I don't think these things are Phil's fault, or even his decision.

(Mod: sentences removed at threat of legal action from Adelaide 36ERS.)

Thanks for the update Isaac.

Best of luck to Cattalini for Barcelona. They are meant to be a pretty awesome side.

While it certainly is disappointing for the 36ers at least they have found out now and not two weeks before the season.

At least we are now well and truly under the cap!!

Pity there really isn't anyone left on the free agent list.

I suppose Moore is still available as is James Harvey.

Not denying what has been said, but interesting that Catt would have signed a deal this side of the Olympics.

Also interesting that there is no mention anywhere NBL related, nor any mention on Barcelona's site.

So Cattalini has signed with Barcelona but there's no announcement on the Sixers site. I hope this isn't, as Fact Man has implied, because the club wants people to buy tickets before they realise that our only Boomer representative will not be playing in Adelaide in 2004/05!

Where to from here?

Maher/?
?/Ng?
Nash/Holmes
Rychart/Forman
?/Rees?

We've now got 5 confirmed signings!

If the rumour re Cattalini is confirmed I would go after Farley/Tucker + Moore to replace him.

Cat was one of the highest paid players in the league and for good reason. However, his current 5 year deal didn't provide us with any flexibility whatsoever and I believe it was structured in a way that meant that it increased each year. I don't think the above (two for one) would be impossible.

That would leave us with a starting line-up of:

PG Maher
SG Farley
SF Holmes
PF Rychart
C Moore

I would assume the next four would be Forman, Nash, Rees and Ng leaving one spot to be filled.

The cap space from CT that we were going to use for an import big man should Cattalini stay would still be available to be spent on this last position. This would allow us to go after a decent back up guard or another big.

Alternatively, you could pursue Harvey instead of Farley still leaving the second import spot remaining for a big man as planned.

Either way, I rate Cattalini so highly that I think we need to get a 2 for 1 involving Derek Moore.

Maybe I am too hyped by all these blockbuster NBA trades in the pipeworks but Cattalini + CT + JW + Gower for Farley + Rees + Moore + Aussie free agent or in the alternative Harvey + Rees + Moore + import big man would not be too bad.

Again just my opinion and I'm trying not to underestimate the loss of Cat who as I have posted previously would have been an MVP favourite for next season.

However, if the 36ers were to sign up either of the alternative line-ups suggested, I still think they would have a great team and arguably one with greater balance in which we wouldn't have forwards playing in the backcourt.

Would be pretty entertaining line-ups as well.

Farley would be an immediate injection of entertainment into the line-up. Without him, I think that team would give you "by the book" basketball, and I'm not sure how much that would fire up the crowd.

Over the last few seasons, the only players I can recall getting the crowds to lift were Garrison (especially doing his circuit of the court after a game) or CT (maybe Farley too) waving their hands for the crowd to lift. Maybe Sapwell too.

There needs to be someone in the team to do that because without it the Dome will lose the intimidation-factor.

It'd be great for the ABL junkies on here if we could find out who's been invited to train with the Sixers. Anyone know?

You'd think they would have to go for Farley. He is a fan favourite and the coaching staff know what they are going to get.

He would certainly provide excitement and is the type of player who you can honestly say you get your money's worth when you watch him play.

Bring back the Maher-Farley backcourt!

Rumours have Harvey looking at Europe but he is another quality guard who adds some excitement and is a proven commodity having averaged 20ppg at NBL level. He is young and Australian providing us with the extra flexibility of keeping our second import spot available.

Even if you don't go after Moore, Harvey would be cheaper than Cat leaving more money to be spent on our big man import. Harvey and Rogers are meant to be close from their Wildcats days as well which may be relevant in a season or two when Rogers returns from Europe.

Poor Wildcats fans would be spewing if we took another one of their stars but I guess it's not like the 36ers had anything to do with his decision to leave them.

Yogee,
I like you and I know you but please enter the real world!
Yvonne is Phils Boss??????
Cat's not going back to Spain???
Wake up and smell the roses; you should be to intelligent to buy into what is basically propaganda!

And Moore has already rejected the Sixers offer.

(Mod: sentences removed at threat of legal action from Adelaide 36ERS.)

And if you know me, feel free to introduce yourself sometime, I actually don't know any of the posters here (same goes for anyone else, always feel free to say hi if you see me out & about)

In effect Yogee, Robbo was only ever GM in name only and take it from me, the day Smyth has to report to Yvonne is the day the 36ers are gonna have a new head coach!
Believe me, this is pure fact!

From what I can tell, the free agents left are: Ben Arkell, James Harvey (linked to Razors, but said to be interested in Europe), Damon Lowrey, Brad Williams, Axel Dench, Derek Moore.

Almost all rosters are full or very close to it with 8 or 9 players signed or very close to signing.

Anyone with a spot free and money to spend is probably looking for an import, so no idea what will happen to someone like Dench or Lowrey.

