A loss for the entire league. Love him or hate him, he was box office and brought eyeballs.

Hope Sixers find another import soon ,not keen on this Belgium guy ,only seems to shoot 3s

Article suggests they'll sign two.

Is 6 months a longer ban than Cooks?

"A loss for the entire league. Love him or hate him, he was box office and brought eyeballs.
"

Yeah, as a spectator I'm disappointed he's not back. It will likely end up being a blessing for Adelaide however, I'm not sure the fit was ever going to be great this year.

Trez posting on Twitter about it saying he doesn't get how he was allowed to play in Puerto Rico and not in Oz and also how weed is a performance enhancer.

The answer is obvious re PR not being a FIBA league.

But the punishment for weed is outrageous and ridiculous. Even the NBA is more sane on this topic.

Agree Key, it's completely absurd that this has come about because of weed.
Not long ago, more than half of the NBA were on it daily.

I know a former AFL player with a long and distinguished career, who personally told me that he smoked weed every night of his AFL playing days

I personally don't smoke and advise my family against it, but FFS, to lose a talent and crowd favourite like Harrell over something as benign as this is absolutely farcical.

And what an irony for the charge to have occurred in China of all places, a country who turned sports doping into an Olympic medal winning artform.

^ Ket sorry, autocorrect

This was a pretty predictable outcome that both Harrel and the Sixers should've seen coming. Whether or not we think smoking weed is pretty mild, the penalties and precedent has been set for it in the Chinese basketball league, and it is not as though he was unaware. When he chose to light up that joint, he was playing "fuck around and find out" with his career. When Adelaide chose to sign him in light of an ongoing doping investigation they were playing "fuck around and find out" with their season. Clearly both just assumed 'she'll be right' despite all evidence saying that she probably wont..

But in light of this clear ball drop from both parties I am going to be asking that the sixers replace my Harrel jersey for someone who will actually be suiting up this year. Let's face it, the jersey has been rendered redundant for reasons that should have been plainly predictable and now I've got an outfit I'd look kind of dumb flaunting in public that cost me an already overpriced ONE-HUNDRED-AND-FIFTY DOLLARS.

As far as the Sixers season, not 'too' worried. They'll be able to get an ex-NBA forward on whatever his contract is worth. But this is just another case of Adelaide Adelaiding right when we thought they may have developed a clue.

Smoke weed everyday.

Why buy a discretionary item if you felt it was overpriced? Does not compute.

I'm drafting up a noice legal looking letter to send to the Dallas Mavericks demanding a refund for my Mavs Doncic jersey, after all they traded him to another team. Now I look like an idiot wearing that jersey everywhere so there needs to be financial restitution for my continued public humiliation, or something.

According to the podcast with Kane & Olgun:

-Sports intergrity Australia are preventing him from playing due to lack of resolution on this issue. FIBA had cleared him to play.

-They suggest there might have been some regret in bringing back Harrell, so this was an opportunity to move on from him. Olgun called it a blessing in disguise.

-Harrell was not interested in waiting around.

-Possibly target two import bigs.

I still don't really understand the situation...

Why hasn't a suspension been handed down? He is not suspended nor is he free to play it seems.

Seems quite murky. If Trez has been suspended he wouldn't be able to play anywhere for the duration of it so no need for him to take off. Sounds more like he's had second thoughts about playing for the Sixers this season and this is in part an excuse to sever ties.

Initially I thought Trez was holding out over having to come off of the bench this season and that maybe the Sixers hadn't told him that before he re-signed, perhaps that is the real issue here. Anyway we dodged a bullet and can now move on.

Me, that is important to recognise. We can't let our mentality towards this be governed by our views on cannabis. It's not the point. China and many countries in Asia have a different mentality towards recreationl drug use compared to much of the west. Harrell has to take responsibilty for this.

But at the same time, I do feel for him. He was not "doping' to enhance his performance. A ban or punishment should have been handed down by now. I don't know why it hasn't been or if Harrell is complicit in this dragging on or being a big issue than it needs to be. He was signed by Adelaide. Adelaide are probably complicit in not handling this very well. I think he genuinly loves Adelaide and playing/living in Australia.

The again, Harrell has already been in the spotlight on this issue, so he does bring lots of this on himself. He has already been suspended by the NBL before, and now can't play because of another pending suspension.

Who was the idiot in management who wanted Harrell anyways? Cos it certainly wasn't Mike Wells. No coach wants to deal with that circus day in, day out. Blessing in disguise.

It seems quite odd that Harrell or his agent don't know whether or not he is eligible to play; and surely if they know, they are upfront with any recruiters.

That said, as talented as Harrell is and as much fun as he is to watch, Adelaide now have the opportunity to field a far more balanced team.

We have to remember that bringing back Harrell was part of the reason Adelaide had been elevated to favourites. It wasn't just Cotton signing. Last season we had Davis and Harrell. Davis is the closest player to Cotton in this league and will only get better. Now we don’t have Harrell to pair with Cotton, and suddenly the team does not look as formidable.

