10 NBA Teams Contacted United: Vickerman

Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman has revealed 10 NBA teams have contacted him this season, as the club had a San Antonio Spurs scout at training on Thursday.

United and the Spurs have a strong connection, with 2021 NBL Grand Final MVP Jock Landale joining San Antonio after a sensational campaign with Melbourne.

Along with the Spurs, Vickerman explained how NBA teams are constantly reaching out for information on players.

“There's been 10 teams contact me and some of those have certainly come back three or four times,” Vickerman said.

“There's definitely one or two contacts a week with scouts. They're certainly hunting as much information as possible.

“The league is on notice in everything that we do at the moment.”

Multiple scouts have visited the NBL this season, with the energy increasing at practice whenever NBA representation is in the building.

“I've met with three of the scouts that have made it to our shores so far,” Vickerman said.

“Having a scout at practice today observing and seeing how we do it always lifts the energy of practice. People want to show and make sure they're seen in a great light for any opportunity forward.”

The path Landale has taken is one current United bigs Jo Lual-Acuil and Ariel Hukporti could follow, with Vickerman hoping those players get the same opportunities.

“We spoke about Jock and how he was doing, and I think it's great for him to understand where he developed,” Vickerman said of his chats with the San Antonio scout.

“We hope that Ariel and Jo and these guys get considered similar to Jock with the things that they're doing in our league.

“There's a high respect for our league and more and more scouts are finding their way to our shores.”