NBL 2023: Adelaide 36ers star Dejan Vasiljevic wants extension

Dejan Vasiljevic has publicly declared he wants to be in Adelaide beyond this season just days after being slapped with a huge fine for a recent referees outburst. See what he said here.

Dejan Vasiljevic has publicly declared he wants to be in Adelaide beyond this season as the 36ers plan to beef up their basketball department with a new role to support the club’s next coach.

Since his mid-season arrival, Vasiljevic has become a central playing figure in a tumultuous period and Code Sports understands he is seen as a key part of the club’s long-term plans.

Following a torrid stretch, where the club sacked CJ Bruton and Vasiljevic was fined for criticising referees, the 26-year-old confirmed he hoped to remain in Adelaide.

“I do,” Vasiljevic said, when asked if he wanted to stay beyond NBL24.

“I’m just going to see how it plays out and then whatever happens, happens.

“My main focus is right now, helping (interim coach) Scotty (Ninnis) and the lads get some wins.

“There’s a lot going on, I’m trying to adapt, just enjoying my time here.

“The city’s great, the people have embraced me. Everywhere I go, people come up to me and say hello.”

Sixers chief executive Nic Barbato confirmed interim coach Scott Ninnis would see out the rest of NBL24, with the club working through the process of identifying potential candidates.

“Scotty’s got the audition for the rest of the season,” Barbato said.

“We’ll do the work and see who is the best fit.”

Along with its next coach, Barbato said the club would look to hire a general manager of basketball — a role it did not have in Bruton’s two-and-a-bit seasons in charge.

“We’re looking at two roles,” he said.

“There’s a valid argument to have someone in that area (GM of basketball) in terms of recruitment, in terms of culture, in terms of that link to me, a senior person who is assisting the basketball program.”

Dejan Vasiljevic. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

The Sixers’ culture has been questioned in recent years, amid a revolving door of imports, a divide between Bruton and powerbrokers, and splits in the current playing group.

Ninnis, who has four championship rings with the club (two as a player, two as an assistant), understands the enormous challenge of taking on a role at the struggling 36ers, but he cares deeply about returning the club to its glory years and has expressed a desire to continue in the job, long-term. It’s why he is willing to put aside the franchise’s current issues in the hope he can bring about rapid change in his team’s fortunes.

The Sixers have been vastly improved on the offensive end since two-time Sydney Kings NBL champions Vasiljevic, who is averaging a team-leading 19.3 points per game, arrived but have also become the one of leakiest defences in the league.

The sharphooting Victorian warned opponents to beware of the “wounded dog” Sixers, who still have designs on a top-six play-in berth.

“I think we’re right there,” he said.

“We didn’t have much time to prepare for Saturday’s game, we just went with the flow. I think we just ran out of legs.

“No one picked us to be anywhere near the top six, so we just play with pride and effort and anything can happen.

“I’ve got a lot of belief in this group, that’s for sure.”

Code Sports has been told Sixers management has actively reached out to respected basketball minds in a bid to improve its basketball department and make better decisions.

The club is in the early stages of setting parameters for its coach search.

“We’ll lean on a number of people to help us in the process,” Barbato said.

“We want a good mix of ex-players as part of the process but also some people to help guide us who have been there and done that in the recent past.”

Vasiljevic opened up on the unaired comments he made about “terrible” referees during the Sixers’ November 30 loss to New Zealand, which prompted Basketball Australia to slap him with a $4000 fine ($3000 suspended for 12 months)

“That’s for me running my mouth a little bit too much,” Vasiljevic said.

“In the moment, whatever was said was said. I’ve got a lot of respect for the officials and a lot of respect for this league.

“You accept the fine and that’s it, you move forward.”

Meanwhile, Adelaide players have been reimbursed incidental travel entitlements after Code Sports revealed, nine rounds into NBL24, the club was yet to honour the minor expense, included under the NBL’s collective bargaining agreement. Players are entitled to claim up to $22 a day for out-of-pocket expenses while travelling.

The 36ers blamed the delay on a lack of clarity from the NBL and Australian Basketball Players’ Association which forced them to compile a list of expenses from the Australian Taxation Office. But players only received a copy of the payable expenses after Code Sports contacted club officials, last Thursday afternoon.

36ERS STAR OUT OF POCKET AFTER REFEREES RANT

After a week of turmoil in Adelaide, star guard Dejan Vasiljevic has been hit in the hip pocket after he criticised the NBL’s referees.

Vasiljevic was slapped with a $4000 fine ($3000 suspended for 12 months) over the comments, which came during the Sixers’ November 30 loss to New Zealand. He has accepted the sanction, issued by Basketball Australia.

The 26-year-old was responding to the referees’ decision to eject Breakers coach Mody Maor, who was aggrieved at a 16-5 first-half foul disparity.

The comments were never aired but, in a transcript obtained by ESPN, Vasiljevic reportedly called the refereeing “terrible” and pre-empted his fate.

Referee Mitch Hare talks to 36ers star Dejan Vasiljevic on Saturday night. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

“I’m probably gonna get fined for this, right? There’s so much inconsistency with the referees, right?

“Chris Reid, there’s a lot of respect there but, the other two? I don’t know, man.

“I’m not gonna complain. We fouled. They fouled. But, again, there’s so much inconsistency; sometimes that can turn the momentum of the game.

“NBL, I hope you’re watching. I’m (gonna) cop a fine.

“The refereeing is terrible, but I’m not gonna take away from the Breakers getting a win.”

Code Sports has been told BA’s integrity officer found while the comments didn’t go to air, they still breached its code of conduct, hence the sanction.

Following the same game, Maor was also fined $500 for his own comments about the referees, which were found to breach BA’s code of conduct.

The penalties come on the back of NBL chief executive David Stevenson warning the league would take a “zero tolerance” approach to unreasonable treatment of referees.

It’s been a brutal period for the Sixers. Rightly or wrongly, the club was slammed for complaining about a doomsday road trip to NZ and Tasmania and coach CJ Bruton was sacked after the 59-point debacle against the JackJumpers’.

Captain Mitch McCarron fired a broadside at teammates during a practice session, they leaked 115 points in a loss to Cairns on Saturday night and now prepare to face the top-of-the-table Melbourne united – who just smacked Brisbane by 35.