SuperCoach NBL: New import watch

Photo: Matt Mooney

This article is part of the Pre-Blitz watchlist series by The Basketball Blokes. Be sure to read the other articles in the series that look at potential cash cows and bounce back candidates that are on our watchlist heading into the NBL Blitz. 

Make sure you have checked out the article introducing you to each team’s new imports.

As important as these signings are to your favourite team’s success, they can also make and break your SuperCoach NBL side.

New imports are all priced at $277,000. For some perspective, they will need to average about 23 SuperCoach points per game to maintain that starting value. Last season we had 16 new imports play, with 8 of them exceeding this value and 8 of them falling short.

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Your goal should be to pick this season's version of Parker Jackson-Cartwright who averaged 34.6, was a great cash cow and captain option.

The following categories show how we are feeling about each of the new imports heading into the Blitz:

Backfoot Breakers

The Breakers have signed their defensive anchor for NBL25 in Freddie Gillespie. He comes in that Dererk Pardon mould - possessing the same 7’5” wingspan to disrupt the offense, with the ability to be that consistent 10 point and 10 rebound guy for those all important double-double bonus points. 

The Breakers have also signed Matt Mooney, a tough and defensive-minded guard who can shoot from outside. He will join Parker Jackson-Cartwright in the back court, and although fantasy coaches will be hoping he can produce the SuperCoach numbers we saw from PJC last season, unfortunately we will have to wait.

The Breakers will play the fewest number of games of all teams over the first four rounds. They are slated for a single game in each of Rounds 1 and 2, before two weeks off to accommodate the NBL v NBA games in early October.

The good news is we can target the Breakers before their first price rise in Round 5, prior to a competition-best 16 games over the following 9 rounds.

Substandard Schedule Stashes

The schedule helps dictate who we start in our initial SuperCoach squads, but could a select few players be worth stashing if they light up the Blitz games even with a sparse schedule to kick off the season?

Take Brisbane for example. They are slated for the fewest number of games over the first 8 rounds and don’t host a double game round until Round 9. Newly signed James Batemon is touted to take on much of the offensive load for the Bullets this season off the back of 17.3 points and 3.8 assists a game in Israel, but what will he be priced at come round 9?

Brisbane also signed Keandre Cook who shot a red-hot 45.7 percent from three last season in Germany and can pad the stats with defensive numbers for those important SuperCoach +3’s. Even so, it’s a tough sell to hold a player through eight single game rounds before Brisbane start their back ended schedule full of double game rounds.

“He’s one of the best on-ball defenders I’ve seen. He’s going to be a pest on defence.” That’s Milton Doyles take on newly signed JackJumper Craig Sword. He shot 42 per cent from deep in the G-League last season, while averaging 9 points and 1.2 steals in 23 minutes per game.

Sword could see an early boost in production with the departure of Jack McVeigh, as a guy who could also play as an undersized power forward. Unfortunately, Tasmania is only scheduled for one double in the first four rounds, so there are likely better selections to start in your squad that will be playing more games early in the season.

Closely Considering

There are a group of new imports that we are closely considering that will be on the watchlist as we enter the Blitz. These carefully considered selections are vital, as they can not only make or break your season, but they can set you apart from the pack in the overall rankings in the early rounds.

We are looking at a completely different South East Melbourne squad this season after a large turnover in key personnel. Joe Wieskamp is one of the new faces to join the Phoenix, coming off a strong season in the G league where he averaged 16.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 33 minutes per game. With a completely new squad, and names like Nathan Sobey, Derrick Walton Jr and Matt Hurt shaping to be a large part of the offence, it will be important to see where Wieskamp’s role fits across the Blitz campaign.

The Cairns Taipans have also had a makeover this season with a trio of new imports to consider, signing Tanner Groves, Pedro Bradshaw and Rob Edwards.

Adam Forde describes Groves as a 6’9’ pitbull, a big man who can come in and set screens but also step outside and shoot the three at an efficient clip. He sounds a great fit for Cairns, and although last season's numbers in 8 points and 6 rebounds a game in Germany don’t look too astounding, this was in just 19 minutes per game.

Pedro Bradshaw is a tough defensive player who can also hit the three ball, having shot at 40 per cent from deep last season and 42 per cent the season before. Bradshaw also played in the NBA Summer League for the Charlotte Hornets averaging 12 points, 4 assists and 2 steals in 16.7 minutes per game; and Cairns certainly see him as a key playmaker in the season ahead. Coach Forde said “The plan for us is to greatly increase the volume of Pedro’s output. He’ll be one of our go-to guys. All he needs to do is continue on his trajectory and the rest will take care of itself.”

Rob Edwards is a tall shooting guard with a wealth of G League experience. Averaging 12 points and 4 rebounds a game across three seasons, the Taipans see Edwards as a strong defender who can also be a secondary ball handler. With three brand new imports, the Blitz will be important for defining role clarity within this Taipans squad to see if any these new faces can earn a starting spot in our Round 1 SuperCoach squads.

A not so new face is Jarell Martin who finds himself at Adelaide following a couple of seasons with the Sydney Kings in NBL21 and 22. Martin averaged 16.8 points and 7.7 rebounds across 59 NBL games. We know when healthy what a force he can be, but we will need to closely consider him throughout the Blitz coming off a ruptured patella.

Looking to Lock

The three of us recently ranked the 14 new imports in our “New Imports” SuperCoach podcast and didn’t tell each other our individual responses prior to recording. There was one constant - we all shared the same top four.

Adelaide struggled to find their definitive ball-handler early last season, with the combination of Flowers, McCarron and Cadee not providing the result they had hoped, which required Trey Kell to take on much of the responsibility. Enter Kendric Davis. The explosive guard was the sixth-highest scorer in the G League last season and believes he is the missing piece to the puzzle. We have seen similar G League numbers translate well in the NBL before, averaging 18.7 points, 8.3 assists and 1.4 steals across 34 games for the Santa Cruz Warriors. Jaylen Adams was one such name who shared very similar numbers in the G League before making his presence felt in the NBL.

As mentioned, there has been a large turnover at the Phoenix, and there was no bigger loss than Mitch Creek. They are big shoes to fill, but we think newly acquired power forward Matthew Hurt is more than capable and one that will feature regularly this season in our SuperCoach squads. He is a stretch four who can also play the five, and should be a fine fit alongside new recruit Jordan Hunter in the front court. He is deadly from outside, shooting over 40 per cent from deep last season for the Memphis Hustle. He averaged 20.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, across 22 appearances.

Someone who has dominated the league before and is a proven fantasy commodity is Cameron “SpaceCam” Oliver. He previously played tw seasons with the Cairns Taipans averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds, and more recently went at 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds a game in China in just 22 minutes per game. SpaceCam returns with more maturity and NBA experience, but will line up in a more talented and stacked roster than before. We don’t foresee Cam putting up the numbers for Sydney that he did for Cairns playing alongside Xavier Cooks and Jaylen Adams, but he will return at the new import price of $277k, a price his value will surely surpass.

Our final looking to lock is Dylan Windler. Perth may only have signed him within the past couple of days, but it is one that has many SuperCoaches excited and rightfully so. Having played 84 NBA games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Windler has found himself at all of the Knicks, Lakers and Hawks within the last NBA season. His strength is his perimeter shot, but he also possesses an uncanny ability for rebounding as a small forward. So much so, that this wing owns the title for the most rebounds in a game in G League history with a lazy 33 rebound game! He looms as a great running mate and fit beside Bryce Cotton and one we predict to easily increase from his initial $277k price tag.

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