I think you nailed the balance here. Good thinking from Joey given they would've spent virtually nothing on two of their imports. And credit to Ferguson for his attitude. Lenience given his age. And obviously consideration to the fact that an alternative might've wrecked the chemistry that was a huge foundation for the team.

But on the other hand, it's hard not to think that Ferguson could've tried more out there, aggressively driving to the bucket (I raised Brad Hill at 17 yo as a comparison previously - he was dynamic from his first game). And had he offered more, he might've been played more.

His draft prospects might be shaky, based on what we saw, but that's for him to worry about.

I think they'd be reluctant to try the same thing again, at least not without more scouting of the player's ability against professional opposition. And I think they'd probably be in a different position if they had a gamble-import in that role instead. Other teams had similarly limited output from some imports - United had two just by themselves. Or on pros in past years - Christopherson, Massingale, etc.

There is more than one stakeholder in this experiment, the club, the agent, the player all would have had different main outcomes for the year, and another set for future years.

1) he got paid

2) He got experience against grown men and pros.

3) he did not get hurt (agent)

4) the club got credit from him for their support

5) He did not really get his talent on display ( but does the NBA care about NBL performances)

6) He did not really seem to get his skills developed in a way that showed in output on the court ( compare against Drimic this season)

7) the club did not get much of a performance lift in games from him.

8) Club and league got some additional PR exposure overseas

It did not hurt, particularly given the salary cost available to Adelaide for 3 imports as compared to , say, Perth.

But I agree that his mprovement in defence was sufficient that he could have been more of a contributor at the pointy end of the season, if he had gotten more game time earlier - but who really knows ?

All NBL teams should be about winning championships not experimenting or developing players.

36ers got lucky this year that Sobey exploded to where he did otherwise Ferguson may not have seen out the season at all.

Substitute Torrey Craig, Beal or Jaron Johnson into that position and the 36ers would have been close to unbeatable

I don't think we will see that experiment again from the 36ers as the new owner is highly cashed up and ready to spend

I've been hearing this rumour about a new owner for a couple of months now, but haven't heard any definite details. Could you elaborate on what you know Fundingsland?

Another point is that even if a team is mindful of chemistry and personality, you don't need to recruit high school players in order to find that type of player. There's plenty of quality role player types around the world.

Also, a star player, or a player who's just likely to be more capable of producing statistically, doesn't have to come at the expense of chemistry anyway.

Fundingsland, i think you're right to direct the challenge at the intention, regardless of all the secondary motives. So club has been sold?

New owner is an expat based in Singapore. Runs a Asian property firm as I understand it.

Well....that would make things interesting.

Weirdly, this forum seems to have a fair amount of accuracy to rumours. I don't know who you are Fundingsland, but you've got me curious.

Get ready for about a thousand questions you probably can't answer!

With developing players, I think there's room for it in the NBL, but with multi-year contracts or at least local players. No point for a one-and-done draft candidate who has no reason to stay.

The thing that made the Ferguson experiment a bit uncomfortable was that no one the team included expected us to be a contender this season.

Last season we pushed for one more roll of the dice with our veteran team and missed the playoffs and the old players departed Ebi Ere, Gibson, Petrie & Walker.

This season was essentially going to be a rebuilding year signing young guys like Drmic, Deng, Jacobsen and of course Ferguson.

I suspect the Ferguson signing was hoped to bring a bit of recognition to the 36ers whilst hopefully providing some on court highlights for the fans to pacify them over the losses and expected finish near the bottom of the ladder.

As it turned out after that 3-6 start the team clicked winning 14 of it's next 15 games and wrapping up the minor round championship with 4 games to go which is when it all started to fall apart.

Ferguson unfortunately was just about useless and his refusal to drive (no doubt ordered by his agent) just turned him into a glorified spot up shooter who rarely shot the ball and could be guarded aggressively because everyone knew he wouldn't take it to the hole.

"Substitute Torrey Craig, Beal or Jaron Johnson into that position and the 36ers would have been close to unbeatable"

How's that Meatloaf song go Fundingsland.

I think there are some bigger questions to be answered before we can make an accurate assessment.
Do we actually know how much he was paid? Even roughly or comparatively? Could they have found somebody better in the NBA's D league?

Why did the 36s fall? There was lot of talk from the commentary team about them being a young team. Was that really an issue? Maybe with so many young players they mid have been better served with a mature d-leaguer or journeyman?

Or was it just Joeys not emphasising defence? If so, did Ferguson contribute to that issue?

I think the team broke even on T Ferg. He wasn't the highlight package people were expecting, but he wasn't terrible either. He showed some steady improvement, and at times very good defense.

If the 36ers had more money at the time he may not have been an option, so I think the team looked to build its brand overseas knowing they weren't going to get a star with what they had. They've done that much, and the league will be better for it if and when he gets drafted.

Would I personally do the experiment again? Under the right circumstances, yes. If we can get 2 stud imports and then develop a third who will bring some sort of needed attribute as well as publicity, then sure, go for it. I just hope we now have deep enough pockets that we don't necessarily have to do that.

The thing that made the Ferguson experiment a bit uncomfortable was that no one the team included expected us to be a contender this season.

I don't think he was giving a fair go and as a good young shooter he needs to be on the court longer than he was so he can get some rythem going. You can't be expected to be good if you stay on the court for three minutes max and i would of giving him more game time than that useless guy named Teys(he is rubbish).

If he goes high in the draft I don't think it would be out of the question that a lot better players come over in the future that have more developed skills, given the disdain high ranked players have for the college system. NBA needs to scrap 1 and done college careers that are completely useless when the players don't get paid.

But the nbl can benefit till that day comes.

Hype, eyeballs, money, the chance to attract better players in the future.

Terrance Ferguson plans pre-Draft schedule, is already recruiting other high school stars to NBL

I've told players that want to go to college, 'don’t go to college’. I’ve already been working; I’ve been recruiting for Australia.