Loved watching this guy play.

Wonder whether his standard of play is still as good as it was with Cairns?

They are splashing the cash, he had a troubled second season in Cairns, gee if they get going, they will be a very exciting team, get the right pieces at point guard and the JJs might get a battle on their hands.
The season is looking like the haves and the have nots, a few sides will be battling.

Gee how is that salary cap going Sydney. Add a Jaylen Adams type of PG and the Kings are the clear, clear favourite.

Way too early but the way these rosters are coming together an NBL22 championship series rematch is certainly on the cards at this stage

Cooks, Oliver, Kuol etc with 2 imports still to come.

I can't wait for Olgun's annual SC spin piece next year trying to convince everyone the Kings were under the cap and spent less than the 36ers too!

So Kings, JJs, Perth are top 3 locks you'd imagine.
Melbourne perhaps rounds out the 4?

Potentially NZ, SEM rounding out the 6?

Hard to see anyone but the Hawks *perhaps* competing with the above this coming season to be honest.

What have Perth done to make them a top 3 lock KET?

Cool he's back in the league. Odd signing for mine though.

He was shopped to a few teams before Cairns eventually bit. The drum back then was that he was mentally unfocused/unstable and could likely be a distraction. We eventually saw some of this in his second season with the Snakes.

We know Goorj doesn’t tolerate fools. Something’s obviously erased a few red flags between now and then, likely a recommendation from a trusted source.

Hope we get a level headed fired up Space Cam in Sydney, would be solid for the league.

Do people still not understand how the salary cap works?

Perth certainly not in same league as JJs or kings, sides not complete so still early days but cats relying on Pinder only and Harris and Wagstaff isn't going to get it done. Hawks should be up there again but still need two good imports.

Olgun reported Sydney only going with 2 imports this season. Makes sense given their spend.

They're still thin at the 5 imo.

"What have Perth done to make them a top 3 lock KET?"

Have the MVP that led them to second last year

If they do not significantly retool Cotton won't be enough

Sounds like Perth are looking pretty similar to last season, looking to get an import scoring wing who is better than Usher and the best next star back up big they can get to complete the roster, given they came 2nd last season that's not a bad path and should see them be in the top 4 mix

Oliver sounds like a fantastic signing if he can bring the best version of himself.

The kings are looking athletic' and versatile and should be right up there in championship contention,

From memory there was a lot of hype around Sydney's roster last year. I do look forward to seeing the announcements and how the teams are shaping up this off season. How a team looks on paper isn’t necessarily going to transpire to how they play on the court.

Jealous of the signing of Oliver. His range of skills is hard to contain at nbl level.

Is there any word on where hogg is headed? There's a few rosters that he could make a top 4 contender

Yeah, Cooks at the salary he's on should eliminate the ability to have a third import... agree we are a little short (literally) at the 5, and how much that matters depends a lot on what teams like United do. The pre-season hype last year with the Kings was entirely due to the imports (re-signing of Adams, addition of Hogg, and ex-NBA Valentine). I was sceptical then, and I am still sceptical today about positioning us anywhere until the import PG is announced. Anything less than top 4 would be underachieving, but the JJs to me are the clear faves with who they have coming back and the addition of Sword.

Kings will have three imports by playoffs. Goorjian will suck every last cent out of Smith.

Presuming Kuol and Cooks are the two marquee players.

Expect import pg to be high level.

I wasn't a fan of who the Kings brought in before last season at the import spot with the exception of Adams, who underachieved, but I was very skeptical of the coach in particular, who turned into an absolute disaster. This year, it's hard to disagree with anything they've done - Cooks alone makes them a contender, but they have prioritised defence and hard work with the rest of the roster, plus they got younger, and more athletic, which they needed to, and they've added shooting, which was also required.

Sure you can quibble about the lack of size up front, but Oliver and Cooks have always played bigger than they are, and Leaupepe is a beast, as undersized as he will be on the frontline - think a Matt Knight type. Plus they got the greatest of all time, a proven winner wherever he's gone, as their head coach, and by all accounts he's energised and ready to go.

That all said, the JJs would have to be favorites still, and as AngusH correctly points out, the point guard import has to not only hit, but be a serious two-way impact guy, if this group is really going to be a legitimate championship contender.

Kings should be elite on the defensive end

Not 100% convinced about the fit offensively though. Cooks shot 4 from 33 over 52 games in Japan and Oliver 3/16 in 17 games.

7 made threes from 69 games between your frontcourt pairing isn't going to make for good offense in 2024/25 you wouldn't think. Previously Cooks had Soares and Jarell Martin next to him, who could space the floor.

Plus they got the greatest of all time, a proven winner wherever he's gone, as their head coach, and by all accounts he's energised and ready to go.

I think Perth fans might dispute that and rightly so I think Gleeson eclipsed him even though it's 5 titles vs 6, Goorj has coached so many more years than Gleeson and often goes belly up at the pointy end, his GF record isn't great, 6 from 13 I think.

But enough about pre-2009, Goorj has been exposed in recent times the two years he coached the Hawks yes they made the SF's both times but he made some big blunders in signings, Deng Adel on $600k+, Bairstow, Max Darling given a 3 year deal but worst off all was the Hawks capitulation to a Cotton-less Wildcats teams in the SF's despite the Hawks winning the opening game in Perth. That was when Gleeson became the NBL coaching GOAT, IMO.

Goorjian struggled at last year's WC too and thankfully the Olympics will be his swan song. The Kings are doing everything possible to put as much talent on the court for him as possible but he long since passed his use by date as a coach and Goorj will likely be the thing that stops the Kings from winning the title.

Smith is no longer majority owner so he's not the one paying most of the bills.

Having the MVP hasn't been enough for how many seasons now? and finishing 2nd last season I think most people looking in knew it was fools gold. Perth are going to need more than what they currently have on offer and are going to need to be much better at picking the imports as guys like Jordan Usher wont cut it.

Exactly, cats look very vulnerable defensively, Cotton is a gun but he needs a lot more help. They did great last season on Cottons back but struggled late and early season.

"Having the MVP hasn't been enough for how many seasons now?"

In the context of a top 3 lock, it was good enough to be top 2 last season.....

“and finishing 2nd last season I think most people looking in knew it was fools gold”

But it was still high enough to be top 3….

and finishing 2nd last season I think most people looking in knew it was fools gold.

The sad thing is they don't.