Mcnaught is barely an NZNBL player. Why Breakers have kept him around is bewildering.

I think Davison is now on the main roster?

Agree screeningnick. He seems to have gone backwards. My first thought was he'd been released

Can't see a spot for McNaught moving forward.
He’s had a fair run and hasn’t developed into an NBL calibre player imo.

The guys from the U19 team need to be prioritised moving forward.
A lot of talented kids in that group.

Davison is definitely on the main roster

But presume one of McNaught or Isaac has been cut, because along with yesterdays signing of Judd, Tukaha Cooper just signed a DP contract

Can't have 4 DPs and a next star can you?

You can have 4 dps and a next star team usally don't get 4 dps and a next star
NZ really trying to packout their roster with getting every position field
Locals Tick 8/11
Imports 2/3 with 1 to come
DPs 4/4
Next Star 1/1
What next an injury/nominated replacement to be with them all year

NZ are wanting to bring back their development academy that produced so many great players under the Blackwell's ownership and I guess loading up the DP spots is part of that.

Taylor Britt looked good against Iraq last night. It's not like Iraq is a basketball powerhouse but Taylor looked like an NBL caliber player out there.
He was poised and in control and picked his moments well.

PJC* / Britt / McNaught (DP) / Cooper (DP)
Brockington* / Le'Afa / Isaac (DP)
Lopez (NS) / Bairstow / Davidson / Judd (DP)
Import* TBA / TeRangi / Darling
Menenga / Loe

I would say the club will be pretty close to naming the final import.

Nice to see Jonah Bolden stay in the league and sign with the Hawks.
McGee is a massive signing for Illawara but we have seen some quality bigs over the years struggle with the refereeing in the NBL so it will be interesting to see his impact.

I like the look of the breakers guard rotation. Even leafa being used as a defensive lock down against some lineups could be effective at times

Not convinced we have the forwards to compete with most teams in the league though regardless of the caliber of the final import. It just feels a bit too loose and inconsistent to me. And an overdependence on Lopez as bright as his future might be

Agree that the forward rotation is a challenge - I don't see Max Darling taking a step up from where he was last season (his NZ NBL performances have left me with a pessimistic outlook). All roads point to a Carlin Davison breakout (akin to his NZ NBL breakout) though aside from his athleticism and drive game I'm hesitant as to what he'll be offering in a larger role.

I don't know why McNaught's still on the team. It was telling when Fitchett benched McNaught, oriented the rotation around an import PG and then went on a run. As much as I'd like to see some of the U19 WC team as DP's, the reality is the top eight players in that rotation have all committed to NCAA and the remaining four need more seasoning.

Yeah I thought taine murray would have been a good DP option but he went straight into the main roster for bullets

Agree on darling, and he hasn't looked much better for NZ, but kop was able to get him playing well last season so I'm hopeful of him doing it again

I would have preferred King over Le'afa. Has King signed anywhere? Did he price himself out of the market?

I have heard Mojave King is heading back to the GLeague but that was a while ago.

King has better positional size and is a much better athlete and has more offensive upside than Le'Afa.
Le'Afa is a much better on ball defender.

Breakers third import is Ron Baker II according to Olgun. 6'11" last played in the EuroLeague with Alba Berlin.

Just saw that on social media

Rob Baker II
6.11" 93KG PF

Bring on the regular season.

Solid stats in Japan and gleague so not expecting much.

Listed as 6'11" and PF/SF so hard to see the fit with existing forwards. Maybe they will rotate at 3 as well with Lopez?

Just watched the scouting report on youtube and he's def no SF. Good screen and a bit of a lob threat. Looks more like a centre that can cover PF to me so I reckon I might have got my wish!

He looks like a genuine 6'11" with good footwork, nice shot mechanics out to NBA 3, and the ability to play at the rim at both ends. Not many people out there with that skill set. He'll be serviceable and an upgrade on Fall and Gillespie.

Lopez is out of the Blitz with a back injury and NZB hopeful he will be able to play in Round 1.The injury happened at the Eurocamp in Italy in June.

Am I completely insane to think Lopez could genuinely be a fringe All-NBL calibre player this season?

Not crazy at all.

He just turned 18. The improvement trajectory at that age is potentially off the charts.

I think kop is going to give him a really clear role this season, especially on the defensive end, which will be good for him and the team but might not have him clocking up the offensive stats for all-NBL teams

But hey if he contributes enough to the team who cares about the honors!

