The MAdvertiser reported this as a possibility late yesterday. It is definitely strange that the 'announcement' comes through a player's social media account and not the club that signed the player.

Good news however, averaged 13ppg in China when he last played.

Averaged 6.6 PPG in 15 minutes last time he played in the NBA (2013/14). Pretty decent output for a role player's final season, though stats seemed inefficient last time I looked.

Still, just the sort of signing that will help the league.

According to RealGM he averaged 32.4PPG and 10.7RPG in 10 games in China? Unless I'm reading the page wrong, it's not exactly the cleanest UI.

Another solid move for the NBL image. I have no idea how good he will be, if compared to Childress directly, I dont think he will be as good, just a hunch, but will be definite upgrade to a depleted Kings team. Another reason to tune into the NBL!

Does any one know if he'll be ready for the Friday game, and the one vs United? (I forgot which day it was on)

He won't be another Childress just because he's not as versatile and is a few years older, but no reason why he can't be a dominant scorer and rebounder.

Official announcement from the Kings

Most experienced NBA player to join the NBL, they note.

How long is Childress out for? What happens when JChill returns?

Oh, Hudson is formerly of the West Sydney Razorbacks?!? I wasn't aware of this, I must have missed the multiple mentions of it in every single other thread that mentions Sydney!!!!

On paper at least, I thought this was a pretty great roster this year that we put together. Only signings I thought were strange were Dion (which I'm fine with now, a couple of hiccups the past few games aside) and Carter, more due to the fact that we already had so many PGs.

@ Ket; 4-6 weeks is the official timeframe, but with injuries like hands it's hard to say. Probably closer to 6-8 I would think. Harrington is signed until that time.

I'm not complaining, but it really feels like JChill has taken this league under his wing... Gets Warrick to fly down to Melbourne (to be critically under-utilized), and now arranges for his buddy, an NBA vet and arguably the highest profile import ever, to come fill in for him...

"Al is a good friend of mine and I'm looking forward to him joining the Kings," Josh said.

“He was the first person I reached out to when the team spoke of an injury replacement.”

Assuming Childress is fit to play in 6-8 weeks, can they keep Harrington and cut Thornton if he doesn't improve much?

I'd be pretty happy with a Khazzouh-Harrington-Childress frontcourt..... :)

Even a Khazzouh Garlepp Harrington Childress Cadee would be good.

Don't understand why the Kings don't just cut Thornton and keep Harrington for the rest of the year.

They have plenty of guards there.

Cadee, Carter, Markovic, Prewster is plenty to cover the 1-2 spots.

Thornton is surplus to requirements.

Similar to the Wildcats not cutting Deandre Daniels last year, if clubs sign these rookies/second round picks with the promise of turning them in to NBA ready players but then cut them, then they have automatically ruled themselves out of getting another second round player next year from any NBA team.

^^^ yep, this is the reason why I think Thornton is relatively safe. It makes it a risk though, especially when we are now seeing NBA vets came down under, rather than just rookies.

I'm not saying its the best strategy or decision either but I can see why they haven't pulled the trigger on him...not that they really should be.

Can Childress please supply an import for every franchise that doesn't count under the salary cap?

With these second round draft picks the downside is you need to make sure they are the right fit otherwise u are screwed as can't cut them!!

By all reports JChill is a great guy, when he was injured last season he traveled to Adelaide to support the Kings and my old man saw him in the markets having a look around. Was humble and happy for a brief chat, and appreciative of the well wishes he passed on for his recovery. Even when he's on court tearing you apart it's hard not to love having him in the country playing.

Replacing Thornton with a forward puts more pressure on their guards, most of whom haven't really excelled.

Markovic 1.6 APG, 30% 3PG, 4.2 PPG
Carter 1 APG, 19.2 3P%, 6.4 PPG
Thornton 1.4 APG, 20% 3PG, 13 PPG
Cadee 3.2 APG, 29% 3P, 13.4 PPG

Cadee has scored well, but Markovic has had limited impact and the other two aren't very efficient so far.

Might be that Harrington is only available short term? Or that Thornton's salary within the cap isn't as high as Childress'.

As long as it doesn't send teams broke due to the 'arms race' of bringing in high-profile imports, JChill coming down under might end up being just about the best thing to happen to the league.

JChillington is the hero the NBL needs

There have been ridiculous rules in the past about injury replacements not being able to be signed once the injured player returns (Weeks for Harvey a few seasons ago & most likely Weeks for Martin this season) but hopefully with LK leading the charge he will see the common sense in this being a stupid rule...