Best of luck to 'the Cat' in Spain, where the rain falls mainly on the plain.

Sixers management seem to have a bit of water on the brain with their 'invitation letters'. If I was an ABL player who has been working my ring off for 'just one shot' at the NBL I would be disappointed with their approach.

Did the letter also say that your going to get paid lousy money, not get to play that much, get frustrated, sacrifice your game for the greater good, give up your social life, pay for your shoes etc.
No wonder Phil didn't want to write the letter! He doesn't want to be reponsible for wasting a young players life bolstering numbers at training so they can play 5 on 5.

Take a leaf out of College recruiting - bring Gerlach to a darkened dome, spotlight him onto the court, have the crowd taped chanting 'Sixers - Sixers', have an MC introducing him as the starting guard next to Brett. Lights turn on & their's Phil offering Gerlach a spot to achieve his dream -an invitation to train & play Sixer ball!! (This approach might have nabbed the highly rated Newley).

Nah forget it, get Potsy to send a letter instead.

Well, that was the deal when Robbo was ghere Julius, and given that Phil isnt even allowed to recruit now, I cant see how that has changed any.

Email me for more info, I just cant discuss it in public (sorry to everyone else).

I can't understand for the life of me the criticism of Smyth for allowing Bauer to sign the invitation letters.

Does it really matter? I bet you half of Australia's top executives have their administrative assistants sign things on their behalf on a daily basis. How a young basketballer could be insulted by receiving one of these letters signed by Bauer is beyond me.

These guys are either,

a) going to be happy for the opportunity to train with the team, regardless of who signs the letter, or

b) going to be upset that Smyth didn't personally sign their letter.

If they fall into category (b) then I think they probably aren't the type of team oriented guys the club needs in these development type positions.

The ideas of spotlights, "Blue Chips" style sucking up to development type players is not needed. This isn't the NCAA. Smyth cannot promise a Gerlach that if they are a part of the program they will eventually start alongside Maher and have fame and fortune.

If he was telling the average 11th and 12th man that then that is when he should be criticised. Eg I think it would be worse if he convinced a player to quit uni, his job, etc for $20k and then cut him after one year when the next promising 20 year old became available.

Maybe if one of our local ABA guys was Amare Stoudemire and he had every other team in the league waiting outside his door it would be warranted but spotlights for Gerlach??

Look at our list of development players and look who has gone on to bigger things at NBL level.

During Smyth's time we have had Williams, Bauer, Jared Wilson, Daniel Cioffi, Dean Brogan, Blake Truslove, Todd Gower, Brad Davis, Matt Illman, Justin Wilkey and Christian Bell.

None of these guys has gone on to become NBL All-Stars or sign huge deals.

As Bootney correctly pointed out all of the above dedicated a hell of a lot of time and effort for the good of the club for little or no reward. I'm sure guys like Maher, Mee, Brooks, etc would be the first to acknowledge their effort in training as contributing to their success.

However, the last thing that Smyth should be doing is making false promises to these guys. I think that the way he is handling it is the professional way of going about things.

You can't go promising a 12th man who you know will never get on and will be lucky to be in the squad next year that fame and fortune will come their way. All you can do is give them a chance.

Unless there are multiple teams after the same player as was the case with Newley the theatrics can be left to the NBA where even the minimum guys are earning close to $500k.

We missed the boat on Newley but looking at the way Townsville are throwing money around and how the 36ers have been the complete opposite you cannot discount money as a factor in his decision.

Just on that, I recall both Brooks and Mee in the championship years acknowledging the youngsters such as Bauer and Williams, and actually made a point in press conferences in complimenting the youngsters in helping them train by providing quality opposition in scrimmages.

I know you weren't having a go at any one for that, but just thought I'd point it out.

Yeah Yogee, I remember Brooks and Mee acknowledging the efforts of the squad members. Sapwell in particular took the time to acknowledge these guys in the aftermath of our 3 championships.

This isn't just a 36er thing, it applies to most teams at every level. All good teams have guys that train hard and push the star players to become even better. Sometimes, these guys get little or no reward and that was the point of my post.

The reality of professional sport is that the guys competing for the 11th and 12th spots on the 36ers will not get treated like Tim Duncan was when he was a free agent.

I just didn't think that Smyth or the 36ers in general should be criticised for this reality.

There are definitely many question marks about the relationships amongst the various parties that comprise the 36ers but criticising the absence of Smyth's signature on the letters given to the potential squad members and using this as an example of our inability to sign players is a bit harsh.

Meanwhile, any ideas on who the invited dudes were?

My critcism might be a bit harsh Stephon but when a player feels appreciated they are more loyal, work harder and will sacrifice for the big picture. I understand your not accepting the Blue Chips style of recruiting but who knows, it may have worked for Newley. When there is not a lot of talent in the pool and teams are getting that revolving door of players year in year out, I believe you need to go the extra mile to get your recruit.