We like to imagine that two new imports can simply arrive and work in perfect harmony. But can Wells actually orchestrate a less talented but more cohesive group? I don’t think he can. He only knows one way. His reliance is always on firepower, not on the disciplined, cohesive play you see from Vickerman or Roth. We don’t have Shea Ili-type players who can make that system function.

People are forgetting that Harrell was part of the reason Adelaide were favourites in the first place. His absence may prove a bigger blow than expected, depending on who actually comes in.

Keep in mind Trez stat padded on a mediocre Sixers team last season. He was garbage defensively and that 20 & 9 really flattered him. Jack White made life very difficult for him in that Melb game which I think contributed to him blowing his top. He was a one trick pony that couldn't bully Jack.

I think right now due to the poor fit with Humphries the Sixers are already better off without him plus we get to sit back see what we need legit PG/legit big whatever and poach a talent that gets cut from an NBA squad. One that likely won't create drama and keep getting himself suspended and thus hurting the team.

The good ole 36ers are showing that you still can't polish a turd.

Just last week...

https://www.hoops.com.au/forum/52963-chaos-to-chemistry-how-weston-rebuilt-36ers/

One of the more popular theories I've seen going around is that China had at some point decided to drop the issue with Harrell, leaving both parties thinking he was free to sign with Adelaide. China then decided to bring it up again, which then put the whole situation in limbo, so the easiest path forward is for everyone to part ways.

No idea if that can be done or not, but overall point at this point is Harrell isn't coming back and the 36ers have the potential to turn this into a W if they play their cards rights (which they often struggle to do).

The real pressing issue that I want to know about is, will Trez still be doing the Beat the Coach SC or is this a good time to revert back to the original format???

This is a great outcome for sixers albeit forced upon them.

Now they can move cameron to a combo guard spot and recruit a quality actual small forward

And possibly add a defensive back up big

Then they'll look very strong and have some balance to their roster which was missing previously

Todd Withers wouldn't be a bad addition

Withers has signed in Israel.

Can someone explain to me why Sports Integrity Australia feels the need to prevent Trez from playing if FIBA have cleared him? Or is this incorrect and he still has time to serve on a suspension?

Aim higher than Withers!

Someone like Jabari Walker should be the aim.

Beantown, I have done some research on this and below is what I assume is going on.

FIBA hasn't cleared him. The Chinese test is still unresolved, so it sits in the WADA system as an open case. Sport Integrity Australia has to enforce that. They can’t wave him through until China rules. I don’t think he ever had clearance to play. Australia’s just following WADA, it isn’t them being harsh. Everyone’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. They could let him play, but at the same time they can’t.

From what I understand now, there could be serious consequences for club and league or even beyond that if they decided to let Harrell play. Basically, it could come back to bite them in a big way.

So the reality is he’s not suspended, but he’s not cleared either. Playing him now would be risky as I understand it.

As for why it’s dragging on, it’s bureaucracy. China is known to move slowly on these cases. Until they hand down a result, nothing moves.

If it was a clear four-week ban, Adelaide could work with that. But right now there’s no ruling, no timeline, nothing. That’s why it’s limbo.

I would be careful to call this a great outcome. I think Bryce was looking forward to playing with Harrell, so we don't know how this situation might impact the team. I am sure Humphries will be happy though. If Harrell returning helped elevate Adelaide ahead of most in the first place, then his departure can send them back down a bit. Let's hope they nail two imports soon.

I know a former AFL player with a long and distinguished career, who personally told me that he smoked weed every night of his AFL playing days

That makes sense Master Chief. So probably the Channel 7 report that FIBA has cleared him is not quite right. Its more that a sentence has not been finalised yet, so he is in limbo and the Sixers just aren't prepared to risk this dragging on deep into the season.

Glen Rice Jr is probably available

gold Drexler

He's been busy since leaving the Breakers in ordinary fashion.

Juventus Utena (2020)
On August 19, 2020, Rice signed with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League. Rice made his debut in a friendly game against Lithuanian champions BC Žalgiris, scoring 10 points and dishing out 4 assists in a 102-71 loss. Just a few days later, and spending a total of 10 days with the team, Juventus and Glen Rice Jr parted ways.[125] Juventus managers reported that Rice had alcoholism problems and conflicted with his coaches, managers, and teammates (e.g., invited teammate Mindaugas Kupšas to fight outside after the practice due to his poor pass).[126]

Maccabi Haifa (2021–22)
On December 3, 2021, Rice signed with Maccabi Haifa from the Israeli Basketball National League.[127] On January 26, 2022, the club released Rice after hitting Ironi Ramat Gan player Ariel Tarotzki during a match the night before.[128]

He's bouncing around on teams in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic these days.

Only the 36ers could find themselves in a situation like this. Might have spent a few dollars but still a dysfunctional club.

By Olgun's tweet, it doesn’t really feel like 36ers have done anything silly by the sounds of it

It’s a shame Trez won’t be playing, there should be room for characters on the game, especially ones of such elite talent.

Sounds like their intention was to play Trez off the bench and see how the point situation goes before deciding on the final import slot.

They can still go that direction but go with a stretchier big instead off the bench.

