Sydney Ready for Closest Year Yet

By Dan Woods - NBL Media

The Sydney Kings will be looking to go back-to-back without a number of key pieces from last season’s championship run, with their trio of imports departing the program ahead of NBL23 along with exciting young talent Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.

MVP Jaylen Adams has had to be replaced on the roster, as have key stars Jarell Martin and Ian Clark. In their place has come Derrick Walton Jr, Justin Simon and Tim Soares. Kouat Noi has moved across from the Taipans with hopes of locking down the power forward position.

Kings head coach Chase Buford said tough decisions were made on all sides when building the roster for the upcoming campaign.

“Pretty quickly we knew Jaylen had offers we couldn’t compete with. That allowed us to pivot and get a guy like Derrick (Walton Jr) which was huge, we’re really excited about him Buford told ESPN.

“Knowing Jaylen was moving on enabled us to focus in on how we wanted to build our team. To be fair, we were in limbo with both Xavier Cooks and DJ Vasiljevic. Once they got done we were able to look at our team and see what we needed positionally.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">MVP MVP MVP ?<br><br>Xavier Cooks has been named the 2022 New Zealand National Basketball League Most Valuable Player.<br><br>See what he had to say - <a href="https://t.co/rLpTe2biXY">https://t.co/rLpTe2biXY</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/xaviercooks10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xaviercooks10</a> <a href="https://t.co/ugjqgiJEXu">pic.twitter.com/ugjqgiJEXu</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1556822664324550658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As an exciting offensive player with the ability to both score and pass the ball, Walton Jr looks to be the direct replacement for departing MVP Adams.

Playing in the NBA as recently as last season – Walton Jr made three appearances, all starts, for Detroit. His experience at the top level could prove crucial in leading the Kings to another title triumph.

Buford says once the signature of Walton Jr was secured and some key players were retained, the organisation set about filling the gaps in their side.

"I think Derrick is going to be a significantly different player to Jaylen. I know Jaylen led the league in assists, but for me he's still a scoring guard, he's almost a combo scorer first and foremost. Derrick will be a shift from that, I think he will enjoy getting everyone else involved,” Buford said

"As much as Jaylen was a defender in Wisconsin, he didn't have to do that as much for us. I get the feeling Derrick will want to attack those defensive matchups.

“I expect a big jump from DJ this year … getting him and Xav back was gratifying and rewarding, but it was also really exciting, because I think we’ve got two of the best locals in the league to build around.

“It was always about pairing Xav with someone that complements his skillset – the biggest thing is shooting.

“Xav is a great rim protector, but we also want him guarding fours and other positions where he can't be protecting the rim always so someone who can provide that support. One who can protect the rim and one who can space the floor and be a compliment to Xav in that regard."

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With the quality of the NBL climbing each season, the prospect of going back-to-back is a tough one for Buford and his charges.

Although he’s entering just his second season as a head coach, Buford says this year feels a little bit different to what he’s experienced before.

"I've only experienced one off-season but it certainly feels like teams were trying to throw their weight around a little bit more. There is a salary floor and a salary ceiling in this league, people talk about salary, but most teams operate in a similar world at least. I think a lot of teams decided they wanted to be near the top of that world.

"Brisbane spent like they meant it, Adelaide spent like they meant it, it will be tough to replace Vic Law for Perth, but they look like they got some players to be the same level, South East similar, so up and down it's tough to say who will be up at the top.

"There are probably seven or eight teams who feel like they have a chance of top two, so it's going to be a competitive season and I'm looking forward to it."

Buford isn't the only person within the Kings' organisation with the vision of going back-to-back. Backup point guard Biwali Bayles is ready to build on his first season in the NBL as he searches for another championship.

"Winning a championship in my first year was super special and something I'll never forget - especially with the great group of guys we had," Bayles told the Sydney Kings website.

"I believe I proved I belong in the NBL before my injury and it was great to regain some of that form at Mackay, which I hope to carry into year two with Sydney.

"I definitely believe we have the squad to 'run it back' but just like last season, we don't look too far ahead, rather building the kingdom day by day - especially as we proved last season that Chase's systems are effective in this league."

Click here for the full story: Sydney Kings back fresh imports to replicate 2022 success