C Kickert/Johnson
F Ballinger/Cheapy Import
F Weigh/Creek
G Herbert/Ng
G Warren/Cresswell

mhmmm.

Crosswell*

luke neville over kickert please

Kickert reminded me of big Axel Dench.........no thanks

Judging by the article in todays paper, we are having a trial from August 1-3 for our final spot on the roster.
We are expecting to have our import big signed up by then, so they obviously have someone in mind and are working on details if this is to be believed.
Looks like the final spot is out of Vanderjagt, Vasiljevic, Mottram, Knight and some SEABL players. No mention of Kickert in there.
If we get a quality big with our import spot, the final position doesn't need to be too special. The better this player is, the more minutes they will steal from Ballinger, Johnson and the import if we are to keep team balance. Don't really want to get into a Melbourne situation, where we have 4 legitimate bigs all vying for minutes and either having to sacrifice one player or team balance to get them the minutes they need.
Ideally, I'd want a big Centre with the import spot, then a bit of a versatile big with the final spot. Someone who can play Small Forward as well as Power Forward or if necessary Centre.
By the looks of Warren, we will probably use him as a shooter at times while Crosswell runs the point. He looks just as good or even better as the shooter rather than the distributor, so I don't really see the need for a Shooting Guard import. Between Herbert, Ng and Warren, we will have that spot more than covered.

Kickert is more of a mobile 4 man who prefers to shoot 3's.

We need more of a banger to help DJ inside with a nice solid mid range game/mobility so he can slide down to the 4 spot.

Not sure kickert is the man for this job

It would be good to sign Knight so he can add another team to his resume

I think Pero would be a shot. He showed enough last pre season before getting the Blaze phone call.

Gives a big presence who can change shots and like to finish strong.

I would love to see Pero in a Sixers uniform. Whoever it is isn't going to play much, and he would add a bit of aggro off the bench.

No to Vanderjagt. One of the really key things about playing basketball is that you have actually got to be able to catch the ball.

I'd be happy with Mottram too.

Knight would be an interesting one that no one has discussed.

He might fill a gap and help back up DJ/Balls for the season while we develop the core of the team and then go all out on a returning Aussie.

I think another guy off the radar is Helliwell who could be a useful back up to DJ.

Reality with the team we have we aren't going to win it this year, so we should develop the youth then lock and load in 2012/2013 as the young guys should be ready by then to make a push at finals.

Dowdell would have been a perfect fit, pity we couldn't keep him.

This season is looking very promising with the coaching staff finally realising that we need bigs inside. To have a trial of bigs gives more credit to the coaches and shows we are finally going in the right direction.

I would go with either Vanderjagt or Knight but I guess it really depends on what type of player the other import will be.

Don't we still have 19 or 20 points remaining for the final 2 spots??? So we drop 10 on an American leaving us with 9 or 10 left and we are going to have a try out for this position??? Surely we can go out and try and get someone decent? To me that would seem that we just don't have any money left!

Panther32, it would be money and also availability of these Big Australians.

I agree re: Dowdell, Nutwork.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but isn't Jacob Holmes as good or better than all of those guys trialing for the last spot? Why don't we just resign him?

because they want a back up center not someone the size of a small forward trying to play center. He has no offense (Can't play 4 vs 5 in offense in the NBL) and has too much pride to come off the bench. They have tried him for many years and the team has been unsuccessful with him playing significant minutes.

Panther, that's what happens with a salary cap. You get Ballinger, two imports, Weigh and then a few others and you start to bump up against it, regardless of your points situation.

No Deal, probably trying to find that balance between not making unnecessary changes and making necessary changes to a team that struggled.

I agree with Panther we have 20 points left so you'd expect a good aussie and import. Just look at NZ roster - if they can fit an the internationals and 2 imports in so should we.

Maybe we neeed more 3rd party sponsorship?

Our guys - Newley, Ingels etc go and play overseas. Creek will be off in a few years as well.

I like the idea of Pero too. I think he would add that bit of mongrel and fighting spirit that we need.

NZ develop their talent, the Sixers buy it.

