Is Marcus Thornton coming back?

Oh god , i hope not!!

Kings have hit bad with Kendrick Perry and Marcus Thornton.

What positions do the kings need to fill?

I think they need an offensive 2-3 and a defensive 3-4 to give their roster some versatility.

well according to picknroll there is ;

Jason Cadee/ ???
Kevin Lisch/ ??
Brad Newley/ ??
Tom Garlep / Jerome Hill
Julian Khazzouh/Alex Maric

So they need an import PG, import SG and import SF plus an 11th man.

Unless Lisch spends time at the PG then there is no chance for Beal on any NBL team this year.

There are still rumours about Childress returning but I don't see that happening.

I read somewhere Gaze has been talking to Childress to try and coax him back but seems unlikely given the money they would've already spent on Lisch & Newley and they've been trialling SEABL import Garrett Jackson who filled in as a brief injury replacement with Melb Utd last season.

It's Jeromie, not Jerome (different player by that name.)

I wonder if, looking at that Roster, there are plans to have Kazz play more of a 4, with Maric in the 5?
("Similar" to what Perth did with Knight last season.)

Either way, you'd have to figure that signing a gun import PG is their top priority?
(Yes sure, Lisch could run the point, and you could even move Newley to SG, but why bother when you still need to fill the gaps.)
Sure, Beal could play PG, and do it well, no question. But I don't see any big attraction there for the Kings. I tend to think they'd want someone more like a Wilbekin type?

Beyond that, and keeping in mind the bench cap, maybe a young cheap swingman/ wing-man to come off the bench. With such an abundance of "Aussie" talent, they may keep the 3rd slot as insurance, and fill the remaining bench with locals. Must still be a couple of guys looking for a gig?

What's Vandenberg doing? If they plan to start Kazz and Maric, he'd be a handy option to hold down one end of the bench (and presumably cheap.)

Dazz,

Pretty sure Maric has been signed as an injury replacement for Khazzouh who is expected to still be out for possibly the first month of the season. Whether they keep Maric on after Khazzouh comes back not sure.

I think Cadee and Lisch will cover the PG duties, and if that's the case they'll probably be looking more for a scoring wing with the guard import spot, but time will tell I suppose.

Cadee and Khazzouh have both said Lisch will run the point and the office's primary focus is a flat out scorer - like Ebi in his prime.

Don't know where people are getting their information regarding Maric, he's there to stay regardless of khazzouh's health.

I'd say they'll plug the majority of their moola into a import SG and invest the remainder into another 3/4 - like Jackson.

Aussie PGs don't really exist in the NBL.

Smith pretty much covered it spot on... I think JvG or Gaze I think it was mentioned that once imports haven't been picked up in Europe, there's a chance to get better talent, but that's leaving their run a bit late...

Childress is still on their list, but as mentioned, not very realistic... Need a strong defender/rebounder at the import 4 spot, as while Maric is more of an inside talent, I don't know how Jules or he will go defending any of the top level 4s in the league...

Definitely need a potent scorer at the 2 spot though and a solid back up 3, Prewster is still training/trialling as well from memory? He'd be servicable after a strong NZBNL season...

I'd be concerned with Gazey being over in Rio if we didn't have JvG in charge and Vickerman still here... lots of talent making the right decisions so far, so while I'd rather have our imports locked in now and training with the team like other teams have, i will save any distress for a few more weeks...

"Aussie PGs don't really exist in the NBL."

Except in Brisbane, Illawarra, Sydney and Perth. In fact, it looks as if only three teams will start import PGs this season.

Since 2001 the only starting import PG to win a title is Cedric Jackson (Kevin Braswell won one coming off the bench).

Even as a Hawks fan I'd love to see Chill back with this group, difficult to see it coming to fruition but it would be legit. In saying that, I think they'll land a cracker of a SG. Vickerman has a good eye for imports.

Boti reports that the Kings are interested in Beal, as are the Bullets. Started a separate topic about this rumour.

Since 2001 the only starting import PG to win a title is Cedric Jackson (Kevin Braswell won one coming off the bench).

Really doubt somebody of Maric's calibre would come back to Australia as a one month injury replacement.

Regarding their Import Situation, I was wondering if they actually have that many slots to fill?

My understanding of the rules was that once you sign more than one Marquee local, (allowed upto four) it takes away from your import slots.
So how many of their big name Aussies would have been signed as Marquees?

They obviously need at least one, to fill the guard spot. (Whether its a PG, SG, or combo like Beal.)
But probably not all 3.

But not misleading when looking at the past 15 years as stated Kobz, when nine different starting PGs have won titles with only one being an import. Add that to only half the starting PGs last season being American and probably less than half this coming season and I think the original statement is well and truly off the mark.

Why is 15 years a better sample than 7? It's a different league now compared to then. That includes guys like Maher and Heal, who'd be playing overseas these days.

The statement was "Aussie PGs don't really exist in the NBL." and both examples from recent times and over a longer period show that to be plain wrong.

On a different note, Heal did play OS, a lot, and Maher could have but chose not to apart from a small stint. Unlikely anything would be different today.

Far be it for me to stick up for Koba-Klutz...
But I don't see where you get the statement "only half the starting PGs last season being American"?
Randle, Holt, Jackson, Jett, Starks, and Thornton were all American and you could even argue that Lisch ran the point more than Martin.

