Questions hang over Cairns ahead of free-agency period
It is time for NBL clubs to get busy with the start of the official free agency period on Wednesday. The Cairns Post has broken down a few key points the Snakes will consider through the free-agency period.
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It is time for NBL clubs to get busy with the start of the official free agency period today.
Many clubs have been snapping up players over the past weeks and months, but the official free-for-all starts this morning as clubs chase the 2020-21 championship.
Cairns Post basketball writer Jordan Gerrans has broken down a few key points Cairns will consider through the free-agency period.
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ALREADY LOCKED IN:
Entering free-agency, the FNQ team already has a solid number of guys secured already: Scott Machado, Mojave King, Majok Deng, Mirko Djeric, Fabijan Krslovic and Kouat Noi.
Reigning club MVP Machado has not been confirmed by the club that he is coming back for another campaign in Cairns, but respected basketball website Sportando reported the Taipans had agreed to a two-year contract extension with Machado.
That is good enough for me to say Machado will be back.
With the already retained crew, coach Mike Kelly has a starting point guard and two starting forwards in Deng and Noi.
So, heading into free-agency, he needs a starting off-guard and a centre.
Following Djeric’s solid play last year, Kelly may look to promote him to starter, a job he did well last season when Noi was hurt.
But, you would imagine another top-level two man will be brought in and Djeric will remain with the reserves and play the role of being first off the bench.
Noi is signed for now, but could be headed to the US, depending on how he goes in the NBA draft.
With a lean free-agency market for locals this season, Noi heading to the NBA would be great for him personally, but would leave a large hole in Cairns’ front court.
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WHAT ABOUT THE INCUMBENTS?
Back-up guard Jarrod Kenny, co-captains Nate Jawai and DJ Newbill, all NBL second team member Cameron Oliver and bench pair Anthony Fisher and George Blagojevic are yet to lock in new contracts after being on the team that took the club to the finals.
Jawai has remained in FNQ working out with teammates and club staff, leading towards thinking that a return for the big centre would be some kind of chance.
In the off-season, Oliver has been playing with Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. That deal should not prevent him from returning to Cairns if he wants, too.
There is every chance Oliver will get some NBA love, too, when their next campaign gets going.
Kenny is playing in the NZ NBL, while Newbill was in The Basketball Tournament in the USA recently.
Fisher and Blagojevic did not get huge minutes in their rookie campaigns.
WHICH IMPORT DO YOU CHOOSE?
With the NBL dropping the import slots from three to two, all clubs have a tough decision to make.
For many years the NBL only permitted two Americans on each squad, but made the move to three about four years ago, which sadly led to the Snakes punting fan favourite Cameron Tragardh for centre Nnanna Egwu.
We are going with the information that Machado is locked in, so Cairns can fit in one more import.
If Newbill and Oliver are both keen to come back (let’s assume that in a perfect world), well then, Kelly has a very tough choice to make.
Imposing big man Oliver’s potential is out of this world after he took the NBL by storm last year.
On the other hand, shooting guard Newbill stuck with the club through the tough times and decided to come back after a wooden spoon season.
They are both positions of need, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
It was reported earlier in the off-season that the club and Oliver’s management were not talking about a new deal, but that could have changed in the months since.
WHAT IS NEEDED?
The biggest requirements are four things: starting two man, a starting centre, a back-up five and a solid reserve to play behind Machado.
With Oliver and Newbill not locked in and following on from their outstanding play on both ends of the floor last season, I think there could be some alarm bells ringing in FNQ.
Yes, you would always take Oliver and Newbill when you can get them, but there should be some serious growth from Noi and Deng if the two big-name Americans cannot be retained.
Noi missed a heap of last season through injury and he and Deng still have plenty of upside to grow into and can pick up the slack of Oliver and Newbill, if Cairns needs to go another direction, for whatever reason.
But, the first priority will be securing one of Oliver and Newbill.
WHAT IS OUT THERE?
Melbourne United captain Chris Goulding, who won the 2018 NBL grand final MVP, headlines the free agency list that also includes Anthony Drmic (Adelaide 36ers), Harry Froling (Adelaide 36ers), Cameron Gliddon (Brisbane Bullets) and Todd Blanchfield (the Hawks).
Gliddon (SEM Phoenix) and Froling and Drmic (Brisbane) will come from this list pretty quickly with their new deals elsewhere already reported.
Goulding may be a little out of Cairns’ price range but Blanchfield, an NQ product, would be a handy inclusion — pending on Newbill’s availability.
Blanchfield has also been linked to Perth.
Experienced guys such as David Barlow, Tohi Smith-Milner, Alex Pledger and AJ Ogilvy are also on the market.
THE NEXT STAR
This program has been around for a few years now and, while we have seen flashes of brilliance, the youngsters who have come into the NBL have rarely led to consistent winning for their team.
LaMelo Ball was fun while it lasted but Illawarra were a bad team, New Zealand were better when RJ Hampton was resting or hurt and Terry Armstrong was superglued to Phoenix’s bench.
At this stage there is only two Next Stars in the NBL: Mojave King in Cairns and Josh Giddey in Adelaide.
With every club losing an import and roster spot in 2020-21, having a Next Stars player may become a real advantage for those two clubs.
Originally published as Questions hang over Cairns ahead of free-agency period