Mystro what talent have NZ developed of late?
Abercrombie and then who? You have an entire country to pick from and the Breakers are paid by the NZ government to run the equivalent of the AIS. I wouldn't call that a fair comparison to any Australian NBL team.
If you want to compare countries how many Kiwis are playing in the NBA and Europe? That is how our talent is measured.
If you took the Australian impact out of the Breakers you would have Penney and Abercrombie. Mika and Boucher became better players after being in Australia.

Abercrombie is by far the best of that lot and last year he only averaged 10 and 5.
Just because the others sit on the bench for the most part doesnt mean that are LEGIT nbl players.

Or another way , the 36ers have developed a hell of a lot more Olympians and NBA players than the Breakers have. To say the 36ers dont develope talent is a joke.

lol how can you say teams buy players??

ffs there is no draft and very few long term contracts. they all deal with it the only way they can. most teams would have fielded an almost entirely different team over a 3yr period.

To me that is like telling the Lakers they have never developed any talent. Dumb Comment IMO

Would the 36ers be wise to go after both Neville and Kickert, and start the season with 1 import, obviously would mean 1 of them would have to play a minor role, ie 10 mins off the bench or we would be like the tigers last year, which im not sure either would do, but worth a shot.

A team of

Johnson/Neville
Ballinger/Kickert
Weigh/Creek
Herbert/Ng
Warren/Crosswell

Neville is probably the best big left and similarish to Schenshcer in game style, so id be offering him around what we offered Schensch.

If Kickert isnt cheap id go for a PF/SF who plays hard nosed defense and crashes the boards, ala Galen Young, who may be a better fit than Kickert for team balance anyway.

Anyway i think our guard/sf rotation looks pretty good, assuming Warren is a decent import, and Johnson and Ballinger are fine as starting C/PF so we should have improved team.

Perhaps they are going to run the tested method of a big ticket import signing in January to have a run at the title. In the mean time run with a cheapy to see what happens.

KingJames, I agree re: the Sixers holding a camp for prospective big men to win the final spot on the roster. Nice idea by Marty and co.

Muzz Buzz, as provocative as Mystro's comment is, the Sixers track record of developing players has been pretty horrendous for a long time. Other than Maher, there is very little to show since the early 90s.

We somehow managed to miss the talents of Newley and Ingles when they were developing right under our noses.

Forman and Holmes never became the players it was hoped they would, though Oscar has finally had a break out season of sorts with Gordie in Wollongong.

You have to go back to guys like Brett Wheeler, who we developed a fair bit, but eventually lost to Goorjian.

Bradtke was partially developed here, but didn't reach his potential until he was poached by the Tigers.

Players like Cattalini, Stiff and Sapwell, we helped reach their potential, but they were largely developed elsewhere.

Other guys who were tried but didn't pan out for us: Chris Blakemore (though he was good for a couple years), Jason Williams, Brad MacKinnon, Tim Brenton, Matt Scalzi, Brad Hill, Jeremiah Trueman.

There really hasn't been much for us to get excited about for a long time.

As for Mystro's comments about developing their talent, yes they have brought some good players along in recent years, but they too spent big to make their program relevant. Guys like CJ, Rondaldson and Forman were brought in to provide a talented core of players to develop their team around.

So its not as stark as Mystro paints (trolling for a reaction IMO) but they have definitely been doing a better job than us for the last decade!

Agree with you bean town except Bradtke went from the 36ers to the NBA.

Are you sure kb3? I can't remember exactly how it went down now. According to his wiki page, Bradtke didn't get to the NBA until '96. He may have been released by the Sixers to have a crack at an NBA roster at the end of the '92 season I guess. Either way, he came back as a Tiger in '93

Yep he went to Portland around 1992 from memory.

This article says it was the 89/90 season http://articles.philly.com/1996-10-18/sports/25665311_1_sixers-melbourne-tigers-nbl

This is how it went for Bradtke off the top of my head, some facts have been changed to protect the innocent

1989 he goes to Portland from the 36ers signs but never plays. He misses some 36er games.Returns and sees out the season. Ironically just 2 years earlier the home corwd are booing and heckling him whenever he touched the ball as he was lets say nervous every time the ball went near him.

To go from that to the NBA in 2 years is quite an achievement.

He leaves the 36ers in the early 1990's to go to Spain and goes out in style with a 40 point 20 board game ( ball park) and gets a standing ovation from the crowd. Still remember the dunk he threw down that game as a monster, the board was still shaking as he crossed the half way line back into D.

