36ers weigh up huge debut

New Adelaide 36ers import Nick Rakocevic could make his debut as early as Thursday night, coach Mike Wells has revealed.

Speaking to the media, Wells said Rakocevic would land in Australia on Wednesday, with the club to assess his availability upon arrival.

“We’ll just have to see. We’ve got a chance to see how he feels after the long flight,” Wells said.

“If he’s comfortable and there’s no injury risk, then he’ll play. If not, we’ll wait until we get back home.”

The Serbian/American big man looms as a towering presence for the 36ers, standing at 211 centimetres.

“You’re talking about a high quality, high character, high IQ player,” Wells said.

“6’11” that can shoot threes and knows how to play.”

The 27-year-old has played in China, the Philippines, Lebanon, and most recently had a stint in Puerto Rico, where he averaged 14 points and 8.1 points across 21 games. He replaces Montrezl Harrell on the 36ers’ roster.

For Adelaide, it was a strong start to the season against Brisbane, with their marquee Bryce Cotton knocking down 39 points.

While Wells admits there’s still plenty of work to grow as a unit, with so many fresh faces, he’s pleased with his team’s progress.

“We’ve got the most new players of any team in the league. There’s going to be growing pains,” he said.

“We saw some really good stretches on Sunday. We saw some stretches where we’d like to have a little bit better rhythm.

“We’ll keep trying to reconnect the group and keep moving forward.”

Asked when the 36ers would be able to find the perfect rhythm, Wells remained coy.

“We just got to keep better each week, with each challenge that we have,” he added.

“The ideal thing would be to peak at game 33 so you’re ready for the playoffs.”

Adelaide takes on Cairns in enemy territory on Thursday night, live on ESPN from 7.30pm AEST.