Crosscourt: Latest news and whispers out of round 17 of NBL23, including finalists for the league’s awards
Anger followed this week’s announcement of the NBL’s 2023 award finalists after several highly-rated players missed out. Aussie basketball great Chris Anstey says there’s an easy fix.
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The Sydney Kings fumed when neither Justin Simon, nor Xavier Cooks were in the final three in the Defensive Player of the Year award, Kings owner Paul Smith labelling the snub a “disgrace”, while Cairns Taipan Majok Deng wasn’t happy teammate Bul Kuol didn’t make the cut.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE AWARD NOMINEES AND VOTE FOR YOUR WINNERS
It’s no secret winners of each award are decided by a vote among the coaches and captains of each club.
This was a fact lost on some clubs and fans, who directed their ire at the expert panel, which provided the nominees to the voting cohort.
Aussie basketball great Chris Anstey believes there are a couple of simple fixes — make it a top five and take it out of the players’ hands.
“It can’t be a player vote, solely,” Anstey said.
“It should be an independent panel, with some weighting from the players if they believe someone has been unfairly left off.
“It also surely has to be a top-five, rather than a top-three.”
NBL’S GOAT DEFENDER: KINGS’ ANGER OVER AWARD SNUB JUSTIFIED
A storm has erupted over the NBL’s award nominees, the Sydney Kings filthy at the omission of a pair of their stars from the Defensive Player of the Year finalists.
And the man the award is named after says they have a point.
The Kings lashed out after stars Xavier Cooks and Justin Simon missed the final three in the Damian Martin award, in favour of New Zealand’s Dererk Pardon, Adelaide’s Antonius Cleveland and Melbourne United’s Shea Ili.
Owner Paul Smith called the exclusion of his players a “disgrace”.
“Damien Martin, who the award is now named after, only a week ago said that Justin Simon was the best defensive player in the @NBL,” Smith tweeted.
The exclusion of @simon_Says_so from the DPOTY is a disgrace. Damien Martin, who the award is now named after, only a week ago said that Justin Simon was the best defensive player in the @NBL. Only one way to make the point now Justin, and Mitch Creek got a taste yesterday.
— Paul Smith (@psmithtse) January 29, 2023
Martin told News Corp he was “surprised” Simon was not in the top three, but believed he may have been the victim of being nominated alongside Cooks.
“I actually thought it was going to be Justin Simon (who would win), so when he wasn’t a finalist I was a bit surprised,” Martin, a Perth Wildcats legend who won six DPOYs before the award was named after him, said.
“But having Xavier Cooks, whose also had a great season at the defensive end, probably hurt Justin’s causes, purely for an individual award, because of how well they work together as a tag team.
“Justin crawls up and in, knowing full well that if he does get beaten, he can send them to Xavier Cooks, who is going to protect the rim as a shotblocker.
“I had that type of luxury with Matty Knight and Nick Kay when I was playing, that one-two punch goes a along way when it’s a small and a big.”
Smith directed ire at the panel of experts who made the recommendations, but they included both Simon and Cooks in their final eight — it was the player vote which determined the top three.
Kings’ chief executive Chris Pongrass believed the club was snubbed.
“Kings are best the defensive team in the league and without a nominee for DPOY — snub, snub, snub. A consideration for “games played” to be eligible?” he tweeted.
Sydney is second, per Spatial Jam, among the top three in defensive rating (points conceded per 100 possessions) at 105.3, but sat behind Cairns (105) as of Monday, before the Taipans’ clash with Adelaide.
Kings are best the defensive team in the league and without a nominee for DPOY - snub, snub, snub. A consideration for “games played†to be eligible?
— Chris Pongrass (@chrispongrass) January 29, 2023
Kings players were also disappointed.
Dejan Vasiljevic: “Really should be Justin Simon!!! But Pardon will win it.”
Derrick Walton Jr: “How is @simon — Says — so not a finalist! Tuh.”
Cooks is an incredible defender, one of the few players in the league able to switch one through five and give away nothing, while Simon is a previous NBL Defensive Player of the Year, claiming the gong in 2021 while with Illawarra.
Cleveland is the reigning DPOY who has been tenacious but let down by his teammates’ collective lack of desire/ability at that end of the floor.
Ili is one of the best defenders ever to play in the league but multiple concussions and an inner-ear issue has limited him to just 14 of a possible 28 games, prompting Pongrass to suggest the league should apply a minimum games threshold.
Pardon has burst onto the NBL scene as a force in the paint and he’s Martin’s pick.
“I think where you finish on the ladder does play a part and, even though I speak so highly about Cleveland, their team hasn’t had a great season,” Martin said.
