Right now, I would say Sanders...

I am impressed... NBL is starting to genuinely scalp NBA level players. Flynn, Ennis, Young, Luther Head maybe? .. then there was Stephen Dennis who got injured... Imports are on their way up

has 4 years nba experience, nba career averages of 5.8 ppg, 0.7 apg, 2.3 rpg FG% 44%, in 15 min per game, thats pretty decent, guys like Donta Smith and Julius Hodge would probably have had lesser NBA careers.

His college averages senior year in 2009 are 19pts, 1 assists, 6 rebounds at 50% from the field, in 31 mins per game, again many imports who have come here and done well have lesser college credentials than that.

I know there is a big difference from performing well on paper and on the court, but those credentials would be just about the best of any import to come to the NBL in recent years, so ill back him in to do well, may not be MVP but should be decent, id be shocked if he was a downgrade on say Camouche assuming his attitude and work ethic are decent.

Good luck to him, well done to the Kings its great for the NBL i look forward to seeing him play.

Moves like this are very good for the NBL. At 28, still time for him to latch on for an NBA playoff run, the fact he decides on our league to stay fit in the mean time, is an immense positive!

Has to be a replacement for Sanders. Young is not an elite scorer and if Carmouche goes, who does Heal have left to fill it up? Madgen and Ogilvy?

Don't know about how well team will be run at PG, but man they have some talent now. They can score well down low with Ogilvy, from mid and long range with Carmouche and Madgen and now they are excellent in transition with Young, Hill, Madgen, Carmouche.

Defensively, they are very very solid.

Instant championship contender now. Don't forget Ellis is joining the mix soon.

If it is Carmouche leaving, you'd think it would be on the grounds of off-court discipline.

What spot doe Ellis play? PG or swingman? I'd say it would be a replacement for Carmouche (wasn't he brought in only because the Madgen injury?)

omg if it's Sanders who will write his blog "the summer of sanders"?

The Summer of Sam slots in snicely

Ellis is a PF/SF im pretty sure.

From a team balance perspective it would be a bad decision to bring in Young a swing man, for Sanders a PG, when the Kings have no real strong pgs to fill the spot, so would have to be Camouche.

I'd back Young to average the same or more points than Camouche and with Madgen coming back to top form i think they will be fine with there scoring.

A starting group of

Ogilvy (MVP level)
Ellis or Garlepp
Young (potentially MVP level)
Madgen (MVP level when in top form/fitness)
Sanders

Looks very good to me, and fairly well balanced too.

Sanders hasn't exactly excelled at running the Kings offense.

If it's up to Young or Hill to play the four, it would probably be Young.

Where's Cassie?

Also, he's the only one in the league who would be able to go with Ennis. Very important come the crunch.

A definite shame if Carmouche is gone but that's the nature of being an import. With Young,s signing the Kings line up could be,
Sanders,White
Madgen,Harvey
Young,hill
Ellis/garlepp
Ogilvy,allen

sanders just isnt that good, hopefully he got cut.

"This is exactly what Sydney have been lacking for years, a "Showtime, dunking, entertaining" athlete."

You mean since Jerai Grant two years ago?

If true, I wonder if they've seen their start to the season, the noise Ennis has generated, how Ogilvy/etc have gone and figure this season is worth investing a little more in.

SMH's basketball section has tweeted about it. Seems to have legs.

from twitter i am tipping both imports are cut to make way for Sam

If i was the Kings imports i wouldnt be feeling really good right now. Somebody is sitting on death row!!!

"Grant was a role-player this guy has been an NBA player for years and should dominate like Flynn did."

fixed?

Where did boti say this?

I don't think Flynn dominated.

Since when did Heal coach in any form in an nba team?

We have had flynn, ennis, clarke, Dennis (pre injury) now Sam young and possibly Luther Head

the NBA out clause is proving to be a handy little bartering chip, NBL needs to strike while the iron is hot and somehow up the ante on this trend

Bigger signing than Ennis. Biggest signing since Flynn, in terms of resume.

