most ex nba plyers are normaly want to sin with sydney or melbourne because they want to live in big cities

Ironically , there are 10 pro basketballers , playing 'round the world,
named Kevin Johnson

He is a 6'7ish forward I think. Mobile PF if I am thinking of the right guy.

Interesting that he's listed on the NBL free agent list, and on the recent points ratings as a 10. Must have history here in Australia but for the life of me, besides remembering him dunking on Cecil Exum - or it might've been Hakeem Olajuwon (the memory gets hazier as I get older) - I can't place him.

Ervin 10
K.Johnson 10
Ballinger 10
D.Johnson 7
Weigh 7
Crosswell 6
Ng 6
Herbert 5
Creek 1

If my maths is right, that's 62/70 points allocated. Holmes to the final player with 6???

is he the guy that is a bit on the fat side.. tatts up his upper arms and was meant to play in the season past for one of the qld teams but got injured early/ preseason.. ??

is he the guy that is a bit on the fat side.. tatts up his upper arms and was meant to play in the season past for one of the qld teams but got injured early/ preseason.. ??

Off the top of my head, I think Johnson was a 6 when he signed before last season, which would mean there are nine points left, which should be enough for Baynes or Kickert given their stats in Europe.

Very injury proan and ball hog but can put up reasonable numbers. As he showed at High Stakes Hoops even playing with a strained hamstring.

With 29points left for our last 3..
10point PG obviously.. then ,
some would take Dowdell Mottram or Holmes
I'd take K.Johnson seeing we got plenty of points
and not many minutes with Baynes D,Johnson Ballinger
and the other we've signed.

If we get Baynes (is there any indication outside of some anon saying it might be a Qlder that he is actually on the radar?), is there really any need for Johnson as well?
Last season we had Holmes and Dowdell with DJ and Balls and there wasn't enough minutes for DJ especially. Having 4 legitimate bigs seems a bit of a waste.
In the wing positions, we have pretty well 4 evenly matched players (Ng, Herbert, Weigh and Creek), but no obvious definite starter.
If we had the option of a cheap 2-3 or 3-4 import who can score and defend, would they be a better option?
Another player from the HSH who would be a very good fit would be Kevin Ratzsch. Seems a bit of an everything player. Scores, rebounds, defends... Currently playing in Spain averaging 14.7 and 6 59% fg and 38% 3pt. Or even a Riley Luettgerodt wouldn't be too bad.

Our depth chart would look like:
Baynes C/PF
Ballinger PF/C
Johnson C
Ratzsch PF/SF
Weigh SF/SG
Creek SF
Herbert SG/SF
Ng SG
Ervin (Pg import) Pg
Crosswell PG

Starting 5:
Ervin
Weigh
Ratzsch
Ballinger
Johnson

Baynes
Herbert
Ng
Creek
Crosswell

I doubt we will get Baynes if we get Ervin. So it will probably be Ervin (if we get him), Cheap import and then Holmes or Dowdell.

I hope they get Dowdell as he can play the 3 or 4 position. Can come on and score instantly. Is having a great ABL season. Holmes on the other hand can only play the 4 spot (is undersized at that), can rebound good but has no offensive game which is not acceptable at NBL level.

Either way If we get Ervin we will have a very competitive line up this season and one that is more balanced.

I think Baynes is definitely on the radar, and K Johnson fills a gap that the other three bigs can.

The team below can definitely challenge for a playoff spot:

Baynes, Ballinger, Weigh, Herbert, Ervin/import
D Johnson, K Johnson, Creek, Ng, Crosswell

Frontcourt defence could be a weakness, but there are at least seven guys on that team who could go for 20, whereas last year there was probably two.

YES - Most likely , that's out team , paul.

Baynes will be back overseas. Will not play NBL this season.

Earlier in the week Kickert was very much in the race ...they also wanted him last year so would say he is the front runner and not Baynes as long as they have any money left .

Johnson only played 1 game at high stakes hoops so it's kind of hard to gauge what sort of player he is.
Probably a similar height and build to Ballinger.
Scored 26 points on 10/15 and 3/5 3pt. So can score pretty well.
He was up against the Reef who boasted a starting 5 of Blagoj Janev, John Fitzgerald, Anthony Esparza, Jason Cameron and Keith Borgen.
Couple of things that stand out on his stat sheet are he only had 5 rebounds and the whole team had a grand total of 10 assists for the game. This says to me he can create his own shot, but he's probably not going to help our lack of rebounding from our bigs.
Biggest thing that I remember about him was when he got injured and was being checked over by the trainer, he yelled out ' get me back out there, i need my contract', or something along those lines.

