Hoops

Wildcats changes for next season?

Damo is playing injured, nothing wrong with his tank.

But yes, I think putting another genuine talent into that backcourt rotation should be a priority.

Be interested to see if Bogut ever does come home to the NBL, but surely if he did he'd be highly sort to front a new Melbourne team.
I can't see NBL money being a deciding factor for him.

@Curios - I never said they should take a pay cut under their existing contract. Damo, Wagstaff and Kenny have one year left on their existing contracts. My point is that if they spent big on signing players like DJ, Gliddon or Mccarron they would be way over the cap in 2018/19 as Martin, Wagstaff were still probably getting paid well. The 2019/20 wouldn’t be so much over the cap as Damo and Wagstaff would play lesser roles and command less coin.

Please sign Motum.
Train Damo and others have current contracts. I doubt they would volunteer to take a pay cut. Equally Damo is nowhere near as effective. Maybe move him on, yes pay him out and use that large amount of money he would be getting to recruit a better player for the longer term.

Would anyone be surprised if Wildcats made a big money play for Bogut?

I know he is great mates with Damo but if they got him then he won't bring extra fans to the games as Perth Arena is already too bloody small (stupid WA government).

Why would Gliddon want to go from captain and starter to coming off the bench and not a leader? I'd love to see him but they have to offer him more than playing at home.

I think we definitely need to sign some DPs that can excite and make us positive about the future like Bragg did when he first came into the team and his pace in getting to the rim got the crowd excited... too much at a Perth Wildcats game feels old hat (minus seeing Tokoto's incredible athleticism).

DJ would be a great signing but would they try and get Motum first?

Tokoto has been a great find IMHO, and early on (when Damo & co were hitting their 3's) he looked like exactly what we need.

Trev's game plan has always relied upon the B-team playing serious minutes and at least coming close to holding their own. Start of the season they were doing that, right up until Knight got injured again.

The first problem is that without Knight, Brandt and Cooke just weren't up to the job. Then you've got Hire getting progressively worse as a scorer, Steindl bombing, and DKD just polishing the bench.

But we have Cooke Jr!

The problem was even worse when they lost Devondrick Walker, somebody they recruited knowing he could hit the 3, spread the floor and take the heat of Cotton. Tokoto has been great for the team but the skill set he has was not exactly what they needed.

They only squeeked in the final 4 last year after picking up cotton late. The rest of the season was like the end of this one.

@curious - I got no idea what their cap situation is this year but its likely they are spending above the cap. Perhaps I should of stated "A lot more over the cap next year".

Damo will be just north of 35 by the time his contract is renewed, its probable that he will play a lesser role and his salary will reflect that. Similar situation with Wagstaff, granted it wont be to the extent as he is a couple of years younger.

No, I don't know what their contacts are, but i doubt players at that age will command similar coin or playing time at that age.

Train. Are you seriously suggesting the Wildcaps are under the salary cap?
Why will Damo and Wagstaff be on lesser money? Do you know what their contracts are?

@Luuc - The problem was even worse when they lost Devondrick Walker, somebody they recruited knowing he could hit the 3, spread the floor and take the heat of Cotton. Tokoto has been great for the team but the skill set he has was not exactly what they needed.

Cats will need to spend above the cap next year and attract players of the like of Gliddon, Mccarron, Kay or DJ over. Damo and Wags will be playing a lesser role in 2019/20 and likely on much less money so the spend wouldn't be so bad in that year.

If they don't throw whatever they need to at those players, they will be snapped up on 3 year deals with other clubs and they are going to be in serious problems for the next few years.

Damo/Gliddon/Kenny
Cotton/Gliddon/Mccarron
Mccarron/Import#2
DJ/Wagstaff
Brandt/Import#3

They only squeeked in the final 4 last year after picking up cotton late. The rest of the season was like the end of this one.

Last year was far from a Steve Bradbury for anyone who was actually paying attention.
When you look at the outs & ins from that team it's pretty obvious why it has gone down a level.

The Wildcats Steve Bradbury impersonation last year may have lead to some higher expectations this year I think. The money and the facilities should be able to entice some decent players for them next year though.

Would be great to have another Indigenous player on the team. Not sure if his surname would be a help or a hindrance.

But, and I don't follow college ball, his stats are rather ordinary. Looks to be a DP prospect at best (and has already been part of their junior program."

Keanu Pinder is in his senior year at Arizona....is he worth a look? Interested to hear from anyone who has seen him play.

Also interested to hear if Majok Majok is contracted. Would be a nice front court addition and help ease the loss of Knight.

With the NBL, "building for the future" is much more short-term and in the interim is more about building consistency and stability. Its not like say the AFL where you need to draft kids still in highschool, and hope that in 4 years time they have the goods.

Like anyone else, Wildcats have DPs and training players, but the talent pool is limited. DPs are either guys who (for whatever reason) missed out on college, or are back from college with a year or so of eligibility and not many other options. TPs are by definition guys who can't even get a bench spot elsewhere.

That said, it maybe not be a bad time to look for the next PG. As someone mentioned above Kenny is contracted but he and Damo aint getting any younger. You'd think if they had a young gun pushing for minutes, they'd be happy for JK to retire at the end of next season.

What should he have been doing that he hasn't done?

If Johnson hadn't failed that drug test last season I don't think he would've been let go either.

"Troy G has done nothing. Just a warm body filling up the CEO position."

It sure seems that way yeah

If you put Brandt to the bench give them a dominant 5 and start Wagstaff with Waxy or similar from the bench they would have been 5. The mistake was Cooke, no fault of his own, just a poor fit by the team.

@Anonymous narr doubt it.

Sydney kings

Could they target Emmett Naar from St Mary’s who graduates this year and is second in the whole NCAAD1 in assists.

They don't need tokoto back, if anything he has confirmed why they went for devondrick walker before him

Does anybody know how these two rank in terms of player payment? I'm aware most players need to work a second job in each sport but how much would your average/top/rookie Lightning player be getting paid vs a Thunderbirds player?