i hear ya anon

as if..

arrgh!!!!!!!!

7 saying the same thing. Do we still have his rights should he get cut?

Well said anon #144958... couldn't put it better.

So who do we get to replace him??? Mottrams name has been manetioned, if we get him what will our line up look like??

PG Davidson/Sutton
SG Maher/Ng
SF Chappell/Copeland
PF Ballinger/Mottram
C Dench/Cooper

or

PG Maher/Davidson/Sutton
SG Chappell/Ng
SF Ballinger/Copeland
PF Mottram
C Dench/Cooper

I think i prefer the top line up but i think both could be used at times, could Ballinger play SF successfully???

Any other players likely to replace Newley??

Jonno - Are those 2 options not exactly the same?

We are not talking netball here where players have to wear a bib of their position and are not allowed out of their half of the court!

yea but starting Maher and 4 bigger players is a bit different to starting Maher and Davidson in the back court

Markovic? Mottram? what else is available?

I though this thread was monitored. Youngsters read this. Yor language is innapropriate...what you feel and what you say should be two different things. Where are you ISSAC?

Who's ISSAC?

any good college kids still around?

Earlier reports say he is meeting with the 36ers tomorrow morning to discuss his future. Don't tell me he would reveal his intentions to the media before the club. It doesn't mean anything that 3 TV stations have reported it, they all report the same news anyway.

To me, this has shades of Rogers about it.

oh it does...


"dammit" you are a hypocrite.
Change your name first.

ha ha, did you really think he was coming here

that is, IF we see him at all...

Newley's body language said it 4 weeks ago

Newley has not definitely confirmed he is leaving, it is more than likely but he has a day or so to make his final decision.

Agreed but I was just saying it isn't set in complete stone.

The starting five that Boti mentions wouldn't send a shiver down many spines IMO. I think it helps with one of the roster's potential weak points (frontcourt), but it's a significant step down.

As someone put it to me, bringing in Mottram for Newley is a bit like announcing that your marquee off-season signing is Neil Mottram - doesn't sound that great when you think about it that way.

I think they'd be competitive, but it's nowhere near as exciting to be honest. This was always going to be the significant risk of getting Newley unfortunately.

Yea, bit of a blow losing Newley, how ever the 36ers had to take this risk, imagine if they said we wont chase him hes off to Europe and he signed with say the Tigers and actually played in Australia, everyone on here would be after 36ers management/coaches heads for letting him slip again.
Yea Mottram is a big down grade on Newley but probably is one of the best Aussie players available, who else is there to chose from the only significant players i can think of are guys like Drmic and Trahair, who are not really any better than Mottram anyway, and then there is guys like Derek Moore and Pero who like Mottram have been in Europe and Mottram is as good as either of them, so i dare say he is among the best available, next off season will be interesting though, as there is bound to be another couple of big name free agents, and will be interesting to see if the 36ers can bring one of them in.
With Newley going to Europe does he have any clause saying he has to play for the 36ers if he returns to the NBL in the future????

Hopefully, would be great to actually see him in a Sixers uni some time..

Agreed, if they didn't sign him, they would have been lynched.

Damned if you do......

Very true Isaac re trading Newley for Mottram. Mottram's injury history makes him almost as big a risk as Wheeler.

Off-season can now be pretty much summarised as:

Chappell and Ballinger for Farley and Horvath

Davidson for Hill

Dench for Wheeler

Mottram (if we get lucky)for Majstrovic/Nash/Timmons

Factor in Maher and Copeland another year older and I can't see what Nagy is getting excited about but good on him for trying to put a positive spin on a bad situation to help ticket sales.

What is the current situation in relation to Ballinger's citizenship status? An import replacment for Newley may be our best hope.

I still think this team is better than last seasons team though as Davidson is a fair upgrade on hill, and Mottram or who ever we get wont be any worse than Nash, etc and if our imports combine better than last years did then thats a big upgrade aswell. How ever i dont think without Newley we will beat the teams like Brisbane for the title, i think our best shot would be if Ballinger was naturalised and we could bring in a import, that would be sensational!

Yes, definitely better than last season's roster, but that was a pretty unsuccessful team.

With Mottram, they'd do OK, but I just can't see that line-up sending shivers through any club. But I guess that's a more exciting line than "should prove competitive against other rosters"! Just kidding.

are there any oz kids in college we can get? i have no idea on that kinda situation but i'm just not really sold on mottram as a legit option.

