An NBL Free Agency Primer For Breakers + NZers At Australian Teams
There was a touching moment during the press conference after the Breakers lost game five of the NBL Finals. Head coach Mody Maor was sitting on the dais with owner/ceo Matt Walsh, saying whatever he was saying, when all of a sudden import forward Jarrell Brantley popped his head into the room off-camera and told everyone in attendance how much he appreciated Maor as a coach and as a man and how any player would be privileged to play for him...
Beautiful moment. Also a very notable one ahead of a big offseason for the Breakers. Their recruitment this season was top notch and for once they’ve actually got the structure, the success, and the coach to be able to do something they have not yet done since the change in ownership: retain an import signing.
Literally none of them have returned for a second season yet. Four years and counting. The last import to play multiple seasons for the club was Cedric Jackson. Since then we’ve seen all these blokes pass through the gates: Rakeem Christmas, DJ Newbill, Edgar Sosa (2017-18), Armani Moore, Patrick Richard, Shawn Long (2018-19), Brandon Ashley, Sek Henry, Scotty Hopson, Glen Rice Jr (2019-20), Colton Iverson, Jeremy Kendle, Levi Randolph, Lamar Patterson (2020-21), Peyton Siva, and Chasson Randle (2021-22). None of them stuck around. That’s not including Next Stars either because of course they’re not expected back, not even Hugo Besson who was technically signed as an import but operated as a second NS. Nor does it include the import Chris Obekpa who was cut and replaced before the season began in 2019-20. Although a couple of those others (Rice & Kendle) were injury replacement imports, to be fair.
Long streak but those were the old days. Under Mody Maor’s leadership this Breakers unit should be able to take their pick when it comes to retaining their current dudes. And if any of the imports do get better offers elsewhere then we can also now have confidence that Maor and his scouts will be able to identify equally talented replacements... who’ll also have the right mentality and skill sets that fit with the team. None of those three things were common in the four years before Mody Maor. This is how substantially he’s led the turnaround in this team.
One bloke that’s already reaping the benefits is that man Jarrell Brantley who has just signed a ten-day contract with the Utah Jazz in the NBA. Brantley was drafted by the Jazz back in 2019... well, technically he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers and then traded to the Jazz on Draft Day but close enough. The 50th overall pick. He then spent two years as a two-way player appearing in 37 total NBA games. Now, after stings in Russia and Australia via Aoteroa... he’s back.
This is only a ten-day deal. It’s that time in the NBA where these deals are common, particularly amongst teams that aren’t expecting to make playoff runs. Bring in a few short-term options for a couple weeks at a time and see if anyone’s worth bringing back next season.
It’s also tank season – hence why former Breaker Next Star Ousmane Dieng has been having fun with the Oklahoma City Thunder lately. He’s spent much of the season with the G-League affiliate (where he’s done very well) but did start with the main roster and has had four separate stints with the NBA squad, this current one being the longest and most successful of them – highlighted by a career day 17-point outing against the San Antonio Spurs (who are tanking much harder than the Thunder right now, it has to be said).
So this doesn’t mean that Jarrell Brantley won’t be back for the Breakers. If this Utah Jazz opportunity leads into a guaranteed contract then that’ll be that but if it doesn’t then he’s got a healthy backup option waiting for him at the Breakers, where he won the club’s MVP award. In which case they may also be able to bring back his older brother Jamaal Brantley who played two games at the start of the season as a designated injury replacement and remained around as a training player throughout the entire span.
Likewise Dererk Pardon has also already locked in his next gig, signing with Puerto Rican club Cangrejeros de Santurce. A former club of one-time Breaker Edgar Sosa. That season starts this week and runs through until around June/July (depending on playoffs) which is before the NBL’s preseason gets underway so again this means little as far as his Breakers eligibility goes. Bro’s just out there being a 12-month-a-year baller, is all.
No word yet on Barry Brown Jr’s next destination although to be fair it hasn’t even been a week yet. Give him a chance. Brantley may have been Team MVP but it was Pardon and Brown who made All-NBL Second Team, while Brown was chosen as Sixth Man of the Year and Pardon should’ve won Defensive Player of the Year but was robbed (though not as badly robbed as Mody Maor was for Coach of the Year). The three imports were the three best players on the roster. Perfect recruitment. Now we play the waiting game to see if they’ll return.
