Free Agency Analysis: George Blagojevic Back to Cairns

Friday, September 4, 2020

With free agency underway, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria is taking a look at each and every signing and breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

With free agency underway, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria is taking a look at each and every signing and breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

Signing Snapshot: George Blagojevic back to the Taipans

Signed by: Cairns Taipans

The deal: Two years (club option final year)

Age: 23

2019-20 team: Cairns Taipans

2019-20 stats (per game): 1.5 points, 0.6 rebounds, 46.7 FG%, 00.0 3P% (0/1), 71.4 FT%

Projected role: Back-up wing.

Quote: “Last season George showed flashes of his ability to become a strong NBL rotation player and his hard work and love of the game is paying off in the way he’s been training this off-season.” – Mike Kelly (Cairns Taipans head coach)

My take: The Snakes were one win away from a Grand Final appearance last season and re-signing Blagojevic is their latest move in an attempt to run that thing back.

The youngster barely played in his rookie campaign, averaging only 3 minutes per game, but he did show flashes of potential in that limited run. He has also continued to develop his game in FNQ over the off-season, convincing the Taipans decision-makers that he’s deserving of another 1+1 deal.

At 6’8, Blagojevic played mostly power forward during his college career but he’s in the midst of turning himself into more of a three at the NBL level. His stroke still needs work, as does his ability to guard mobile wings on the perimeter, while his attack on the rim and ability to draw contact – as shown in the clip below – is currently his greatest strength.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">count ?? it<a href="https://twitter.com/georgeblagojev?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@georgeblagojev</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNSatSYD?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNSatSYD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL20?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL20</a> <a href="https://t.co/CcOYAjVJeQ">pic.twitter.com/CcOYAjVJeQ</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1215890920765214720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In terms of his spot in the rotation, I have Blagojevic sitting behind both Kouat Noi and Jordan Ngatai on the Taipans’ depth chart right now. And with Mirko Djeric and Mojave King also playing plenty of minutes on the wings and Majok Deng and Fabijan Krslovic ahead of him at the four, playing time will continue to be scarce for the 23-year-old. When those opportunities arrive, he’ll need to make sure he grabs them.