Mick, who do you think sydney will cut?

I very much doubt he stays the full season. With an NBA out someone will pick him up. Unlike Flynn he is a productive NBA player with no lingering injury history.

Not sure what their points situation is but they have way too many small guards. Cut any one of them.

Ie. don't cut Carmouche. Sanders is gone. Let one of the scrubs run the point.

Not so sure Anon. If you look at their roster, unless they are drastically overpaying everyone, I doubt they are anywhere near the cap ceiling.

I always thought Brad Hill was when of the better ballhandlers in the league for his position. Could you test him out at the 1 for a lark? Or is that just a pipe dream? His decision making probably isn't up to par...

No, we don't know that Young will be the highest paid player. His agent said he was but I'd take that with a pinch of salt.

It's not just about bringing up the ball, a good PG runs the team, gets the players in the right spots and gets the right players the ball at the right time... There's no one else on the Kings roster even close to being able to fill that slot. Weeks has shown that he's a decent back up in the pre-season, and for a few minutes here and there in the regular season, but he shouldn't be getting more than 4-6mins a game under regular circumstances...

Also, if Gleeson comes back (he's played no pre-season games or regular season games, so how long has it been since he's been in the NBL?) that means that Weeks now can't play...

Armour wasn't even up to pre-season quality, with Weeks getting extended minutes at that position...

I really don't recall Flynn dominating ... admittedly, I didn't have nbl tv last year so I didn't really see him outside of that time we kidnapped the referees, but I really don't recall him dominating at all. Great player, but not a dominant player.

lol. young wont be the highest paid in the league..

and as for Young a bigger signing then Ennis.. hold your horses.. Ennis is a player who a top NBA team actually wants and have future plans for... Young? not so much...

@GuesswhosBACK How many years has Ennis played in the NBA?

Should be a good signing. Given Sydney has historically, at least by NBL standards, been a "glamour club" it's been a little jarring in recent years to see guys like Kevin White on the team.

I think this is a little bit of a marketing stunt by Sydney as well as a good move.

Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Monta Ellis, Luis Scola, Marc Gasol, Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Ryan Gomes

Oh yeah, Trevor Ariza and Leon Powe come to mind as well.

Sacramentos Isiah Thomas was the 60th

I think both imports are gone and DeLeon is soon to be anounced or Corin Henry is back.

^ That would be one of the most staggering pieces of ruthlessness we've seen in Australian sport for quite a while...

Young's agent must be off his nut! Here's hoping Bell get's sacked for being unprofessional.

I could see Carmouche, White, Hill and to a much lesser extent Madgen splitting time at point. It's not ideal, but if Carmouche continues his good shooting form, Madgen continues to recover and Ogilvy maintains his ridiculous efficiency, Young could really compliment these guys at the 3 - which is currently their weakness position-wise.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Carmouche go. Not because of his form, but because Sanders is surely providing exactly what Shane Heal has expected of him and is a great fit to his style of play. Also, they do struggle with executing the game plan without Sanders on the floor.

Both imports being sacked would be COLD BLOODED!

This is a pro league not an Under 12 kids team. Decisions need to be made based on what's best for the teams W/L record. Imagine a team of:
Ogilvy
Garlepp
Young
Madden
Henry or DeLeon

Jesse Sanders was let go.. looked at the article.

Hopefully this brings in the crowds. Ennis vs Young great match up 11,500 plus next week hopefully.

I wouldn't knock back seeing Jerai Grant (not Malcolm) back in this league... Defensive threat and could really throw it down!

Carmouche could get another gig in this league if he has been cut as he was a scorer and we have seen worse!

I would agree with anonymous... there has to be a point guard in the midst that is maybe just a week or 2 behind. Looks like they are replacing 2 budget imports for 2 prime time ones. And about time too... Sydney isn't like the regional towns who get behind seeing the fighting underdogs, they want to see stars, flashy stuff.. and they might have it soon.

this is exciting!