It’s not only the import players that will be high on the targets either. One of the reasons they were able to spread their import talent so widely was that Coach Maor believed in Australian point guard Will McDowell-White’s ability to take a big step forward this term and that’s exactly what happened. WMW was superb as a floor general, anchoring the team’s offence with his clever passing and slick handles and even beginning to knock down a few jump shots. Not consistently... but consistently enough to compliment his strengths. He had a couple of superb finals performances too.
Operating in a position where many teams prefer an import makes Will McDowell-White one of the top free agent prospects in the entire league... and that’s assuming he doesn’t get swept up into any fringe NBA areas. He did have a two-way gig with the Houston Rockets prior to joining the Breakers (although he never played NBA). WMW signed a one-year extension with the Breakers before this season so he’s re-upped with them once before. Matt Walsh is on the record saying the club will do everything they can to retain him but McDowell-White’s gonna have options. His home town Brisbane Bullets will probably be high on the list. Perth and South East Melbourne are being mentioned. Let alone any feelers from Europe that may tempt him (a pathway that recent Breakers like Finn Delany and Yanni Wetzell have sought recently).
This isn’t an unusual place for an NBL team to find themselves in... but it is still a precarious one. Made worse by the fact that guys like Tom Abercrombie and Rob Loe are also on expiring deals. As the finals went on, the Breakers shrunk their rotation down to what was mostly just a seven-man group... and six of them are now off contract. While they can probably find decent replacements for the Americans if they need to, finding a starter-level domestic point guard will not be so easy.
Plus that’s assuming that Mody Maor himself doesn’t get tapped on the shoulder. Any NBA team paying attention shouldn’t hesitate to have a peek at MM if they’re in search of a new assistant. However as things stand Maor does remain under contract for next season and Walshy has suggested that there’s an additional year on his deal there too, although nothing that’s been made public through official channels yet (standard Breakers areas of being slack/evasive with in-house reporting – not everything was fixed this past season).
So who actually is under contract for next season? Well, there’s nobody currently signed beyond next year but the multi-year deals of Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, Tom Vodanovich, Cam Gliddon, and Dan Fotu all have one more season remaining. Plus Alex McNaught has another year of DP status on the books. Only Le’Afa was a factor in the finals amongst that lot. Although gotta tell ya that Vodanovich has slipped away to the Philippines for some offseason ball and how about this for a debut stat line: 39 points (14/28 FG) & 10 rebounds with 3 assists and nailing six triples. But his team lost and were eliminated so it was one-and-done, sadly.
Meaning that their list of impending free agents reads: Barry Brown, Jarrell Brantley, Dererk Pardon, Will McDowell-White, Tom Abercrombie, Rob Loe, and Sam Timmins. As well as designated replacement guys Jayden Bezzant and Isaac Davidson though they don’t really count. Rayan Rupert does have a second year on his deal but that’s a technicality so that the club gets a wee payday when he’s drafted to the NBA and thus bought out (and that’s definitely a when and not an if). Smart business is all that is.
Barring an unexpected retirement, you’d imagine that Tom Abercrombie will be an easy one to bring back. Club captain and all that. Not the scorer he once was – TA’s coming off his lowest ever scoring season in the NBL with just 5.4 points per game and he’s had two consecutive seasons shooting under 40% from the field which he’d only done once in the previous decade – but he remains a gun defender and such an important personality in the group. Dude has six steals in a finals game, mate. Plus motivation will be high now that the team is competing again, not to mention the Tall Blacks angle with a World Cup in August and a possible Olympic campaign next year (if we do better than Aussie at the WC or make it through a qualifying tourney... tough ask tbf).
Rob Loe is the funky one. You’d hardly blame him for leaving if he did given how he’s been used in recent years but he did have some big moments this past season. Despite averaging similar minutes per game as last term, Loe’s scoring average rose from 4.2 to 5.6ppg as his three-pointers landed at a sizzling 43.2% and his rebounding rate took a jump as well. He’s one of those guys whose advanced stats always paint a pretty picture. Loe did have a season with Cairns in 2018-19 so he’s done the Aussie club experience before. Very curious to see how that goes.
