Coach Weighs in on Broekhoff Future

Uncontracted South East Melbourne wing and former Dallas Maverick Ryan Broekhoff is one of the most notable names remaining in Free Agency, and after his recent declaration his immediate playing future is “up in the air”, thoughts have turned to the prospect of not having him in the NBL next season.

Since the culmination of their NBL23 campaign the Phoenix have been on a recruiting spree. Under new head coach Mike Kelly the side has brought in Gorjok Gak, Matt Kenyon, Rhys Vague and Ben Ayre.

RELATED: Will Broekhoff Play On? Star on Playing Future.

Couple those inclusions with the full-roster contract for Owen Foxwell and the retention of Mitch Creek and Reuben Te Rangi, the Phoenix only has one local roster spot remaining ahead of the new campaign.

“We still have one local spot left and I would love for that to be Ryan Broekhoff,” Kelly told NBL Media. “I think he helps us become a better team.

“All I’ve heard are good things about him as a person and I know his game as a player.

“That’s what we’ve spoken about … they were ‘get to know you’ meetings.

“We’ve said ‘we’d like you to consider this last spot’ without telling him ‘we need you’. That’s where we’re at.”

Much like Brisbane head coach Justin Schueller, who has utilised his junior Boomers connections to add Josh Bannan to his roster, Kelly has used his experience with Australia’s World University Games side in 2017 to attract a high calibre of talent.

Each of Vague, Gak and Kenyon were part of a star-studded squad that included a raft of future NBL players and was led by current JackJumpers assistant Mark Radford.

Gorjok Gak has left the Brisbane Bullets in favour of a move to South East Melbourne for NBL24.

The signing of Gak to South East Melbourne was seen as a surprise in many basketball circles, as it was rumoured he was close to agreeing to a contract with the Perth Wildcats. Then came a u-turn. 

“I don’t know how far the line Gorjok actually was with Perth, I wasn’t in those conversations if he was,” Kelly said.

“Basketball is a small world and everybody in Australian basketball, especially, knows each other. I think you just tend to build those relationships and it’s a happy offshoot of it that some of these guys are really good guys, and good players.

“You never know when you’re going to be in a position to be a head coach and have some influence on recruiting.

“I’ve always had a good relationship with Gorjok … we’ve always stayed in touch and I’ve always liked him as both a player and a person.

“This has just worked out really well with him, Matt and Rhys.”

It’s not unusual that when the local contingent of and NBL roster is filled, eyes immediately turn to the import signings.

With the services of Alan Williams secured for the upcoming season, Kelly and the Phoenix have two import spots left to fill.

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While there is plenty left to play out in the club’s import hunt, the return of at least one of Gary Browne or Trey Kell is not out of the question.

“I’ve spoken to both of them, and they have a lot of the attributes we’re searching for,” he said of the pair.

“We’re going to need some scoring and facilitating, and some very good defence.

“We’re trying to look at what the best fit is, and where those two and other guards in that position are in the market.

“The profile of the league is continuing to grow, so we have some opportunities with some really high-level free agents and Next Stars, but at the same time with the world market – when you take Asia into account – it’s harder to pay the money.

“There has to be the right balance for these guys who are looking to go from the NBL to the NBA – which is a known pathway now – but at the same time we’re competing against some pretty high budgeted teams around the world.”

Phoenix fans will have their first opportunity to see their new look side in NBL action on Thursday, September 28, when South East Melbourne clash with Melbourne United in the opening game of the season.