If Harrington was available for the entire time I would have been happy to cut Thornton and force our local guards to step up in Chill's absence...

Rules exist for a reason. This one in particular is easily exploited. Only way it could work is with a Stern level of control over the situation

I love all these anon sources (or perhaps it's only one) with their 'inside scoops'.

Harrington absolutely dominated in China - 32.4ppg, 10.7rpg in 38.5 minutes, shooting 52%. Not sure why he only played 10 games.

Although it's worth noting that despite his ridiculous numbers, his team won 2 and lost 8 in his 10 games. (In the remainer of the season they went 8 and 20, for a season record of 10-28). Perhaps he was the only good player on his team and thats why he could rack up those numbers (ala Carlos Powell that year), or perhaps his game is deficient in other areas?

As a point of comparison, Warrick played 18 games in China in 2013/14 and averaged 21.6ppg and 9.2 rpg in 33.8mpg, shooting 53%. Although, Warrick played on a good team- who went 20 wins, 14 losses.

I'm very excited- Khazzough and Harrington playing together is something I look forward to seeing. On paper, Harrington should dominate the NBL and average 20+ppg, but with the Kings guards having such a horrible season and the team doing so badly, it's no guarantee that he'll turn them into a winning team.

People need to stop saying that Warrick is being under utilised. Majok has been a total revelation and is averaging about 56 rebounds per 40 minutes.

Warrick has played about 25 minutes a game (excluding his rest game against Townsville where he played 6 minutes, after United had a 20+ point lead well before half time).

The big question for me is what kind of shape Harrington is in. He is technically coming out of retirement. Hasn't played a professional game since November last year.

If he has been working out then he should dominate straight away, otherwise it might take 2 or 3 weeks.

In his 10 games in China he scored 49 points and then 42 points in his third last and second last games. China's not exactly full of hacks- it's a decent standard so that is positively scary!

to anon #558888 why would Melbourne want Goorjan, they're the best team in the NBL right now, so why would you change your coach if every things working? If hes coming back he'll be in Sydney

@ Rex, I think the anon was eluding to the fact that Goorj really doesn't have any ties to Sydney, so if he was to leave the lucrative Chinese market for the NBL there would need to be other things to pull him back, which Sydney wouldn't have...

We only need to look at the Hawks to see what can happen when they hire a proper coach that has the connections and the wins on the board that the ownership has faith enough in to let them run the team without interference...

Lol, my statement is laughable.... typical fuckwit anons. I don't see Melbourne cutting their coach or not re-signing him after this start. Just cos Goorjan wants back doesn't necessarily mean he will be back.

I think what anon is trying to say is that Cotter isn't the GM of the team? Am I getting that? Maybe if you post it a few more times it might sink in better?

Who were they supposed to go with? Maybe it's lack of opportunity, but as far as I'm aware there aren't exactly a stack of capable unknowns waiting in the wings for a head coaching gig. Robilliard and Cotter are examples of guys who were given a chance without the head coaching experience. Hasn't turned out. Heal was a decent roll of the dice (like Anstey) but didn't work either.

And no, Goorj isn't a realistic option, either.

Goorji to perth doing the rounds?.

My question was directed at the anom poster who said gorji to Perth!. That sounds a litte out there.The only teams I can see him coaching are Melbourne or Sydney perhaps.

So injuries are Hudson's fault. Kings were looking OK last year till Chill went down and most seemed to think their roster this year would have them in contention.
Now in hindsight it's not good enough despite losing one of the best ever NBL imports.
I have no idea about Hudson but have watched the coach in action and he just isn't up to it IMO.

Yeah, Heal had experience as a player-coach, but that's idiocy on behalf of the team's front office. It's not something anyone should do in the world of professional basketball, no matter what the quality of the league, and doesn't give you much ground to judge a coach on, either.

Results haven't been there for Sydney since the rebirth, but this year more so than the others I find it hard to criticize the front office, unless we are talking about their choice of coach. Again though, what are the options here?

IMO, I don't care whether the coach has a say in personnel because it's not necessarily in their job description. Hudson & co. put together a good squad.

Oh OK. I am with you on the choice of coaches. I thought you were on their case about personnel decisions.

Been a King's fan since 80's. Cotter needs to go back to coaching 17 year old girls.

How are the king's affording Harrington with Josh on their books?

He's a big dude for a combo forward, well suited to the NBL I'd think as he can play PF with ease. Not familiar enough with the Kings' roster to say whether he's a good fit.
Great for the league to able to get somebody of his calibre as an injury replacement.

How are the king's affording Harrington with Josh on their books?