As for this season,
Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, NZ, and Cairns will all use Americans. That's still more than half.

Obviously the standout Aussie PG is Damo, but the reality is that most teams couldn't carry him because of his lack of scoring, so he really is exceptional.

@Dazz...

Randle...it could be argued Gibbo was the PG.
Holt OK.
Cedric OK.
Jett...Norton was the PG.
Starks OK.
Thornton...didn't Cadee play PG? Thornton was so poor, no one knew what he played.
Lisch ran point because of injuries to Martin (and Demos). Agent 97 and Martin were PGs.

That looks like 4 locals and 4 imports.

The statement was "Aussie PGs don't really exist in the NBL." and both examples from recent times and over a longer period show that to be plain wrong.

2010 Tywain was injured so it was Rhys Martin sharing with Luke Martin.

In the grand final itself, yes. But not for the bulk of the season, which is what got them to the grand final in the first place.

Am i the only one who feels like the Kings are always either really good or really bad?

They were the violet crumbles then 3 time champs then out of the league then they return and completely suck and this season potentially dominate

Randle...it could be argued Gibbo was the PG

Norton was the PG

Thornton was so poor, no one knew what he played.

Lisch ran point because of injuries to Martin (and Demos). Agent 97 and Martin were PGs

Gliddon was the main pg for Cairns last year from memory although the duties were shared with Starks.

McKee started 17 games in 2010 and the Martins started 17 and the records were almost identical regardless of starting PG, with Rhys guiding them through the SF and to G3 of the GF.

The past seven seasons playoff teams have been split 50/50 between local and import starting PGs, showing it's not about where they're from but how they play and how well they fit the team.

It's easy to laugh at Dazz thinking Jett and Thornton were PGs when they obviously played mostly SG, but there a couple of commentators who made the same mistake last season and they're paid to know the league!

I think there's a bit of a tendency to think of 'point guard' as 'guard under 6'4"'. As seen in the Ricky Grace discussion where someone was insisting he was always the point guard because he was only 5'11".

What happens if you count the number of players, though, not just the split? Counting the split is going to lean towards the locals because Damo makes it every year, but him making it multiple times doesn't say anything about the number of Australian point guards.

In recent years, off the top of my head, D Martin, R Martin, Gibson, Tomlinson, Markovic, Bruce, Cadee, Norton and some in Cairns would say Gliddon/S Bruce last season.

So they definitely exist, and can probably be best described as a significant minority.

Does anyone know if the Kings are able to use three import spots? I would've thought that both Lisch and Newley counted as marquee players? Both would be getting paid a fair bit of money.

@Isaac; Maric, Lisch, Khazzouh and Newley could all be considered in that category.Its rumoured that they were chasing Childress and Beal also so we know at least one of those guys would not be considered Marquee.

Wasn't the rule 1 aussie marquee and then it would deduct from their 3 import spots? If so they could only be looking at 1-2 imports if the above is true.

Starting 4 spot needs to be filled, so I expect that to be either Childress or another import. Maybe a backup swingman with another import spot, and then one spot to be held in case an injury replacement is needed.

I wouldn't say that Aussie PG's don't exist, just that there is such an abundance of Import PG talent available. There's so many guys out their that are excellent ballers, can run the point, and are just too small to play NBA (and sometimes even Europe) yet they can come here and thrive.
SO if you look at the "pool" of potential PGS' its huge, and imports simply make up the bulk of the volume.
Furthermore, owing to the importance of the role, it has always tended to be a spot targeted for one of the import slots.

Whether they are marquees or not depends on whether the club wants them to be I believe. Nominating them reduces what they cost against the points/value cap and reduces how much luxury tax a team has to pay.

However, if Sydney is happy to folk out the dollars to the league, they could still have three imports alongside Lisch and Newley (and a couple of other gun Aussies if they could find/afford them.

Now back on subject, yes as I said, teams are allowed "upto" 4 local Marquees. Every one beyond the first takes the place of an import.

So yes, with their bunch of Aussie talent, you'd expect the Kings would push at least a couple of their highest paid into the Marquee Category. Leaving them with 1 or 2 import slots.

Not sure why people get their knickers in such a bunch over debating exactly the name that should be attached to a players role. Roles change over time, from league to league, and even the role of an individual player can change, ESPECIALLY when moving from O/S to the NBL.

Does it really matter if your Uncle Bob's girlfriend's hairdresser's plumber said Lisch will run the Point?
If It's Lisch bringing the ball down, with two wingmen, and two posts, then I guess he's the PG. If the Kings sign another PG, and he starts, then I guess not.

Wading through all that OT rubbish about who is an actual PG aside, paul is spot on... It depends on what the club decides to classify them... I think once you have two local marquee players, the actual discount isn't really worth it (cap on 1st LM is $150k, 2nd is $200K, 3rd $250k, I'm pretty sure?) so for the first two at least, if you're paying them $300K (like the number for Lisch being thrown around by the Hawks and every other team making comment at the time) then for a saving of only $50k, it wouldn't really be worth it when you can get an import for much cheaper who could be as effective as a 3rd marquee local...

I think it will all come down to budget and who they can actually/eventually get as imports...