Second best (behind Khazzouh) true centre in the league and will only continue to get better!

We need to move heaven and earth to keep him....as he is hard to replace

Hey Anon - never changed employers yourself, then? And I assume you'll be equally outraged if Kyrie Irving turns his back on the USA (where he's lived since he was 2 and whose system has fostered his basketball development) and plays for Australia?

It would be good to keep him but I wouldnt be moving heaven and earth...

last year Ballinger was getting into foul trouble because DJ could not guard the opposing starting centre, this year it has recently been a tactic to try and use a tall starting centre to get Simpson into foul trouble ditto same reason..

If DJ could defend either big position i would be considering moving heaven and earth...

some guys just like changing clubs, might have nothing to do with the 36ers.

This is the same arrogance he shows on the court..thinking he is better than most.
We do need a player like him in the team and should try what we can to keep him..but not at all costs...and doubt we can afford to with other teams hunting.
It sucks when players get brought into a club..make a name for themselves because of that club and they think..hmm im going to leave...really a lack of respect their used to be for the fans and a lack of dedication and loyalty.
Would love to know if a new Coach would help his decision to stick around.

Seriously, this is a business! He is playing the best & most consistent in our team. He works his butt off & we're still going to miss playing finals AGAIN!
Why wouldnt you go somewhere else, earn the dollars & have a chance of winning a championship! That's what it's all about isn't it! Don't get me worng, i want him to stay & i want Simpson back to improve our chances next season to work with Ballinger, but it's not realistic to think we can keep great players in a losing team.

Johnson never said he was leaving Adelaide, I believe he is just testing his value on the market.....much like Gibson did with Gold Coast.

FWIW DJ did say he loves the lifestyle in Adelaide and is settled here. Also said he is happy with how the coaches are developing his game and how Adelaide is one of the few arenas where you get to train where you play.

These are all things he will weigh up at the end of the season along with any offers that are put infront of him.

More money may not be everything if he doesnt think he will further develop at that club, which will be important if he wants to achieve things like playing for his country??

Tigers should chase Johnson for next season... they need a legit centre.

It would look a little scary on the defensive end though with DJ alongside Trigger. Who cares though as long as they score more than the other team.

hahah some of you blokes are dillusional

If someone offered you double of what you are earning now, to do the same job in another city, you would say no right? HAHAHA
Yeah right....
Sport is a business. If you want loyalty rewards join Fly Buys.

I'd guess he's just testing the market. Hope we can keep him unless the asking price gets ridiculous.

He's not a big personality or complete player, but has been persistent on offence against some challenging D and is improving each year. Stats are good. If a new team comes in, we can't afford to be throwing out half-decent players in the hope of upgrading across the board.

He's entitled to test the waters. Sixers should pay him what he's worth, not a dollar more.

Make an offer NOW, make it our best offer, demonstrate that the Sixers do want him and recognise the great season he has had. If he walks from that, so be it.

I hope we keep him. He has a high ceiling IMO.

Amazes me that people bitch about him testing free agency, are you serious?

So if another employer comes to you and offers you more for the same job, you would not take it???

What is he? Only 22 or 23? Lock him in for 3 years before we lose him to Europe.

If he leaves u gotta get rid of Clarke!

He'll play for who he respects...

In a league where big men are so hard to come by, any team that doesn't have Khazzouh would be stupid not to make a run at him.

Schenscher is definitely not the answer....very slow and goes against how the rest of the NBL plays.

DJ is a mobile big that can mix it up inside and outside....a very rare commodity.

Skip, I think he is 24? So has a lot more upside and years than Schenscher.

His improvement with more minutes from last year is obvious. Antother year or two at the same or similar rate of development would make hime very good. A few of us were saying similar about retaining Creek - two of the best young guns in the league. Lock 'em in for three years each.

in the afl teams really put alot of time, money and work into developing kids, sign them at 18 and basically give them a life coach etc, a few may not get to a second contract but usually they will get plenty of time to prove they can play. get offered generally 2-3 yr contracts. very many will be held onto by their club for 6- 12 years.

in the nbl, clubs will compete to sign the established players. young kids may get a chance to sign as a development player or get the 9th/ 10th spot on the list and maybe play some junk minutes. when their contract is up the team may or may not have a new coach, and may want their services or it may not.

i hate how fluid player movement is in the nbl but i think the league and teams really only have themselves to thank for it and can hardly complain.