“With that in mind, I look at the Breakers, I look what Pardon’s done to help the team and just think, with the improvement they’ve made, he’s been a huge part of it.
“So I think Pardon gets the nod, slightly ahead of Cleveland, because of where Adelaide have finished, and ahead of Shea, just because Shea has missed so many games.”
Meanwhile, the rivalry between the Kings and South East Melbourne has been further fuelled with Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari buying into the MVP debate.
Nah, though he played well, not a lock.... Creeky had a better game and was in Cooks' head.... MVPs don't foul out when the game on the line 🤷ðŸ½â€â™‚ï¸ https://t.co/l63a22LsRO
— Romie Chaudhari (@RRome44) January 29, 2023
Chaudhari’s Mitch Creek is up against Cooks and Perth star Bryce Cotton for the league’s top individual honour.
Most think it’s Cooks’ in NBL23, but not Chaudhari.
“Nah, though he played well, not a lock … Creeky had a better game and was in Cooks’ head … MVPs don’t foul out when the game on the line,” Chaudhari wrote, after Cooks had a triple-double against the Phoenix on Sunday but had to rely on his teammates to pull out the win when he picked up his fifth foul and had to sit with over three minutes remaining.
NBL AWARD FINALISTS REVEALED
Emergent Cairns big man Keanu Pinder has been snubbed by his peers in the MVP race, instead nominated for back-to-back Most Improved Player awards.
Pinder, who was putting together an MVP-calibre season but recently suffered an ankle injury that slowed his progress, was not in the top three for the Andrew Gaze Trophy, voted for by players and coaches.
Sydney Kings star Xavier Cooks is the popular pick to win the league’s highest individual honour as the spearhead of the best team in the NBL. He will battle South East Melbourne’s dominant power forward Mitch Creek and Perth superstar Bryce Cotton.
Pinder, instead, will compete with New Zealand point guard Will McDowell-White and Tasmania’s Sean Macdonald for the Most Improved gong — an award he won last season.
The 27-year-old has upped his production by more than six points per game (10.86 to 16.95), is second in the NBL in rebounds at 9.2 per game (up from 7.57) and has increased his steal and assist numbers, while having a profound impact on the floor for the rising Taipans.
All eyes will be on the newly-coined Next Generation Award, which caused controversy when the league decided to replace the Rookie of the Year with a gong open to every player under the age of 25.
It should be Illawarra and Boomers star Sam Froling’s — a four-year pro at just 22 who is the Hawks’ best big man.
Sam Waardenburg would have been a lay down misere to win the Rookie of the Year Award, with few first-year players coming close to his feats in Cairns, so it will be interesting to see if the players voted with perspective or for the best candidate.
Shea Ili is a surprise finalist in the Defensive Player of the Year race, only for the fact he will have missed exactly half of the season. It’s a sign of both the reverence for the Melbourne United point guard’s efforts on defence and a dearth of elite-level defenders in the league who bring it every night. One of Adelaide’s Antonius Cleveland and New Zealand’s Dererk Pardon should take home the Damian Martin Trophy.
Breakers import Barry Brown is a lock for Sixth Man of the Year, up against Tassie’s Rashard Kelly and Brisbane’s Tyler Johnson and the Coach of the Year will be fought out between reigning champion Chase Buford in Sydney, Taipans coach Adam Forde and New Zealand’s Mody Maor.
A panel of experts selected the nominees for each award — except the Next Gen, which is open to all players under 25. Coaches and captains from each of the 10 teams then voted on the nominations, with no votes allowed for a player from their own team.
The Andrew Gaze NBL MVP Awards Night will be held on Tuesday, February 7 at Crown Palladium, watch on Kayo and ESPN from 8.30pm.
SNAKES’ MASCOT BUCKS TAIPANS PRIDE TREND
Cairns sparked controversy when they opted not to wear the NBL’s rainbow logo during Pride Round.
The logo was again missing from the players’ jerseys on Saturday night but the club’s snake mascot Joe Blake wore it and cheerleaders were decked out in rainbow colours.
The “walking wounded” Taipans are desperate to clinch a top two finish, with star big man Keanu Pinder sidelined indefinitely with an eye injury.
Pinder suffered an orbital fracture after an errant Dane Pineau elbow to his eye in Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix.
Coach Adam Forde said Pinder was in “good spirits” despite experiencing some pain.
Forde doesn’t expect his marquee man to play against the Adelaide 36ers on Monday night.
The Taipans must beat the 36ers to finish in the top two and ensure they have the bye in the first week of the playoffs.
Cairns guard Tahjere McCall fell awkwardly on his back during Saturday’s win over Brisbane, but he expects to play Adelaide on Monday.