Professional sportng teams are now taking a leaf out of the way Dallas managers players. Players first before all else and when the players have that almost 'unconditional' support from management they are more than happy to toe the company line. The Sixers seem to be at the other side of the spectrum to the Dallas management. I'm not saying DVDs & XBox's all round. Just turning around this 'us' & 'them' mentality that is often mentioned in these posts. You might think that receiving a letter from Potsy is o.k but to me its unprofessional. I can remember a 17 y.o Mark Bradtke have Russell Ebert turn up on his door asking him to play for the Pies, sure he didn't sign but imagine if he was swayed by Ebert's approach. In the 90's the Sixers were the team to play for but not now. The recruiting process is the first step to a successful team and you only get one chance to make a first impression.

This is mainly for Julius who seems to know everything.......

Before you blow your stack and label Cats leaving as propoganda, I suggest you put your money where your mouth is!! How can you be ssssssoooooooo sure he is not leaving??

Remember, I brought the forum Dustys resigning 4 or 5 days before it was officially announced and a few other bits along the way that all turned out to be true!! So my runs are on the board.......

When it is announced you can apologise then....

Isaac, unfortunately it is true.....no announcement before they sell more season tickets and sponsorships, you of all people should know how it all works inside the sixers....when the announcement is made, if CAT was the sole reason for buying my season ticket, I would be asking for my money back!!

More good stuff to come.....

Fact Man

Fact Man -- Julius said that he thought Yogee was dreaming when he suggested that Cat might not be going back to Spain. i.e., he was agreeing with you.

Someone tell Boti to research it and write an article? News is news.

Ok.....Oops apologies to Julius!

Boti wont write about it Isaac, he may then miss out on his so called "exclusives" from his BEST buddy Phil. He is a 36ers puppet who gets drip feed the real info when the sixers management/coaches want him to have it.....have been there and seen it numerous times over many many years of involvement in top level b ball. Even the players treat Boti as a joke......you should know that also!

Might put it out there on AA tonightm - CAT gone....the public have a right to know.....I am sick and tired of the Sixers management treating the most loyal and well educated fan base in Australia as idiots....

I've always read the admin and Phil as being more distinct entities. i.e., Phil doing what's best for the players and coaches, Admin doing what's best for the bottom line (to keep it all running).

And Boti will generally get his info and quotes from Phil.

So, I am a bit surprised that Boti hasn't reported Cat departing yet.

Are the club even trying to sell season tickets, or are they just contacting existing ticket-holders at this stage?

I haven't seen any Sixers advertising, anything in the paper, anything on TV at all. Online ticket sales were meant to be up today, but there's no change on the club's site at all. Hopefully they can get that online soon. When's the early-bird deadline, if there is one?

6ers should search for an american big man, ballinger (giants), or if the cat rumour is true then chris williams (ex sydney and mvp) heard he is out of a contract....thoughts?
therefore line up being
maher
holmes
nash
rychart
williams

rees
forman
ng

back up point still needed, darren only a pinch shooter.

Yeah sorry fact man,
You read my post in the wrong way (my bad for posting it with ??? insted of !!!) Cat is going!

In regards to isaacs comments about ticket sales, wouldnt that almost guarentee Rees and now Rupert Sapwell's return?

bring back 2002 i say.

Farley / Sapwell / Rees / Foreman / Maher / Nash / Holmes / NG / try and snap up lowery cheap too

personal opinion

I think that'd be a competitive team with some old favourites back in the side, but is it too much of a step backwards (Rees AND Sapwell)?

Also, Brett Maher has said he has around 5 years of NBL left, considers playing in Europe more each year, and the back injury worries me. I'd rather see a more athletic and taller starting centre and a back-up point guard with the potential to develop into Maher's spot within 4 years.

You know how much I love these little roster outlines. ;)

Maher/?
?/Ng
Holmes/Nash
Rychart/Forman
?/Rees

We haven't had an official announcement of Ng or Rees, but I think they're pretty likely if not already signed. I've guessed that there might've been $150k to spend on 4 players. Cat would've been at least $150k, if not $200k. Maybe we've got $240k to spend on those 3 remaining positions. Who knows. Minimum on a young guard or temporary player. $140k on someone like Farley who can keep people entertained and handle and shoot the ball. Then the rest on someone in the middle.

James Harvey is now in Italy with a view to playing there, so he's out as the option for the 2 spot.

Dench/Moore, Farley and an ABL guard? Jason Williams is still a chance at recovery. Put those guys in, and I think with the depleted opposition teams, this Adelaide side would have quality starters and one of the strongest benches in the league.

With Moore as the centre, we could keep a pretty fast moving game. Then if someone like Bradtke was causing trouble, get Rees in to frustrate him, pick up a few fouls, accidentally sit on opponents, you know the drill.