NBL 2021: Follow the latest news, analysis and read the full pre-season fixture
Chris Goulding has received numerous chances to make the NBA, so it was a no-brainer when the Golden State Warriors came calling to participate in a pre-season mini-camp.
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When Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors called, Melbourne United captain Chris Goulding knew he couldn’t knock back the opportunity.
Goulding was already on a high having won a historic bronze medal with the Boomers at the Tokyo Olympics.
The NBL season was set to be delayed until December, so the veteran guard jumped at the chance to have a week-long trial with the Warriors.
He had already impressed Golden State when he dropped seven of seven threes in a pre-Olympic game against Nigeria while Warriors general manager Bob Myers was watching on.
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Goulding has also had NBA Summer League stints with Dallas and Cleveland, so he knew one more shot at the world’s best league couldn’t hurt.
“It was an opportunity that I had to take to see what happened,” 33-year-old Goulding said.
“I’m getting older, and the circumstances may have been different if we were two weeks away from the NBL season.
“But the NBL season kept getting pushed back. If I were to say no, I would just be going back into lockdown.
“My agent told me there was an opportunity for four or five days in San Francisco.
“So, when an opportunity like that presents itself, we moved pretty quickly to try and make it happen.”
Despite an impressive showing during the mini camp, including positive feedback from the coaches, Goulding didn’t make the cut at Golden State.
The Warriors opted to go in another direction as they look to rebuild into a championship-winning force.
Goulding was understandably disappointed to miss out on a roster spot at the Warriors, but he can also see the bigger picture.
He feels blessed to have even received the chance to trial with one of the NBA’s best teams, especially at this stage of his career.
“NBA teams are interesting because they don’t really give you direct feedback, but I spoke to the coaches, and it was great,” he said.
“They said thanks for coming and they were impressed with how I presented myself and played over there.
“But all the (roster) decisions are made in the front office behind closed doors.”
Goulding is now determined to use lessons learnt from his NBA trial with the Golden State to help Melbourne win another NBL championship.
He believes United is strongly placed to defend their crown despite losing Boomers big man Jock Landale to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
“We’ve got a really good vibe going at United,” he said.
“We just want to compete each day and get better, and it has been a lot of fun doing that.
“We just want to continue in that trajectory.
“Jock is a pretty impressive player not to have on your team. Whether that provides opportunities for other guys to step up and cover off on what Jock did.
“I think that will be a collective. But we’ll have a new look altogether, but the biggest thing for us is just being competitive.”
Adelaide 36ers poised to add NBA pedigree
The Adelaide 36ers are set to sign former NBA and Boomers forward Cam Bairstow after he impressed during a trial with the club.
The 36ers invited Bairstow to train last week with the view of potentially signing him as quality big man depth alongside starting centre Isaac Humphries and forward Daniel Johnson.
The experienced big, who has played 36 NBA games for the Chicago Bulls between 2014 and 2016, impressed Adelaide officials during a seven-day trial.
It’s understood Bairstow has temporarily gone home to Brisbane before the 36ers plan to announce his signing prior to next week’s pre-season Blitz.
The 30-year-old will provide Adelaide with valuable presence in the paint, especially if he can stay fit.
Bairstow has battled injury concerns since joining the league with Brisbane from the NBA in 2016.
He suffered an ACL knee injury in his first season with the Bullets – his second ACL within a six-month period.
Bairstow briefly played in Lithuania in 2019 before joining the Illawarra Hawks last season.
Sadly, he only played 14 games for the Hawks before being ruled out for the season with a hip injury.
Bairstow is now fully fit and would be a solid signing for an Adelaide side desperately looking to make the NBL playoffs.
NBL rivals issue warning to Landale-less United
NBL rivals have issued a challenge to reigning champions Melbourne United ahead of next week’s pre-season Blitz, claiming the titleholders will struggle to replace Boomers centre Jock Landale.
Sydney Kings chairman and owner Paul Smith believes United face an enormous challenge without Landale, who dominated last season to take home the grand final MVP.
Melbourne has done its best to fill the void left by Landale’s NBA departure to San Antonio after signing NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova, veteran swingman Brad Newley and recruiting highly rated German NBL Next Star centre Ariel Hukporti.
According to Smith, though, life without Landale won’t be easy for United.
The ex-Melbourne star is making the most of his chances off the bench for San Antonio despite receiving limited minutes.
Landale dropped 10 points, including his first NBA field goal, in just five minutes on the floor during the Spurs’ loss to Indiana on Tuesday.
He is the first Spur to score double figures in 5 minutes or less since Jack Haley in 1995.
These impressive stats are a perfect example of why Landale will be missed at United, according to Smith.
“You take Jock Landale out of the Warilla Gorillas and the Gorillas aren’t as good of a team, so you could imagine Melbourne United,” Smith said.
“They have got a bit of territory to cover there.
“That is no knock on United. That is getting players who go on to bigger and better things.
“We experienced that with Jae’Sean Tate (to Houston). We all feel it.”
Before the NBL season starts on December 3, the teams will assemble for the annual pre-season Blitz with games in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania over a 14 day period.
The Blitz will tip-off on Saturday, November 13 with a double header featuring United versus New Zealand and Sydney against South East Melbourne at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC).
It will be followed by the opening of the brand-new, world-class MyState Bank Arena in Hobart on November 14 when Adelaide face Cairns and Tasmania plays in front of their home fans against Brisbane.
The NBL Blitz will launch the arena, which becomes the new home of Tasmanian sports and entertainment.
The MSAC games will be played behind closed doors while ticket details to the South East Melbourne versus Melbourne game on November 28 at Parkville will be announced soon.
Brian Goorjian’s Illawarra Hawks will also host two games at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong against the Breakers and Kings on November 25 and 27.
Smith expects the upcoming NBL season to be closer than ever before following a raft of player and coaching changes.
He pointed out that Perth will have to adjust following the departure of five-time championship-winning coach Trevor Gleeson to the Toronto Raptors as an assistant.
“There are no runaway favourites,” he said.
“We think the competition is going to be very even.
“Dare I say it, Perth with a new coach (Scott Morrison).
“Taking Trevor out of Perth is like taking five Jock Landale’s out of Melbourne.”
All NBL pre-season Blitz games will be streamed live on Kayo Freebies allowing fans a first look at their teams ahead of the regular season start.
The winner will be awarded the Loggins-Bruton Cup, while the tournament’s most outstanding player will win the Ray Borner Medal.
All games are worth a maximum of seven points; three points are awarded to the winning team, with an additional point awarded to the side that wins each quarter.
In the event a quarter is tied, both teams receive half of a point.
If a game goes into overtime, no additional points are awarded.
The 36ers versus Wildcats and JackJumpers against Taipans games on Friday November 26 will not count towards the Blitz standings.
New Zealand will now play in the Victoria and New South Wales Blitz, after previously being scheduled to play in the Tasmania Blitz.
Tickets to the NBL Blitz in Tasmania will be free of charge.
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