Alright then, how about the kiwis at other NBL clubs then? For starters Shea Ili has another year on his deal with Melbourne United so there’s the best of them all locked up. Ili had an injury-affected NBL23 campaign which limited him to only half the games yet he still somehow got shortlisted for DPOY. He’s a star in this league and Melbourne United are completely aware of that status.
Over at South East Melbourne Phoenix they’ve got Reuben Te Rangi on board for another season and recently re-signed young kiwi big man Anzac Rissetto on another development player deal, with a club option for a second-year on full roster status (a common contract structure in the NBL). AR only played in five games this past season but is already a fan favourite thanks to his exuberant bench celebrations. Rough season for RTR on the stat sheets. His three point (29%) and free throw (58%) shooting were poor and his net rating was a squeaky -12.1 but we know what high regard he’s held in over there. Also, Tohi Smith-Milner had his contract option declined before the season but ended up returning to the Phoenix anyway. He’s a free agent after only getting 94 minutes across the campaign.
There could be big changes at the Perth Wildcats where barely scraping into a Play-In game that they then lost probably won’t be taken too kindly at such a perennially successful franchise. If that does prove to be the case then the mutual options held on the Webster Bro deals will be fascinating. Both Tai and Corey reportedly have those clauses: not player options, not team options, but mutuals. A bit of both.
Maybe they stay in Perth, maybe they don’t. But both lads are clearly still good enough to be starters in the NBL so if the ‘Cats don’t want them then somebody else will (assuming they stay in Australia). Not really expecting the Breakers to be in that hunt given how those parties parted last time but the NBL is better with the Websters involved. Corey started slow with Perth before having some hugely influential scoring games later on as he hit his stride. Tai never quote got going as a mid-season acquisition. There are cases both for and against keeping them around so we’ll see how it goes.
Jack Andrew was also a development player with the Wildcats and the team have an option to make that a senior deal next season... which they probably won’t take but fingers crossed he can return as a DP again. Walter Brown is the other DP whose status hasn’t been determined yet – he was at Tasmania JackJumpers. Andrew played two minutes in one game, Brown played 15 minutes across eight games.
Reigning NBL Next Generation award winner Sam Waardenburg is spending his offseason balling in Germany with MHP Riesen. He’s got another year on the books with Cairns Taipans as things stand after immediately coming in as a rookie out of college and playing big minutes, putting up big stat lines, and making a positive impact for a team with a winning record. Now he’s staying busy, levelling up, and trying to put himself into that Tall Blacks squad for the World Cup. Good yarns.
Tyrell Harrison recently signed a two-year deal to remain with the Brisbane Bullets. Second year is a team option. Harrison is the longest serving player on the Bullets roster, believe it or not. He’s well settled in a smooth spot as the backup big behind Aron Baynes (also under contract for NBL24) and despite being limited by injuries last term the 23yo did some very tidy things. Finishes at the rim, rebounds at a high level... and of players with at least 200 minutes only Marcus Lee and Dererk Pardon had better Net Ratings. This is some fine faith being shown in his abilities from the Bullets.
Beyond all them we’ve got Hyrum Harris as a free agent after a second season in Adelaide. Quiet from him in NBL23, slight dip in minutes and numbers from the previous year, though some of his underlying stats were quite good as a role-player off the bench. Positive net rating. A jump in his true shooting percentage. Would hope there’s interest in him from other clubs as well as Adelaide (the Breakers included) though he may have to wait and see how the start of free agency plays out.
That’s every New Zealander who participated in NBL23 covered. Naturally there will be plenty of eyes on the NZ league when it tips off in a couple of weeks, particularly for those sneaky development players. Many of these fellas who’ve already been mentioned will be popping up for some basketball activities there and it won’t just be kiwi players either – remember that Xavier Cooks won the MVP award last time. Did the NZxAUS NBL MVP double and now he’s in the NBA. How about that?
On top of that it feels like every year there’s a madly talented bloke graduating from their USA college and ready to hit up the NBL. Sam Waardenburg did it last year. Yanni Wetzell was that guy in the past. The early front-runner for that title in 2023: Flynn Cameron. Although Callum McRae could also be a handy bolter and Flynn’s brother Tobias is also draft eligible this year. Talent to burn in Aotearoa, folks.
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