He goes to Spain after the 36ers release him from his contract - somehow he comes back to the NBL as a Tiger and becomes the most hated man at the Powerhouse.

In between Spain and the 36ers i think he somehow got a 10 dayer from the Pistons but again never stepped on the court ( i think he did suit up though)

mid 90's he flirts with the NBA again and this time gets signed and plays for Philly.

From memory his first game back to Australia was against the 36ers. The tigers won the game but then had the result overturned as they played Bradtke before he had FIBA clearance. 36ers win 20-0 , just like social!

Bradtke gets booed at every opportunity by the 36ers crowd until he breaks Mark Davis' rebounding record ironically at the Dome.

The booing stops when he acknowledges Brett Maher as a champion...yaddy yaddy yadda no one booed Bradtke from then on.

I didn't know Bradtke was 'signed' to an NBA team as early as 1990! Pretty sure he never played a game until 1996 though. Basketball Reference.com confirms this. Perhaps its a bit like Newley, where the NBA team holds his rights, but lets him develop further overseas rather than giving him a roster spot?

Thanks Kent, I remember the huge 40/20 send off game. Had completely forgotten about Spain. But him coming back and signing with the Tigers after the Sixers released him to further his career I do remember. It was a sore spot for a number of years.

Of course, at the time I don't think I had any idea about his relationship with Nicole Provis. Wanting to live in Melbourne with the woman he eventually married probably was fair enough looking back. We all gave him such a hard time - poor b@stard!

Beantown is fairly spot on (espesh with the trolling for a reaction part).
Most of the Breakers current roster is filled with local players and a large part of that through their own development academy. NZ went through some woeful seasons while this occurred and bit by bit added experienced Australians around the young core until they were no longer needed. Boucher and Vukona def developed their games further in Australia and I will concede that. The buying players part of the comment referred to the fact that the Sixers need to recruit players to fill spots, ie you guys need a big man, how many of the prospective players are Adelaide locals? Where as the Breakers development program identifies future holes in the squad and gets players who down the road are talented enough to play that role and goes about preparing them ie needed a Centre, so they developed Pledger, Henare was getting old so they have/had Bloxham and Webster waiting in the wings.
Sure not all of them are great individual players but when you add the other pieces of the puzzle (Penney, Vukona and a couple of decent imports) you have a championship team.
As far as I know the local guys in the Sixers are Ng and Creek. Creek has potential plus, but is he going to develop at the Sixers and then reward them with some loyalty by sticking around?
Getting guys young and developing them and rewarding them with long term contracts results in team chemistry and a cheaper roster as you are not competing with anyone for their signature.

KB3, who have the Lakers developed? they sign the best players and spend the most. if you aren't the man, they trade you lol.

The funny thing is, the Sixers dont need a big guy for their rotation. A guy for insurance or the odd stint here and there yes, but Johnson showed at the end of last year that he is the starting centre and Ballinger can cover the rest. (ie Johnson 25mins, Mottram as an eg 5-10 and Ballinger covers 5-10).

It seems a lot of Sixer fans want another good big, but I cant understand that when the team's most successful era in the pro NBL had Paul Rees at centre backed up by Matt Garrison in 02 and an ageing Mark Davis in 98. The key to that team was having four versatile guys who could score in the 1-4 spots and good role players around them.

I think if Adelaide could sign a Brooks type player (but trade some of his offensive prowess for some extra D and board work) for their second import then they have all the bases covered.

Paul, DJ needs 30 minutes per game this season! Also Tucker sounds like the import you described. He can play 1 to 4 spots and would be a great boost off the bench. I don't think too many other Imports would accept starting on the bench so he would be a great fit.

Ah Brett Wheeler...... everyone's rabbit foot for a grand final.

I wouldnt go for Tucker, he is too weak to play the PF spot. I am thinking Brooks, Timmons, Redhage, Lampley etc.

You say Tucker is too weak to play the PF spot then you mention Brooks. Tucker would be stronger then Brooks and would be a much better defender. The only thing Brooks could do better is hit 3's. Brooks was only valuable in really talented teams when he went to less talented teams he struggled as did his team.

