Great combination of size & strength, but low basketball IQ and shoots too many 3s for the clip he hit them at (at the NBA distance, anyhow).

Doubt this ends up being true, anyway.

Would be interesting to see what level he would be at in the NBL, was solid in the Americas Championship for Canada, scored at a good clip and rebounded well.

A bit of a gamble though just because it's been a long time since he played consistently good basketball. Maybe he'll have a bee in his bonnet and rediscover his mojo.

He was a decent college player once upon a time.

Bennett was an amazing player at college. Struggled to show any kind of consistency as a professional player to date.

Publicity stunt or not, if we can give him back his love for basketball and he ends up returning to the NBA then that puts the NBL in a nice light...

Worst that could happen is Garlepp gets more minutes.

"But remember according to this site the NBL is wayyyy better quality than college basketball lol"

I am not sure why you are mocking with that statement. Most players in college will not go on to play the game professionally. Many college players come to the NBL and are eaten alive. As a standard, the NBL is better. However, there are those 1 in 100 kids who are good enough to play top-flight Europe or NBA. No, we do not have them. However, they are the exception and the reason they stand out so much on a college floor is because the standard once you get past the better teams best 5, is not all that high.

Bennett is a number one draft pick. He wasn't picked number one because he can't play. He obviously has some intangibles that don't come around everyday. I think you'd be mad not to sign him if you could afford him. He is still young. He still has time to improve. He still has time to work on the basketball IQ etc.

You could argue they were - asthma was apparently quite a big factor in his conditioning woes.

I'm a Cavs fan and well aware of how disappointing he was in the NBA, but being good in the NBA is not a measurement for how good a guy would be in the NBL. He's a nimble 6'9 with strength, and could be devastating in this league if he brings the right attitude.

Bennet wasn't that good at UNLV. He was picked up at number 1 due to potential and not output.

For all his short comings in the NBA, pretty sure he would (well should) tear the NBL a new arsehole if he come down here.

Worst case it'll keep the US media spotlight on Australian hoops, as they love to see & report on this guy failing at any opportunity....

@498

Worst case is that the Kings actually suck big time and no one goes to their games, because they are basically an import down.

fan base in Sydney lose their love for the game

It's being reported by 'sources' on Real GM now

Has Rodney O been contacted for comment? And is Iverson still in the picture?

Throws down a powerful dunk!

My point was I read either in the newspaper or on Boti that Bennett had lost his love for the game and was looking for a smaller market to perhaps refind his love for the game.

If he found that and brought fans in to watch him and then got some of his NBA mates down here then that would be better than having Childress bringing blokes in past their prime...

That's all I'm getting at, maybe having him and Childress and an import PG could be the way to go with this team

Childress saying he probably wouldn't be back last season was what meant the end of Childress

@proud, I think you may have got confused with my post in the Hawks Announcement thread that stated that Anthony Bennett was seen at Novotel Wollongong saying he was looking for a smaller market to regain his love for the game.

I think Childress saying he wouldn't be back was his gut feeling based on the team's results and his own injury issues.

Right now I doubt they could afford him anyway

Praise little baby Jesus, someone actually used the "ee" :)

Just some background to that "factoring in", it was always best case scenario... Limiting the marquee player rule to only local players would have helped put a nail into that coffin, although I had a little window after the new owners took over and said they'd be investing heavily into the team that I thought our chances improved, but even if he WAS keen, if he got through the D-league healthy, if he still was thinking about the NBA, he would have left his decision a lot later than what I think the team should have been comfortable with...

Boti now saying no Bennett in the NBL.

Thanks asics, get mixed up with all the info you read online.

Too lazy to check, but pretty sure Boti put something on Twitter about it a day or two ago, too.

I was wondering about that too.
But I think what someone said about waiting to hear on NBA options probably meant they couldn't wait that long for him. I don't think anyone would have the leftover dosh for him to come back now anyway....

The default answer from JvG and Gaze I think was "we would love to have him back" but that he is also trying to get back into the NBA, so it all depends, if he actually DOES want to return, how realistic he is about his chances as to how long the Kings would have to wait, I guess...

Hopefully they're still actively pursuing him (if they can afford him) but still have a plan in place if he doesn't work out... If there's no chance of him coming back, I'd rather all parties just be upfront about it so all the fans can move on, as most didn't think he was a chance to come back last season, so there are those (me included) that have the unrealistic hopes that he could come back next season...