That's great to see a player of Sam Youngs in the NBL.

I think the kings are still really weak at the 4 spot, the 1, 2 5 & and now 3 seem solid but the 4 seems especially weak

^ Ellis should fix that.

If they dont have another pg coming in and Young is replacing Sanders they are now week in pg.

Im assuming they have someone waiting in the wings to play pg, not sure who it would be? Dante Exum? another import to replace Camouche?

I hope they're not relying on Gleeson coming in and running the team... He'd be the only player that is yet to come in... We've already got 11 rostered players, so when Ellis comes back that means Allen will be sitting out and we'll be light on at the 5 but deeper at the 2-4 and INCREDIBLY light on at the 1...

I guess it will just be a "each for their own" once they manage to get the ball out of the backcourt...

This from Sanders' twitter in response to someone just a couple of days ago: "everything is great for me man. Very professional organization here and the people are great. Thankful to be a Sydney King!"

Wondering if he feels the same way now, especially as the Kings seem to have gone to ground ever since Young's agent spoke to the media.

Could work really well, but this definitely has the potential to be an outrageously unbalanced team.

I was thinking the same thing watching the game tonight. Madgen, Young and Harvey can cover what Carmouche brings, Sanders is pretty unique on the roster.

Still, Heal understands his team pretty well so Im willing to wait and see what he's got up his sleeve.

BTW, is it seven games you need to qualify for the playoffs? Sanders has exactly that many and Young reportedly has an out up to the playoffs. We may see Sanders again if he doesnt have another gig and Young leaves.

The post game telecast of tonight's game left me with little doubt as to which import is to make way for Young.

Agreed, Paul. Sanders brings more to the Kings than Carmiuche does.

In all honesty, I'd take Sanders over one of the Taipans imports.

"Don't you know Paul? 7 games?,6? 8? I thought you knew your stuff."

That's ok buddy, you were wrong. Does anyone know the figure, seven sticks in my memory from last year but not sure.

Statsheet Stuffer.. are you talking Mccamey.. or "demetrius" as carfino likes to say?

Haha 'Demetrius', f*** Carfino is an idiot sometimes...most times.

I really don't know. McCamey is too passive and doesn't have his head right--something that I actually noticed in the preseason, and was confirmed against Perth the other night. But then, Wilson doesn't seem to run the team as effectively as I would like and is not great in transition. He does give more effort and intensity than McCamey though, which is something the team really needs desperately--they need to try harder! That decent perimeter defense of Sanders wouldn't hurt either. We get burned on the perimeter a fair bit and Sanders would help with man coverage ane communication. I just want something to change!

I had higher expectations of Maccamey before the season, apparently he was unlucky to miss out on a draft pick.. but see him play, hes pretty average.. I don't think he is any better then your average NBL player and more so, I think he is under par for this years Imports and probably should get the flick.

I agree with Jamar, sometimes hes good.. othertimes.. kind of sucks. Cairns could do with switching their imports up. I would pick up sanders and An NBA guy for that team and then they would be legitimate.

Shame bout Sanders, good guy. And if he were an Aussie.. he would have a 10 year career in this league easy.

Yeah, but there are thousands and thousands of Americans who fit that category.

Guess, in fairness to McCamey, he has been very passive, not untalented. He can actually get to the cup/middle area at will but is simply not putting up shots, instead opting for the pass.

Dimers don't look as good as scorers to the average watcher, but are just as important. McCamey is stuck somewhere in between being a scorer and disher, because he doesn't adequately keep the ball moving in their halfcourt sets, yet he doesn't take near enough shots. It seems as though he has to make up his mind whether each touch should be a pass or shot. I may even put that down to bad coaching. McCamey needs a sole objective when on the court. He should just start by shooting and being a scorer because he is incredibly capable.

Do a lot of travel calls get missed in the NBL? I thought there were a few times where players shuffled their feet and it didn't get called. I don't play the game so I could be wrong.

^ Wrong thread.