Does anyone else think they might actually be a contender? That's a solid and deep team..

They're really slow around the four spot - Andersen will be great for Frolings development and will be great in the pick'n'pop with Brooks but I think they're gonna get killed on D.

Boone/Andersen
Coenraad/Froling
Blanchfield/Grida
Brooks/Dech/Glover
Naar/Ball

I lot of ifs with this roster. They don't seem well-balanced, and could be weak on the boards and defending on-balls. They have some good floor spreaders though and some real offensive talent, could rack up some scores.

I think people are forgetting how well Coenraad played in the 4 last year too.

Throw in that fact the Naar now has more offensive spot shooters to complement his passing (& team pic & rolls) & there's another upgrade on last year.

Last year we were also a little light defending other teams' bigs, so we certainly upped the anti there & 'should' be a fair force on the glass now too.

Well,where did the money come from compared to years just past.
Funny how money is spent when FLYNN TAKES OVER FROM Bevo and who is the GM.

Money was apparently owed last couple years to players and staff.

Add Ogilvy to that line up. Slide Anderson to the 4. Not so weak on the boards.

Yeah, forgot about AJ. So should be ok on the boards, not good in terms of defending on-balls. Will be an interesting team to see how they evolve.

Yeah, with Ball its now a 12-man roster.

" lot of ifs with this roster"

True, but I think that is the lot of a team like the Hawks. They have to take a few gamble to compete with the big budgets.

"They don't seem well-balanced"

They are ridiculously top-heavy with 4 centres. Be interesting to see how Flynn plans to use that. Could be a great innovation, or an awful flop.

"I think people are forgetting how well Coenraad played in the 4 last year too"

Coenraad lays the 4, because he is too old and slow to play 3 in the modern game.

I wonder if they will become the target of calls for a 3rd import?

Ball, Grida and Naar give this team plenty of upside. I'm intrigued to see how they go.

Can see that defending the 4 spot could be an issue.

Ultimately, if they want to be a genuine championship contender then they'll need Brooks to play at a high level, eg: Top handful of guards in the league and they'll need Boone to contribute at a similar level as he did last year for United.

I have my doubts on both counts- Brooks I doubt will be at an elite Casper/Trimble type level, and Boone is turning 35 and his game relies on declining power, athleticism and agility.

But you never know.

I'm intrigued as to whom has the ball down the stretch, you'd imagine it would be Brooks but will Ball try and show he's got that in his game?
Blanchfield had some clutch moments last season but will he even get the ball?
Andersen has made more big shots than I've had hot dinners this year so surely he's an option too.

Agree about the 4 centres, I like the idea of having more bigs when it comes to foul trouble but 4 is more than excessive.

Weakest part of this squad appears to be the coach, but if I'm wrong then Illawarra are playoff bound!

Hard to judge without seeing Brooks. On paper this is a great team, but that's assuming Brooks is at a Cotton/Ware type of level. If he's just OK or out of shape, then I think this team could struggle to put points up unless Ball is better than I think he'll be given his age.

Unbalanced?

PGs - Brooks Naar Ball
SGs - Brooks Grida Glover
SFs - Blanchfield Grida Coenraad
PFs - AJ Ando Coenraad Froling
CS. - Boone AJ Ando Froling

I think that gives Flinny a lot of versatility & options, with depth to cover injury & a lot of guys with respectable 3pt shooting.

My only couple of Qs are-
Where does Dech fit in?
Do Naar & Ball play on court together at all?

"Can see that defending the 4 spot could be an issue."

Yep, that and hence defending the ball-screen are the big question marks.