The import underlined the significance of a top two finish for the Taipans.
“It’s super important,” McCall said.
“I feel like any chance you get for a bye, it can’t hurt, especially at the end of the season, when everyone is banged up.
“And just to be in the top two, where we came from last season (ninth) and what we went through, it shows a lot.
“A lot of people didn’t have us up here at the start of the season but, when we all came together (in pre-season), we looked each other in the eye with a want to win.
“So, second place would be huge.”
WHO WANTS TO OWN AN NBL FRANCHISE?
The JackJumpers are for sale.
NBL owner Larry Kestelman, who has owned the JackJumpers since their inception two years ago, wants to find a buyer for the Tasmanian Franchise so he can shift his focus to the next step in league expansion.
“Expansion takes time and a lot of effort so we will be looking for the right owner for JackJumpers (in the off-season),” Kestelman told Crosscourt.
“I feel that exercise (Tasmania) has been a huge success but we, as custodians as the NBL, need to move that on and look at the next project.”
The JackJumpers, last year, in their inaugural season, shocked the Aussie hoops world by making it all the way to the grand final and are on track for another run at it.
Kestelman issued a “call to arms” to Australians interested in owning the franchise.
“It’s very important for us to find the right owners for the JackJumpers,” he said.
“I will not sell the team 100 per cent overseas, we’ll have at least a minimum of 30 per cent local stakeholders and that will be written into the licensing agreement.
“I hope all of that or at least a big portion of those owners are from Tasmania.”
EX-NBA MAN EYES RETURN TO BRISSY
Brisbane’s ex-NBA guard Tyler Johnson has declared his intentions to return to the NBL and the Bullets next season.
Johnson, who has played 373 games for four nba clubs, has enjoyed a mixed maiden season at the Bullets.
The former Miami Heat guard has averaged 15.83 points, 3.63 rebounds and 2.75 assists while shooting 49 per cent from the field.
Johnson, 30, wants to play overseas during the off-season, but he hasn’t ruled out rejoining Brisbane for NBL24.
“We’re talking to a few teams and I’ll look to play in the off-season and then I’m going to be in talks with our owners and see what we can get done,” Johnson said.
“It depends on what this team looks like coming back, but I’ve really enjoyed my time here.
“There have been some ups and downs but, when you see the way everyone has come together, especially towards the end, it has given me a lot of optimism.
“It has definitely changed my perception being around these guys for a long period of time.
“From that perspective, I’m open to anything. It depends on what the off-season looks like, but I’m more than open to coming back.”
WHY NBA SCOUTS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF AUSSIE LEAGUE
NBA scouts have flocked to Australia in the past week, keen to get their eyes on the NBL’s burgeoning talent pool.
On the back of lottery picks LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey, Australia has become a fertile proving ground — and US teams have taken notice.
Indiana’s recruiting boss Ryan Carr was one of more than 10 scouts to hit our shores last week and he says it’s a trip that should be on every NBA club’s radar.
“It won’t be long until every NBA team has connections over here, just with the way that the NBL is growing and the improvement in the way players are getting better,” Carr, the Pacers’ vice president of player personnel, said.
“The number of good players per capita, coming from down here, makes it absolutely worthwhile to be in touch and make sure we know what’s going on as the younger guys develop.
“Since the NBL instituted the Next Stars program, it’s attracted really good talent, and there are several of those guys who are playing in the NBA.
“The coaching here is very organised and it’s a team-oriented league, which is so beneficial in preparing these younger players for the transition to come and play at the NBA level.”
Previous Next Stars like Terrance Ferguson (2016-17, Adelaide) and Brian Bowen (2018-19, Sydney) opened NBA eyes to the NBL, but Carr says NBA lottery picks LaMelo Ball and Josh Giddey have taken things up a notch.
“Terrance and Brian, they were good players, Brian even played with us for a couple years, but I think Melo ratchet it up and then Josh Giddey came along, so you have two lottery picks and it legitimises the league,” he said.
“It gives the league something to go to players and say ‘hey, these past couple years, we’ve had two lottery picks’ so I do think that probably helped the NBL with their recruitment.”
None of the scouts Crosscourt spoke with were able to speak about individual players, due to the NBA’s strict rules around recruiting.
But the Down Under talent pool includes young prospects including likely first-round draft pick Rayan Rupert in New Zealand, 20-year-old Melbourne forward David Okwera, teammate and former NBA man Rayjon Tucker, as well as older bigs Xavier Cooks (Sydney) and Keanu Pinder (Cairns) who have taken leaps.
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Originally published as Crosscourt: Latest news and whispers out of round 17 of NBL23, including finalists for the league’s awards
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