet. Maybe not fair on the players, but management see sellouts and will continue to do what they do.
I really can't think of any other way the team could be sabotaged, it's beyond belief how they've found a way to screw coaches, whether they're good or not. And player personnel is a joke as well. But that all leads back to having to overpay to come to a basket case of a franchise.

Davis is a gun, needs a quality coach and he's mvp level player. With out paying overs totally he should be kept.