36ers should definently look at getting in Jerry Smith.
Great combo guard out of the University of Louisville--Currently tearing up NZ League.

I think the Breakers are looking at him instead of Braswell who is having a very ordinary NZNBL Campaign (12.8ppg)

Also,he is getting interest from other ANBL teams (would be a cheapish import too)

I hardly count getting injured in the first 4 minutes of a match as having played it.

from my vague memory of him at HSH he was a reasonably athletic 6'6ish sf/pf with some decent perimeter skills, am i thinking of the right player?

I think our ideal second import would be someone like that who is fairly versatile and athletic and can play basically any of sg,sf,pf, and happy to come off the bench and play his role.

IDEAL.

I'd hope we sign Baynes. But I think he would be stupid to leave Lithuania. He's playing for a massive Euro club ( still I hope). He's only young. if nothing else works out for in a few years, Then he could come back. BE interesting to see who we get

From 36ers email sent to members-'leaves just three pieces to the 36er puzzle remaining.

An import point guard, 2010/11 League MVP Gary Ervin, or a player of his ilk, an import forward/centre in the mould of Mark Davis with the ability to rebound and defend and most likely a back up big as the teams tenth man would complete the makeover.'


It looks like Baynes is completely out of the equation.

They actually sent that word for word?

If so, it would tell us the following:

1. Johnson probably gets the starting centre spot
2. They're looking at a backup PF import/C (finally!) who is defensive/rebounder. Exactly what we need!
3. A backup centre (Mottram probably the best option? And playing locally atm)
4. They'd be putting plenty of their salary cap into someone like/the man himself, Ervin.


our team could look like this:

C Johnson/Mottram
F Ballinger/Import
F Weigh/Creek
G Herbert/Ng
G Ervin/Crosswell


Should fix our problematic guard and rebounding situation.

It is word for word K.E.T.

Ruck Ruckert! That'd be cool :D

FLip, Baynes played in Germany for Ewe Baskets Oldenburg last season. A decent club that bowed out in the first round of the Eurocup and lost in the QF of the German league. He is uncontracted at the moment I believe and would probably be hoping for another contract in Europe.

I think he is on an Aussie passport, so the German league could again be his best bet as they're allowed 6 imports per team from memory, meaning there are plenty of role playing imports on lower salaries (approx US$100K and some even lower). There is also the possibility he could pop up in a second division somewhere or a lower standard league on a bigger salary than that.

Could it be the Sixers have offered so much to Ervin they no longer can afford Baynes or Kickert?

I too got that email A, sounds like jacob is now out of a job too. very happy with the overhaul the sixers have done. finally we can start moving forward.

I liked Dowdell.

He has the mentality and personality that Catallini had for the Sixers; granted his stats aren't gamebreakers but the man tended to be there to fill the voids.

I personally found for a lot of games that he worked very well alongside DJ as that 2nd unit.

I agree with Big Marty, I was impressed with Dowdell and would be perfectly happy with him as tenth man. The world needs ditch diggers too.

I also agree with anon: Ballinger is no centre.

I'm pretty sure this will be our team. Just dunno who those Imports will be.

Import / Johnson
Ballinger / Holmes
Weigh / Creek
Herbert / Ng
Import / Crosswell

Wow if that's our team I'm excit..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I don't get this "Not exciting" point. Why is it not an exciting team? What team in the NBL do you think is exciting?

I would say Ervin, Creek and Weigh would be considered exciting. Tigers probably match that with Dorsey, Walker and Lewis but not at the same talent level.

I agree with king James that I still think if can pull off Ervin and couple other good signings this team will have real potential to excite and climb up the ladder
Jacob thanks for the effort over years mate but sorry time is up and no fit in this group as I see it

At the end of the day, excitement is all well and good, but results are the most important aspect of it all.
Wins are going to garner greater media attention for the province
Wins are going to get fans to the games
Wins are going to increase a fans level of pride for their team.