& get someone to coach them off the bottom 2 sides!

i was always a big fan of schensh but i feel that he hasnt been able to keep up any momentum with constant small injuries and he isnt the player he was when he was here in adelaide and may not ever be again. by that i dont mean he will be rubbish, he is still quite good and will get better as long as he can stay on the court, but with his history, build, and age these things usually dont improve but go the other way.

if we needed a centre im all for schensh coming home but i certainly wouldnt put all my eggs in his basket nor jettison one of the best

7 footers in the league

offensive threats in the league

players under 25 in the league

oh yeah, all those were describing one person. you know who he is, yes he is flawed. if he wasnt in someway flawed do you know what they pay 7 footers who can score and defend? yeah add another zero to our total player payments and you might get his multi-year contract figure.

If he were looking for a few thousand more, I think he'd negotiate a little without needing to wait out the season. But realistically, he's come from the bench (though doubt he was considered cheap coming off the bench) to team MVP, top five in the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks. He'd know that Ballinger is out of contract and unlikely to command the same money again.

It could hopefully just be a way of knocking the price up $40k which isn't unreasonable, though hopefully wouldn't prevent the 36ers from upgrading elsewhere.

If he were from Melbourne and keen to join their new team, I'd worry about losing him there, but Perth have Wagstaff, Knight, Redhage and may want to keep Nevill too.

Only takes one other team to make it a bidding war. Wollongong aren't going to win one. Perth I've mentioned. NZ would probably want to keep their successful combo. Cairns have Loughton and Crosswhite. Crocs and Schenscher - I guess they'd stay together? Melbourne couldn't really pair Tragardh and Johnson (but you never know with them!). Blaze maybe - they have an import and Garlepp plus would free up money abandoning Harvey. Sydney have Khazzouh and like Grant. New Melbourne team is a clean slate.

FFS- It only seems that I recall only a few weeks ago, people calling for DJ to be given less court time, now he is definitely a player we need to retain.
Why, all of a sudden, anything reported in the only daily paper in Adelaide, considered as the truth?
It seems like only last week that the same paper was reporting 'rubbish' (according to many posts on Hoops anyway)

I think Johnson is waiting to see who is coach is for next season before signing,I be waiting first ,but Johnson has stated he is happy here but hes not ready for the euro league.Sixers should offer him now and he can sit on it til season end.It be sad if Johnson goes to another club with big bucks,hes been our best player this season no doubt will win MVP.

DJ is the only success story Clarke has. If he leaves it speaks volumes...

He'd be a fool not to test free agency. The opportunity doesn't come up every year.

Daniel Johnson , in the Advertiser and/or on here -
( vide 36ers v Crocodiles. Camel 31 ) 07Feb2012 -
Said he'd be leaving his decision 'til after this season finishes , whether that be here or somewhere else , see what his agent comes up with , he told us.

Clarke sounded confident DJ would be here.
Not as confident he'd be coaching.
I disremember who votes for MVP. Weigh will poll well, if Clarke.
Maher is pretty good here.
Lets hope Voldemort, 'no one sees my face and lives',is not involved , spoiling hoopssa. E.G. a list of Woollacott Medalists was removed.
Aw , the phones tapped anyway . Maggie says that many say , they must bust in early May , orders from the D.A.

Not surprised. He's well in his right to find the best deal he can get.
I think if we swap Ballinger and Johnson's contracts next year, we should be able to keep them.
I have no problem with the 4 bigs we have. Simpson is quality. Fitness won't be an issue when Ballinger returns. DJ is a star and he works well with Helliwell as the defensive big. Ballinger will give us more offense and is a real threat when at his best. Was our best player for years, shouldn't be judged on this season. Definitely needs to take a pay cut though if we are to compete.
Don't think this list is too far away. With a new coach and Ballinger and Crosswell back and maybe a more experienced point guard (Crosswell would help in that area) to help or replace Warren.
DJ and Simpson are the most important to re-sign in the off season. Oh, and our New coach.

Don't think we need to do a rebuild like we do every year. The successful teams all have a core group who they have built around over a number of years. For us that is DJ, Weigh, Simpson and Creek primarily.

I've heard there will be an offer from the Blaze.
Hope he talks to a few of this year's squad members. It isn't ALL about the dollars.

onair@fiveaa , he was disappointed with lack of wins.
Clearly , playing in a winning team is his main desire.

MVP for a bottom team or Blaze. Something to think on.
( I went out with SouthPanthers the best team in Australia , at the time , maybe shouldda gone with the bottom team.)

DJ is one player we MUST retain, future captain IMO