Jonno, I don't agree with you that the risk had to be taken to sign Newley even though it was not certain he would play for Adelaide. By taking that risk and wasting about 4 months over it, the opportunity to find a good player is gone. The Sixers needed to act quickly to sign a full squad immediately after the end of the season. So what, if they didn't sign Newley and then he was picked up by another NBL club. Regardless of whether he stayed here or went overseas, it was always a risk for any club signing him. We are now in a position of fielding a team that's not much better than the previous season. I don't know about you, but for me, last season was way too long, I don't want another one like it.

As for Newley, if it is to be Europe, does anyone know if its his choice or if the Rockets are ordering him? If its his choice, he should never have been given the outclause to Europe in his contract. Especially if he is taking this long to decide. If an outclause was inevitable, then an expiry date should have been included, a date which was much earlier than now.

I believe Stefan Blaszczynski current senior {graduating this year} from Nicholls State 6'5" guard/forward has been posted a few times as a possible good fit, but he could be Europe Bound also.

EC, I don't think that he would have signed at all without Euro/NBA outs.

That's why he shouldn't have been signed at all. It was better to find someone immediately after the season ended that you could have been certain that he was available. The whole time that Newley has been signed has left a huge question mark over what the 36ers were to do if he did take the overseas option. We never really had him at all from the time he signed the contract. It only served to waste time in finding a suitable replacement. I am not sure that any other NBL club would have taken this risk. Also while NBA and Europe outclauses are offered here, the quality of the league will only deteriorate as you are saying to the better players, feel free to leave whenever you wish. It makes it too easy for them to go instead of putting their talent to good use in Australia. I know they have to follow every opportunity that they can, but it has to be their risk in doing that not the club's. When they sign a contract, they don't have another offer overseas, it comes later. They either sign a contract and honor it knowing that atleast they are guaranteed of a job for the next year or two or wait around for something better with the possibility of ending up with nothing at all. Its a gamble the players have to take.

Then a lot of them might not sign with an NBL club.

Tigers were trying to get Newley, so Adelaide weren't the only team after him.

Whether he went to Europe or not, if he signed with the Tigers right in the middle of season ticket renewals, 36ers fans would not have been impressed.

I have to agree with Boti that losing Newley gives the Sixers a better balance (because with 6 guards in the roster they were rediculously unbalanced), but that is not really anything to applaud when the one person you replace was potentially the most talented one you have.

The Sixers roster as it stands now can now only be considered to be mediocre, even with Mottram (who would be a solid but not awe-inspiring signing). Still, an improvement on last year.

Is it Official yet?

Isaac, the Tigers are still a much better team than us even if they did lose Newley. They did not stand to lose as much as we did. They could have afforded the risk.

I agree with DB5. If sixers did not pursue Newley and get his signature, even with the out clause, there would be a lot more people complaining about them not even trying.
'Better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all.'

Don't worry Dana, seems typical here that whatever the Sixers do, it is wrong..

I was very disapointed with last year's team, but impressed with what the Sixers did to rectify it in the off season. While it sucks we won't have Brad next year, at least when he does come back, it will be to Adelaide.

Haven't seen this quoted yet:

ADELAIDE and Brad Newley moved yesterday's announcement of his impending departure to Europe to today, the exciting young Boomers' guard bound for Greece's Panionios club.

He will be playing as an import but has secured a "no-cut" clause in his contract as he takes the next step in his bid to become an NBA player.

Interesting to see the 'no cut' clause. See they are tied closely with Panionios soccer club. There is a photo of Brad on their website, but have no idea what is written about him. Only word I could pick out was Boomer.

At least their major colours are blue and red so he'll feel sort of at home wearing the uniform.

Dana posted:

'Better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all.'

Unfortunately Dana this thought has only applied to Smyth the last 4 months.....

The previous 8 years Smyth has sat backed with his legs crossed and 'not tried' - giving up Newley, Ingles, Rogers and let Holmes & Forman go.

Has anyone seen Boti & Smyth in the same room? Geeeez Boti get your tongue out of the back of Phils pants....to headline yesterday re Newley not scoring one point for the 6ers with 'Win some, lose some'.....shouldn't it have read 'Smyth: The Biggest Loser' -(Goodbye????)

The 6ers recruiting has been only a C+ for me. If Maher has another 10 game season then we finish 8th....

But hey let Phil Nagy or Boti Smyth blow smoke up everyone's backside....deflect attention from Smyth inadequacies by talking about Goorjian and the Kings/Boomers.

I would love to have an independent journalist covering the 6ers.....

Boti Smyth - you're welcome to write a regular column on this site if you have something to say. More material out there about basketball the better, I think.

I think the sixers have done a lot better this year at recruiting, even without Newley.

Remember Phil says it takes 4 - 6 weeks to gel...

Understandable, but how do you gel a combover???