Good for him tbh, I like the guy and I know he'll be great elsewhere

When it comes to furthering your career in the NBL almost any team is better for you than either Cairns Taipans or Wollongong Hawks. Smart players don't stay forever with either.

Nick Kay is going to Perth?

No way

The new Taipans coach (when they get around to appointing him - applications still don't close for another week) is going to be left with a bare cupboard to pick decent Australian players from. This is one reason I was a little surprised Fearne got the chop as both Gliddon and McCarron would have been a lot better chance of staying with Fearne still coach imo. It is hard to see McCarron staying on either.

It is fine for the Taipans to take their time appointing a new coach but one wonders how much thought they gave to the fact that they are giving all the other teams the inside running for anyone they feel can offer something to their team. It's not like decent Australian players such as Gliddon and McCarron grow on trees!

This is where lagging bringing in a new coach is going to cause problems for the Taipans...

Understandable that they want the best person available to lead them forward, but the timing, when your two best local players are off contract, and one of them is going great overseas and one will be playing a decent role with the Boomers in the Comm Games, is pretty crap...

Can't fault Cam for wanting to develop his game to the next level elsewhere and I definitely wish him (and Mitch when it comes time for him to announce the same thing) lots of luck...

Isn't free agency supposed to start 2 weeks after the GF, and clubs are not allowed to speak to contracted players till the 2 weeks are over. I call BS.

Jinx, Twink...

Really poor management decisions all round... I know they were looking forward to moving on from Fearney, but at the cost of losing your two best players, Australians at that AND two huge fan favourites...

I'm not a Cairns local obviously, but from those I've talked to over the last season, it's going to be a bitter pill for them to swallow...

Unfortunately teams getting a head start on free agents is so common place, if the Taipans are just losing players and don't have anyone new in to recruit until after the FA period begins, they will be so far behind every other team, and with their limited budget, it's going to be incredibly tough for them to recover from this...

I don't think this is an overly huge loss for Cairns. Tend to think Gliddon is a tad over-rated. I'd be more inclined to throw everything possible at McCarron - much bigger upside.

Olgun sitting back just doing the PR work for the same agent again.

If United are making overtures towards Gliddon, does this mean they anticipate someone like Goulding leaving?

Can't imagine they wouldn't want to keep Ware / Goulding, and can't imagine Gliddon would want to come off the bench.

Gliddon and Ellis to the Wildcats

Gliddon & Kay to Perth please

This news is Taipans official now. Gliddon's agent told the club last night

Gliddon & Kay to Perth please

Doubt DKD will be back.

Sad that Cairns lost a leader. Big name Players leaving the regional clubs is just driving them deeper into the ground.
For the Cats I think he'd fit. DKD goes, Damo off the bench, Hire retires and takes up a front office gig. I’d love Cotton back but can’t see it happening to be honest, I think we got lucky this time round.
Import PG
Gliddon
Import SF
Import PF
Kay
Marto, Brandt, Wagstaff, Steindle, Kenny (want him gone but I think contracted)
I think Cats should throw some big money at McCarron and go with 1 less import and build another strong Aussie core... but can’t see Cats not going highlight reel imports.

If they get Cotton back then Perth should play him as a point guard, Gliddon can handle the ball as well and Martin off the bench, that's a solid enough 3 man back court and you have Kenny and maybe DKD as fodder for the training court.

I love Kay but I would prefer DJ simply because when Perth are stagnant offensively then they are downright ugly and Kay and Gliddon almost certainly won't change that. Will be brilliant when working together as a unit but you could suggest that so do Brandt and Wagstaff. If we end up with Gliddon and Kay then I'd be delighted but I'd like to hope that we tried to lure DJ home first

With all the players supposedly going to Perth, they might need a second team

Nobody's irreplaceable & he has been very inconsistent for a starting guard.

At the risk of this turning into a Wildcats thread, but in the context of them maybe overpaying for Gliddon (or more likely McCarron), are the Wildcats known for actually overpaying for talent? I can't remember the last time that they would have done that for local talent, and getting their cheque books out for Cotton this season just gone seemed out of character...

Is the fear of having to rebuild and potentially not making the playoffs next season enough for them to get the crowbar out this off season?

I don't think DJ is going anywhere...

Interested teams can apply to the player's current team before the start of FA to 'talk'. Entirely current team's prerogative to allow it or not but they more often than not allow it since they may do the same in the future. Plus as pointed out, plenty informal talks behind the scenes anyways.

Either way, the 4 top FAs will get paid handsomely. Not saying impossible but for a team to sign 2 in 18/19 will really hurt the budget & will really impact the quality of imports you can sign.

Not sure why Cairns would say: We understand that he has already signed with another NBL team, and sadly we did not have the opportunity to present our offer.

Are they trying to imply another team has done something illegal here?

I'd say that's exactly what they're doing snooch.

What about the potential that Gliddon leaving frees up $ to give to McCarron - could that keep him around?

McCarron could also become the go-to man in Cairns and have a much higher usage and put up good stats - to heighten his worth later down the track if it does want to go elsewhere?

Are they trying to imply another team has done something illegal here?

Then why bother saying he's already signed with another club, particularly when it's not actually confirmed and the Taipans know players can't sign with other clubs yet?? They could have just said he's informed them he's leaving despite them having not been able to table an offer.

Funny how in the same release they're critical of journalists: If you read an article that does not contain an official quote from our Club and/or current Board, we trust you will recognise speculation dressed up as journalism, and I recommend you take all those reports with a very large grain of salt.

And yet they've decided to put something into the release that isn't confirmed or verified (we understand..) - one could say it's just speculation dressed up as bullshit. A tad hypocritical I'd have thought.

For those interested:
http://www.taipans.com/news/article/35943-presidents-address-easter

In light of murmurs, Would rather not see Gliddon/Cadee in Brisbane.

Gliddon - Someone else mentioned earlier, not a point guard nor a championship calibre two. Seems a little inconsistent to me and will be looking to get paid. The positive is that he doesn't take up an import spot.

Cadee - A good foil off the bench, but not someone to be relied upon for primary playmaking duties.

Lemanis will probable bumble in preparing the roster again. At least he's only in Brisbane for one more year.

Will be happy if Bubbles comes back though.

Simple fact is that Cairns cannot compete on salaries.
So unless they can get locals like Jawai, and maybe a few roles players who like the tropics, they're always going to be stuck rummaging in the bargain bin, and face losing any that come good.

Gliddon to the Cats does make some sense. Keep in mind they had Webster lined up previously.
Locals are the difficult spots to fill, and very often the lineup is shuffled to make them fit.

Unless he has already signed a long-term deal with no outs, they can't rely on Cotton being available. Even if he stays, and becomes the next Grace, even Grace started his NBL career as a SG partnering Ellis. With Martin aging, a 3-man rotation of Martin, Cotton, and Gliddon, would give them a lot of power and stability in the backcourt. Kenny then would be only depth, and hopefully a younger player to step in when he retires.

Doubt very much Gliddon signs somewhere in his prime to come off the bench.

Wildcats will get Glidon, Johnson and McKay.

I have been saying Perth along with Johnson for months now

Holic doesn't know what they are talking about