Powerfowards aren't really that big in the NBL

Hinder/Elis, Foreman/coenraad, Ben Knight/Dann, Redhage/Wagstaff, Wilkinson/Vokona, Loughton/Rycart, Worthington

Anyway he would only need to play 5 minutes at powerforward if they require. DJ can play some time at powerforward and have the backup playing center or vice versa. Tucker has been playing Center for the Eagles before Mottram arrived

Why are people so big on Nevill? Didn't the Tigers take a turn for the better when he moved on? I got the impression that he detracted as much as he added. Don't know enough about Kickert's game to want him either.

I guess Mottram would be fairly reliable, but if Pero is in form, he could be a bit of a spark and worth a chance.

Coenraad isn't a PF - they will run an import in that spot, or Gruber and Gruber is a truck.

I never thought much of Ben Knight's size, but Oscar was saying only the other day that he has huge core strength. I imagine a guy like Tucker would be unable to move him.

I don't see the point in trying Tucker in a PF role - why not just go for a PF who can shoot or who is just interior muscle?

Weigh can play some PF at a stretch - I think he might have done so at the Cats?

Respect your opinion KingJames, but I watched a lot of Tucker at the Tigers and certainly didnt think he could play four, I thought his lack of strength was a defensive issue at the three sometimes, especially his last couple of years in the league as his body gave in.

Brooks proved himself as a PF in the NBL, not a great defender though and that's why I said a player of his ilk but with more defence and rebounding.

Isaac, I agree re Nevill, not worth the money needed unless his attitude improves.

Isaac, I wouldn't want Nevill as that would send DJ back to the bench and Nevill would probably just head back to europe after a season while DJ probably will play out his career in the NBL so might as well make him the center focus.

Also you would rather a Gruber type player coming off the bench instead of a player that could play a variety of positions? Ballinger would play about 30 minutes so that would leave only 10 minutes for another PF. So to me it would be more productive having DJ play 5 minutes at PF and Weigh or Tucker (other import) for 5 minutes there. I also think with Tucker in the team at times they could play Creek/weigh at SG and have them posting up their smaller opponent.

Paul, I guess I am biased towards Tucker as I think he would fit in well with the team. A Redhage, Lampley, Timmons type player would be good but with Ballinger playing so many minutes I don't think there is space for that type of player (now that we will have a backup center and Ballinger wont have to move to that position at times). Either way its a good delimma for the Sixers to have with lots of talented players fighting for various positions! I think we can agree it will be a better season then last year

We have a full 10 points for both of the final two spots. Why are we talking about cheap options like Tucker and Mottram?

Skip, do we have enough room in the salary cap to get to 10 rated players? I dunno, if we do I hope we get some high end guys but I see it more likely being 1 cheap guy(Mottram/Pero) and a decent import.

I would assume Salary Cap constraints Skip

I did a guess on what the players are on (rough guess I don't know how much they are getting) and I would think there would be about 200k-150k left for the last 2 players. If that was the case then it would be about 50k for a backup center like Mottram, Vanderjagt or Pero and then the rest for an import if they decide to spend it all.

50k for K.Johnson and an Aussie 10.
Anyways , K.Johnson wasn't at training , so I'd guess they are not thinkin 'bout him.

I dont think there are too many Aussie 10's available, Neville would be the only one i can think of unless a Baynes or Barlow wants to return from Europe, so id say they will go for an expensive import and a cheap aussie ala Mottram.

I agree with not needing a true C for the import id be going for a guy who can play SF, PF, C (play 5-10 mins at each spot in each game) ala Galen Young, Rossell Ellis type, if needs to be cheap even go for Young himself, or if have $$ go for a better/younger version, needs to be athletic, strong, versatile, plays defense (especially interior) and rebounds, scoring not a huge issue but would be wanting around 10ppg if given around 20-25 mins per game, along with say 8-10 rebounds and some good defense.

KingJames,

IN your 320 post I think you have got the mix spot on, particularly as our captain is coming off of ankle issues. We need a big import post man, and a back up banger who has size and can defend bigs.

I personlly would like another Shooting Guard.

Who knows how Herbet is going to go having not played for 12 months. I dont see him or Ng as a starter at this point.

Herbert had 27 for Geelong last week against Massingale, Strong, etc. Shot at 50%. Been playing SEABL. In fact, he's been doing really well - lowest scoring game of 17. Hitting from outside at a good clip. Game by game numbers here.

Ng coming back from pneumonia so he'd be more of a concern at this point.

