Hoops

Perth Wildcats sign Devondrick Walker

I was thinking the exact same thing!

hahaha would make sense

Is Dazz back as an anon?

He looks like a good pick-up, but I would've thought a guy who can get to the rim off the dribble more frequently would've been preferred (in the mould of Prather).

Having an off-ball guy will mean Cotton will have to do a lot of work creating offense for team mates.

Hopefully the next import is a guy who can play the 3/4 spots and create shots in the paint off the dribble. In the mould of a Kevin Durant type, perhaps.

We are all dumber having read that....

Yes especially on the fast break. Prather's finishing was very good. He also developed his Euro step.

It remains to be seen whether this guy can do it.

They won when Ennis and Prather could push on the fast break. They lost when there was a drop in Fast break points when Daniels had no confidence on the drive nor the finishing skills.

Wildcats will spend big on their big.

"Seems they don't really have any athletic front court players any more."

Lucas Walker?

They've lost Redhage, Prather and McKay, and have replaced them with Walker, Walker, and the third import to come. If its a similar player to McKay, they've probably broken even with their replacements.

Oh well wait the extra 15 minutes for the email announcement then....

NOt everyone is a FB user. I would have thought email first?

I got the notification over Facebook messenger hence why they put out all the info about signing up to it for player announcement.

Looks good, at least will have a few snipers. Need some high flying action to get the crowd going. Interesting to see how they go in the c position? Overall looks like a competitive roster.

"I got one. Might want to get in touch with the club if you're not getting emails."

I get some of the emails (e.g. Cotton signed) but not others (like this one). Weird. and no it's not in spam (using gmail).

Just purely going off stats, it seems Walker is not the attacking slasher than Prather is.

Most of Walker's shots are outside and he goes to the line less than 2 times a game.

Prather's attempts are mostly inside and goes to the line 6 times a game.

But this guy seems to be a more reliable outside shooter of course.

I think we need to build on this latest signing by getting maximum value from the last, so I'd suggest someone like Tyronehemiah Sharpeters or maybe Jefferyleigh Williamcmasterscott

Members email came through about 15 minutes after Facebook announcement

Deadly shooter ala Webster but defensively not at Prather's level. Not yet anyways.

No email again. Sigh... is it really that hard?

So 10/11 signed? That's pretty stable with 9/11 returnees.

I think it was Julian Wright that he was referring to...

No email again. Sigh... is it really that hard?

I doubt that's who adelaide were after since they have pretty much signed Ramon Moore

Interestingly, he played for Utah in the summer league.

This morning there was an NBL interview with 36ers GM. He said he was interested in players sitting next to Sobey and Creek on the bench.

Theory - Wildcats outbid D-von from the 36ers like they did Jaron Johnson from Cairns last season.

The Perth Wildcats are thrilled to announce the signing of sharp-shooting American, Devondrick Walker.

A rising star on the global basketball stage, Walker has gone from strength to strength to become hot property this off-season.

At 196cm, Devondrick Walker is a highly athletic wing with an impressive 99cm vertical leap, but his outstanding perimeter shooting is what caught the eye of Wildcats scouts.

“He can handle the ball, he can get to the basket, he has the ability to push the ball in transition, but the fact that he can knock down that three-point shot is the big tick for us,” said assistant coach Adam Forde.

“In terms of fit, he will free up Bryce and the rest of the team to create, and gives us another weapon on the perimeter.”

Walker represented the Utah Jazz at the NBA Summer League competitions in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

In Las Vegas, he averaged 9.8 points per game in just 20.0 minutes of court time, putting him in the top 21 per cent of players in the tournament.

The 25-year-old earned his Summer League opportunity after being named the Most Improved Player of the NBA Development League for 2017.

At January’s D-League Showcase, Walker put on the greatest shooting display the event has ever seen, going 12-for-12 from downtown – hitting 15 of 18 shots in 49 minutes, over two games.

He spent his most recent season playing for the Delaware 87ers in the NBA D-League, averaging 12.5 points and shooting at over 40 per cent from beyond the arc and 45.5 per cent overall.

He also picked up 2.9 rebounds per game.

Previously, Walker spent time with the Westchester Knicks and the Austin Spurs – where he played with 2017 Grand Final MVP, Bryce Cotton.

Devondrick Walker is from Garland in Texas and attended college at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

He will arrive in Perth next month.

I do like how he hit 12/12 3PT in a game once though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x4rm31LhfQ

Based on the 2:50 video I just watched, he looks like a cross between Beal and Prather.

Looks like a good replacement for Prather to me

Who will be the superior Walker?

Haven't seen him play, but seems a bit underwhelming statistically in terms of rebounding for someone 6'5 with a 6'11 wingspan:

http://gleague.nba.com/player/devondrick-walker/

The Lakers have signed Mike Brown, former Cleveland and LeBron coach, to a four-year deal. Some interesting fan reactions already:

Now when I first heard that they were looking for at hiring a Brown for the coaching job, Mike wasn't even the first Brown to come to my mind. With valuable coaching options like Larry Brown or Hubie Brown out there in the NBA world, Mike Brown doesn't seem like all that great of an option. Add that to the fact that they chose him over the other two leading candidates, Rick Adelman and Brian Shaw, and you may just be left scratching your head at this hiring.

The jury won't deliver their verdict on this one until a) next year's playoffs and b) he can deliver a big name free agent signing (eg Rubio, Howard, Paul). Until then ..... interesting signing.

Go Bulls.