He's got to be a lock for next gen player of the year though too. Was robbed last season of that i thought

Will definitely be a high lottery pick, hopefully they don't shut him down towards end of season. Be interested to see what he'll improve on the most.
Breakers nearly always have a key contributor as a next star even with their management. And mainly European.

whats Mantas Rubstavicius up to these days?

He was back in his home league but putting up some pretty good stats. In fact he may have met pjc in the final??

Some of the stuff Lopez was pulling off last year was insane. It's scary to think he's coming back physically stronger and will know what he's coming back to. His play and availability will be a big determinant of how competitive the Breakers will be because he brings X factor.

Mantas is signed to Lithuanian powerhouse Zalgiris but was loaned out last season. He's playing for Zalgiris this year so set for a solid Euro career.

Agree on Lopez's talent level and poise late in the season. He's going to be relied upon for his driving ability next to PJC and Mennenga. While I would like to see Lopez's outside jumper improve, being surrounded by three shooters and PJC offsets that.

I think of Rob Baker as a poor man's Darius Bazley, who I thought was the ideal skillset for this team. It's good that he's consistently had stocks and shoot a least average from 3. There's always a challenge with these 4-men, and we're not going to know for sure until he gets here.

Asia Cup has certainly made me rethink the scout on Mojave King, Taylor Britt and Max Darling - all have outperformed and provide possibility (or missed opportunity in Mojave's space) for next season.

glad to hear Mantas is doing well

well said on Lopez, PyroCross

Mojave shows some nice shooting semi regularly but I don't think consistently enough to be a starting SG in NBL level. Has a nice passing game and reasonable D too. But struggles to create his own shot

To me the Asia cup highlighted how valuable a flynn cameron signing could have been worth. Excellent in all aspects albeit with a slight tendency to overshoot.

I think he's going to be poorly used at Adelaide, supposedly at SF, but I guess if we couldn't match their money best to hold off

Cameron is a bit loose on when playing the 1 especially against full court pressure. He is improving very fast though, and has high IQ craftiness like his father.

Darling has progressed since last year and Britt will surprise people. He was very good in this tournament and should be able to provide a decent 10-15mpg.

I still believe the Breakers would have been better with King than Le'afa. Better long term hold that would have provided a solid core alongside Davison and Darling.

I don't think it was a choice was it? At the end of the last season the NBL talking heads said Bolden & King weren't going to be back and that they were going to play overseas this upcoming season, I'm sure the Breakers would've wanted him back especially over Le'afa. No doubt Bolden settled for the Hawks due to lack overseas interest.

Mojave definitely provides more, especially offensively, than leafa but I'm assuming leafa is only on a portion of mojaves salary so it's not a decision between the two i don't think

Thoughts on the breakers first outing??

Kop has them playing his way already - good movement of players and the ball. Nice driving and cutting. And I was encouraged by his use of bairstow and te rangi which was mostly off the ball but getting in good spots.

The one I can't work out is brockington. Looks handy and eager at both ends. Very good going at the hoop but his jumper is labored and he doesn't seem to be the spot shooter i thought they were aiming for and needed.

It leaves us with very little threat from the perimeter and teams will just collapse their defence to cover the driving.

Still early to draw many conclusions but that's my concern at this stage

I thought it was a very positive showing for the Breakers. In another thread, they were described as a dark horse and I think that's a very good summation because Kop gets a lot out of their players, the Kiwi core have a lot of pre-existing chemistry, and they have upgraded some key pieces from last season. For example, Brockington > Mooney. He's big, strong and can contribute on both ends. His 3pt shooting has always been questionable as a pro, but I don't think that's what he's been brought in for. He's clearly there to take pressure off PJC as a creator and he was very effective doing that. The shooting will come from spots 3-5.

Impressed with the Breakers defence and how they shared the scoring load.

Defence looks excellent. If I'm critical I thought we switch more than we need. Leafa showed he can contribute. Gonna be a battle between him and britt for the bench guard minutes.

Love the way brockington plays at both ends. A lot of teams will be envious of the energy from him and pjc.

The addition of baker is going to be fascinating. If he can play a role inside and out then they will be hard to defend

I see baker scored 4.5ppg shooting 43/30/100 so not a bad output and pretty good rebounding for his minutes

I expect Baker will shoot around 35% from 3 and 80% from the line. Not bad for a big that can also be a lob option and provide some rim protection.