Crows, Port and the Thunderbirds are going through tough times at the moment so a revitalised 36ers could very well attract quite a few extra fans if they start consistently winning.

I agree, id rather not use Ballinger at C, but would like the 36ers to sign a Aussie/NZ Center and an athletic, versatile import forward.

If we cant get a Baynes or Kickert how about a Horvath or Bradshaw? both putting up good numbers in the NZBL, have done ok in the NBL in the past and both are capable of splitting the minutes with Johnson IMO and are most likely better than Mottram, Vanderjagt, Dowdell, etc, and wouldnt cost us the import spot.

Horvarth was great offensively

Defensively shizer

Didnt Bradshaw have attitude with capital A but might have matured now . Could play . definetly better than Mottram or Horvath

Saw Mottram play and get torn up by a guy about 4 inches shorter than him last week. There would have to be better options

Bradshaw is ok offensively if he is facing the basket, has nothing in the post.

I like the idea of Rickert as the second import, I think he is perfect as the 3rd big, would bring aggression and energy off the bench and could easily start if we had an injury. From memory he also had a bit of mongrel about him which we have sorely lacked in the last few seasons.

Johnson/Rickert
Ballinger/Dowdell
Weigh/Creek
Herbert/Ng
Ervin/Croswell

Looks like a pretty solid team for mine. It has everything you want going into a season. The make or break is the play of the younger guys. If you get consistently good performances from Johnson/Weigh and steady improvement from Creek this team is a top 4 contender.

MVP Calibre - Ervin
All Star - Ballinger
Young Starters with All Star Potential - (Johnson/Weigh)
Defensive Stopper - (Herbert)
Import Role Player - (Rickert)
3 Point Specialist - (NG)
Project with Huge Upside - (Creek)
Role Players - (Crosswell, Dowdell)

Rickert will def bring energy and an inside presence to the Sixers if signed.

That would give you three bigs who arent great defenders though.

Paul, i'm just going off memory, but I always thought Rickert was a solid defender purely because of his hustle, definately not a world beater on defence but good enough to cause problems. I think if you couple that with the shot blocking of Ballinger and the athletism of Johnson you get a solid but not spectacular defensive front court.

I don't know that there are many players left out there that play much better defence than Rickert while still offering the same hustle and rebounding. If there is, lets sign them up!

Unknown import bigs are a huge unknown especially with Sixers import selections so if cant bring a Baynes or so back think Rickert you know what you are going to get with real effort

Rickert had a few issues with foul trouble but that was mostly from playing big minutes due to lack of solid backup

The Breakers got rid of him because of his average defence I think. A very good back-up no doubt, but I am not sure he is the piece the Sixers need.

Rickert has no defence, ask Garnett.

Rickert might not be the perfect piece, but he does bring two things the Sixers need badly: rebounding and aggression. I think he'd make a big difference off the bench in what would mostly be a three man big rotation and he also might light a fire under his team mates if they are playing too passively as has often happened in recent times.

Rickert only if cheap enough. Bit of a wildcard. I think his team defense might've been a bit of an issue in NZ. If as an impact off the bench, could be interesting.

we're throwing up names, but what's the likelyhood of getting kickert, baynes, ricket? Zero?

What's the chances we even get Ervin?

i'm not believing anyone who uses 'b' instead of be, 'r' instead of are and 'nxt' instead of next (it's an extra letter, seriously.)

oh, and '4' instead of for

Seems there was an email that
of the last 3 pieces of the puzzle ..
a gary ervin type guard or the man himself.
a mark davis type import.
amd a big 10th ,
allows us the privilege of creating along with them.
If we work at it, we fill up the mystery, in those spaces.
It is a democratic form of creation...

Can someone buy Anonymous #320216 a couple of vowels!!

haha much better thanks :)

Yes understand frustration with names thrown around and easy for someone to throw names around from their imagination or just to stir or for the hell of it .
Which no site can stop these feeble monded people .
But have found over years that on a lot of occasions that names had been looked at by Sixers .
Of course when get a name we like to put our views on as that name just might be part of a group that gets Sixers back where they belong.
However there seems to be a lot less rumours come out from Sixers since SOS took over whether being key posters etc know but as close wont feed a rumour or whether it is a very closed up group.
As time has got on now you would have to think they have spoken to a lot of names mentioned