I hope for the fans sake thay his wife likes French cuisine

Sadly I reckon he will not be back. Not because he is going to France. Just the vibe around the place. I will be shattered if he goes to an NBL rival. He has rekindled interest in the Sixers but I often wonder if we can win a title with him. Still I hope he re-signs as he is a star. Guess we will soon find out.

France : apparently a great place for eating out if you are a professional athlete.

could get ugly if the Randle's are asked to 'toss a salad' at the team's welcoming dinner...

Has left most belongings here so read into that what you will

You're supposed to read into the intention, not the logistics

Not uncommon for the good NBL plyers to go and finish the season in Europe.

I'm a little surprised that he has no deal with Adelaide, only because I thought his current one was multi-year, but I guess its not that unusual for an import.

As for him "leaving without a deal in place" what piffle. That's why players have agents, a phones, and the interweb thingy.

The food incident perhaps colours things slightly, but otherwise I'd assume they're in the same situation as last year, but slightly better placed.
I guess the killer could be if he romps it in France and gets offered a Euro deal next season, and even then he's played in Europe before so perhaps the temptation isn't that great?

I think 36ers could cope without him I just prefer we do not have to find out. For every JR, Ware or Cotton there are more duds. He is a proven star. Just not sure how we cover his defence in a 3 or 5 game series. Bevo worked him out. Awesome on offence but can be a liability on defence.

If I May about 'Bevo working him out' which I'm not entirely disputing but if Randle hadn't have played hero ball in the fourth quarter of game 2 when he shot 1/9 from the field the Sixers win that series 2-0. Just saying.

I'm not blaming him solely for that loss and thus losing the series but he did make things too personal between himself and the Hawks and felt he had to put the team on his shoulders in the 4th quarter of game 2 when team ball was what it got us to the top of the ladder. Hopefully he learns from that and I'd love to see Randle back with us again next season.

Minor quibble OP it was Lithuania where Randle played last offseason not Turkey, he was Finals MVP on the championship team there too.

I don't think that was the point of Fundingisland's hint, anonymous.

I wouldn't panic about it. Last off-season was different as the relationship between club and player was younger and Adelaide couldn't afford to let another NBL team pounce.

It's obviously no different this season, but i dare say there's an understanding between the two that makes it more comfortable not to rush a contract agreement on the basis Randle is going overseas again.

I wouldn't be messing him around either. But it's not as imperative that he's signed as of yet compared to around the same time last year.

Spot on Zodiac. Randle got it wrong in that 4th quarter in the Gong. I hope we resign him, but not at any cost. After winning the MVP, it is possible resigning him would cost Sobey and/or Hodgson. I'd much rather lock in our Australian talent first, then see what is left for imports. We need to build a stable, talented Aussie core like Perth did. That is how you contend year after year.

To be fair though, Beantown, Perth did spend big on imports and generally had the best imports in the league.

I agree Beantown it would be one thing if re-signing Randle cost us Hodgson as much as I loved what Hodgson did this season but if it were to cost us Sobey even though Randle is the better player you go with Sobey and hope to unearth another Randle out there.

Melb Utd found their Randle with a very similar player in Casper Ware, imports come and go you win some you lose some but you have to prioritise your good local talent over imports.

I'd really like to see Hodgson come back Joey swapping out Schenscher for him was another great move by the coach.

I think the most telling thing about the situation is how little Randle has said about it. This time last year he was singing the praises of the Sixers and of the league. Now, not so much.

I guess there could be any number of reasons for that. His grandmother died recently, and we don't know how close they were or how much that is weighing on his mind. Of course they finished the season on a downer. Then there's Zhordan deciding to have a food fight as well, which is actively being investigated by the NBL. Any one of those reasons could be why Jerome isn't talking. But my feeling is his return is far from certain.

He may keep half of his stuff here, and that may or may not be an indicator. But right now, I'd say the chances are very literally 50/50. If we don't hear anything in the next couple of weeks from either the Sixers, or Jerome, I'd say he's flown away.

Adelaide have traditionally been successful with bringing in star level imports who can lead the team and ignite the fan base. I'm thinking of Farley, Mee, Brooks etc. Adelaide love to get behind a star American player or combo.

Randle is our best import since Julius Hodge. It's just feels right that Adelaide have a guy like Randle or Farley or even pre-dickhead Julius Hodge.

Dave, I agree that Perth had good imports as well, but it all starts with a good Australian core that builds experience playing together. Imports come and go, so you can't bank on them IMO.

Randle for cotton, Damo and Randle back court? I'll be happy if cotton or Randle are in red next season.

If only there was a way to keep good imports for longer like the old days and have them become naturalised..

He has unfinished business here, I think he'll be back. If he goes to an NBL rival I will be disappointed, but I think he would want to win a championship with Adelaide if he stays in the league.

His facebook post sounds like a goodbye. Who knows? Have to sign up Sobey and Hodgson then work out the imports I guess.

Just read the post. I am not sure if it is a goodbye or not. It certainly isn't a 'I'll be back'.

I remember people reading too much into his exit post same time last year too. As long as he didn't say adios Adelaide that's good enough for me.

He's not exactly going to say "I'll be back" or anything like that when he would currently be in negotiations with the Sixers and they could then start to reduce their offer if they knew he was gung ho on coming back.

Boti confirms that they're negotiating a multi-year deal.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/sacre-bleu-jerome-off-to-france-but-36ers-plan-multiyear-deal-for-nbls-reigning-mvp/news-story/58edb7a7be418d8e600c50d14fff6251