NBL Free Agency Update

With the NBL free agency slowing down and most of the top tier players staying put of finding a new home I thought it would be a good idea to sum up how each team has fared in the free for all.

Adelaide

Additions – Jason Cadee (Gold Coast), Luke Schenscher (Townsville)

Subtractions – Adam Ballinger (Melbourne), Everard Bartlett (Perth), Wade Helliwell (Retired), Diamon Simpson (NBA)

The addition of Cadee is a shrewd one as I believe that with more minutes he can be a quality point guard in this league but I am less optimistic of the Schenscher signing.  He has all the tools to be a top flight big man and even though his name is in the conversation for that group it is more to do with the lack of top flight centres than his on court performances.  It will be interesting to see how he fits next to budding star Daniel Johnson.

Helliwell was practically retired last season so that doesn’t change much to the team and Ballinger was the odd one out in the frontcourt.  Bartlett will be missed as he was a decent wing player but losing Simpson would hit them the hardest.

Grade – B.  Lost a few rotation guys, picked up a few rotation guys so a solid offseason.

Cairns

Additions – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne), Cameron Gliddon (NCAA), Clint Steindl (NCAA)

Subtractions – Ian Crosswhite (Sydney)

This offseason cannot be judged fully just yet as the two college guys are untested in this league.  The swap of Tragardh for Crosswhite looks like a win for the Taipans and if the Gliddon and Steindl can pick up the slack from the so far unsigned Andrew Warren then it is a big step forward for the almost championship contender.

Grade – B.  If the two C’s can step up bump this up a grade or two.

Gold Coast

Additions –

Subtractions – James Harvey (Sydney), Jason Cadee (Adelaide), Stephen Hoare (Retired), Tom Garlepp (Sydney), Mark Worthington (Unknown)

With their future balancing on a tight rope getting thinner and thinner everyday it was no surprise that players would leave for some stability which is a massive shame.  The world will find out if there is even a Gold Coast Blaze tomorrow but looking at their offseason so far in a vacuum it is very poor.  Let’s just hope that the team can survive but it doesn’t look promising.

Grade – Incomplete.  If they had a guarantee that they were playing next season the grade would be a D-.

Melbourne

Additions – Adam Ballinger (Adelaide), Nate Tomlinson (NCAA)

Subtractions – Cameron Tragardh (Cairns)

I really hope that Ballinger can get back to his best in Melbourne because he was a superstar of the league a couple of years ago before injury and Daniel Johnson took over.  He will get a lot of touches as the best big man on the squad so far with captain Tragardh jumping ship.  As with the Cairns college players Tomlinson could be good, average or a project at the moment and we won’t really know how he adapts to the league until the season rolls around.

Grade – C+.  This all depends (like many other teams) on the quality of imports they bring in but so far trading Tragardh for Ballinger is a negative output.

New Zealand

Additions –

Subtractions – Gary Wilkinson (Europe), BJ Anthony (Released)

The reigning champions have their squad pretty much set up losing Wilkinson is going to be a big loss.  He came up big all season and was wonderful in the playoffs so they will need to find a new import to fill his shoes.  Other than that they really didn’t need to do much other than re-sign their imports or get new ones.

Grade – C.  Wilkinson is a fairly big loss but I have no doubt that the team will be looking long and hard for an import of his quality.

Perth

Additions – Everard Bartlett (Adelaide)

Subtractions – Luke Nevill (Released), Drew Williamson (Released)

Another team that didn’t need to do much to still be a contender and losing Nevill will not be as big a loss as losing Wilkinson.  Matthew Knight has outplayed Nevill on numerous occasions and will get his chance to shine in the starting line-up.  Bartlett will be a great spark plug on the second unit when league MVP Kevin Lisch gets a rest.

Grade – B.  Neither super awesome nor utter disappointment, they only had to make minor adjustments and they did just that.

Sydney

Additions – James Harvey (Gold Coast), Tom Garlepp (Gold Coast), Ian Crosswhite (Cairns), Corin Henry (Denmark), Darnell Lazare (D-League), Kevin Smith (NZNBL)

Subtractions – Julian Khazzouh (Europe), Anatoly Bose (Europe), Jerai Grant (Released)

Losing their three best players is really a kick in the pants and I don’t know if they have recovered enough for them.  Right now Harvey seems to be a poor man’s Bose and Crosswhite a poor man’s Khazzouh while Lazare has similar qualities to Grant.  Henry’s highlight video is fairly impressive but Denmark isn’t known for producing high level leagues, evidenced by their tiny stadiums and crowds.  Kevin Smith is also someone that will not light the world on fire but Garlepp should fit right in with this team.

Grade – D.  Losing their three best players is always going to be hard but the team hasn’t brought in the quality to make a push for the playoffs.

Townsville

Additions –

Subtractions – Luke Schenscher (Adelaide)

Schenscher was a massive disappointment last season so losing him will not be a big deal but if they can’t find another big man to be his replacement they are going to be very thin on top.  Another team that needs to be judged when the whole squad has been finalised as they still need to fill their import quota to really see how this team fits together.

Grade – C.  At the moment with one loss and no gains it isn’t an offseason to write home about.

Wollongong

Additions –

Subtractions – Mat Campbell (Retired)

The Hawks are in the same boat as Townsville as they haven’t made any splashes in the free agency pool other than re-signing their own players.  Joevan Catron will not be back so there is at least one import slot to be filled.  Check back on the team in a few more months when the squad has been completed.

Grade – C.  Copy Townsville’s grade, paste here.