I think they could run some Crosswell at PG with Warren scoring too. Or even Creek defending opposing SG and Weigh as SF.

Even though Weigh could cover a little bit of PF, right now we have no back up at all for Balls and Johnson so need at least something there, if not both remaining players. I think all four guards can start on their night, so would rather see the remaining spots used in the frontcourt.

I'm with Isaac, we need some depth in the frontcourt. KingJames, you mention that a guy like Gruber would only get 10 mins behind Balls, but actually if we get the right big guy, he would be the primary backup for both frontcourt positions, meaning there would be 20 mins a night available.

Its not only backup mins either. We need a guy who can step in and hold his own against opposing starters for stretches when Balls or DJ gets in foul trouble. There were a few games last season that were lost in the first quarter because one of our bigs got into foul trouble and we simply couldn't cover their loss.

Obviously, if we could get a good big guy AND afford to bring in Barlow to start at SG, that'd be great. But I can't see that happening unless we sacrifice the quality of frontcourt player we pick up and that would not be a good idea IMO.

In the absence of a Barlow level SG, I am quite happy with the Herbert/ Ng combo at that position. If our key players (Warren, Balls and Weigh) perform then I think all we need at SG is someone who plays his opponent tough and knocks down the open shot when it presents itself.

Are there players from all positions coming to the August trial or just big guys?

I think if we get a decent import big or atleast PF/SF we are covered in the big man rotation, and would like to see us sign the best aussie available regardless of position, including a Mills during the NBA lockout if Clarke can get him, even with our import PG.

But if a Mills/Barlow level isnt coming i just want the best guy available, was glad to read that SEABL players were coming, as who knows we might find our diamond in the rough like a Petrie,im pretty sure a similar trial un earthed Petrie to the NBL.

If we do sign a decent back up Aussie big ala Vanderjagt, Vasiljevic, Conn, Cameron, Mottram, i wouldnt mind seeing the 36ers sign a versatile import who can play anything from SG - PF ( like a Dorsey or Darden, would Chris Williams return to Aus?), at worst grab a versatile guy like Josh Pace or Galen Young out of the NZBL, but obviously would look to get a proven import in leagues equivalent to the NBL in Europe or Darden or Williams who have played NBL and done well.

Clark, Balls and Weigh would be fantastic but DJ, Balls and Weigh isn't a walk in the park for other teams either. I like Beantowns idea to have a decent big guy come off the bench and cover both DJ and Balls positions when needed.

Jonno, that is a good question about the trial. I was going to point you to Boti's article (see below) where he mentions the trial, but it actually isn't very clear.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/sixers-thinking-big-in-roster-search/story-e6frecj3-1226098808140

Boti says players like Mottram, Pero, Vanderjagt, Harris and Knight - all big men - will ensure a lively trial.

But then Clarke is quoted as saying "we'd be hoping to have our (back-up big man) done before the trials".

Boti also says Clarke "hasn't ruled out" going for an import as the backup big and later in the article contends that this means Clarke has "run out of potential Australians to slot beside Balls and DJ".

So its a little confusing, but I think that if we have a guess that the word Clarke actually used in Boti's quote about having the back-up big done is IMPORT, then it might make a bit more sense.

So from what Boti says I think it seems likely that the Sixers are trying to get an import PF/C signed before the camp (ie within about a week).

They may then offer the last slot on the roster to whoever impresses them most in the trials. Given the names Boti has dropped and the way he has suggested that positions 1-3 are covered, you'd have to think it is more likely it will be a big, but I guess its possible some guards will be invited and might get a look in.

Thought it was interesting the wording of us not ruling out an import back-up big.
Article is a bit all over the shop and unclear with its wording.
In one paragraph it says we are only contemplating using a second import. Then it goes on to say they expect to have that spot signed before the camp. Then it implies the camp is to find us a back-up big.
Looks like Mottram and Vasiljevic are the front runners at this stage for the 10 spot on the roster and the import is expected to be either big or can play big. (Kind of implying a Rosell Ellis/Galen Young sort of inbetweener type?)
If we get a Back-up centre out of the trial (Mottram/Knight/Vasiljevic), then a PF/SF type big would be ideal for the import position. Reading between the lines of the article, that's how I understand we are planning our signings to be.

Who's second?