Losing Harrell is a big blow, but at the same time the 36ers are in an enviable position. A great local group (now including Cotton), one proven gun import, and two import slots open with ownership who's proven willing to open the wallet in recent years.

The Sixers do need to take some deserved heat for re-signing a guy who failed a drug test soon after the season finished and didn't appear to serve any sort of suspension during the off-season.

We all knew about his failed drug test at the time so it was either ignorance or a stupid gamble on the Sixers behalf to re-sign him.

But Harrell tested positive after they signed him? And it's not like he is not known to them.

Harrell deserves a suspension if he has broken a known rule. But he also deserves clarity and resolution over this so he can serve it and move on. It should not take this long to resolve.

Maybe he feels like Adelaide are not going out of their way for him? But I think the hands are tied.

The situation seems absurd and it's difficult to know how much blame to lay at the 36ers feet. Why can't FIBA or somebody pressure China to resolve this case?

More specifically why exactly is this case "unresolved"? Surely for a low-level offense Harrell could just plead guilty and receive a standard WADA sanction instead of being made to wait indefinitely?

Unless there's supposed to be a possibility (however slim) that the dope was masking something that's actually performance enhancing? That would be one thing that could justify a delay- if there's genuine uncertainty on that point and further testing is required to clarify?

"But Harrell tested positive after they signed him? And it's not like he is not known to them."

What? His NBL contract had finished when he tested positive in China, the Sixers didn't re-sign him until later in the off-season.

LV,

I think the sports integrity commission or whatever they're called are saving the NBL and the Sixers from themselves by not allowing him to play.

As I understand it the Chinese anti-doping org have contacted out integrity commission said Trez has been found guilty of drugs but due to backlog haven't gotten around to issuing the suspension yet which will likely be in the 1-3 months area.

Theoretically in the interim he should be free to play but what's the point really when likely after a few games China will announce the suspension and then Trez will have to sit out for the 1-3 months or whatever the suspension is.

So it seems the integrity comm are just trying to get ahead of the inevitable suspension now before our season starts so it's easier for all concerned.

Zodiac, I will explain again. Adelaide were not aware of the doping problem until after he signed with them a second time (I thought). So they re-signed him in May but the doping annoucement from the CBA or whoever came later in June. Simply saying, in their defence, they might not have been aware. Maybe I have it inverted. But yes, Adelaide should have seen what was coming regardless.

Come on if we all knew he failed that drug test in China, which made the mainstream media here, then of course the Sixers knew before they signed him again.

Yes, but the positive drug test became public after they signed him, not before. Simply saying, it's not impossible that they did not know before it became public, and since then have been caught in limbo.

Apologies MC I've just checked the timeline of events Harrell re-signed late May and the drug test reveal was late June, so I was wrong with the timeline.

I think I got confused of when he signed in China, mid-March, which his time there didn't last long likely due to the drug thing, but it wasn't announced publicly until late-June after the Sixers had already re-signed him.

My mistake.

It's possible Weston who is supposedly heavily connected in China knew prior as there was a reasonable gap between him playing there vs public acknowledgement of the failed drug test but those kind of aspersions can't really be cast. I knowing his stint in China was early in the off-season just messed up the timeline of events.

Zodiac, no worries.

The process is a joke. I would assume that Harrell probably thought he was in the clear too.

I would guess that Adelaide thought this would be resolved by now. They might have had to take his contract into account too. Basically, Trez is frozen and there doesn't seem to be much they can do about it. They probably have seen this coming to a degree, and that would explain his exit so close to the season starting and not before. Probably giving it as much time as possible to resolve but then forced to make a call with no resolution closer.

I agree I think they knew a while ago too as Trez didn't play in any of our pre-season games and perhaps they've been legally trying to get the integrity comm to overturn their ruling but to no avail.

Perhaps they're still fighting the ruling behind the scenes and that's why Trez hasn't been released yet?

Probably right Zodiac, but what a messy situation and shows the dangers of participating in a global sport with a menagerie of systems and anti-doping organisations. Harrell hopefully learns a lesson that benefits others who don't repeat his mistake.

I think the timeline of events would be like:

-Harrell tested

-Adelaide sign Harell

-Results publicly released

-Adelaide/league don't panic

-Situation drags on

-Season starts

-Adelaide/League panic

-Harrell can't play

What is interesting though, that ever since the results have been made public, Adelaide and the NBL have continued to use Harrell for marketing reasons until they couldn't anymore. And now Adelaide have to be silent until they formally release Harrell. This is why I feel for Harrell. Not that he is not responsible for his choices, but that the limbo is cruel. He was used to promote the league despite the knowledge, and now suddenly he can't play and probably feels let down by the club and the league.

Zodiac, I doubt there is any hope left. Cotton said today that he can't comment on the situation but also said they were looking for someone to replace him. Hopefully they are still fighting, but there would just be reasons why they suddenly can't comment now.

Harrell was a ticking time bomb.

Sixers are a better chance of winning the championship without him if they sign a quality small forward and a solid back up big.

Anyone know potential targets that 36ers are looking at? Saw Mitch creek commented on a post that he had agreed to sign w the 36ers in the offseason but then was ghosted by them.

Have seen this being used lately, ".....then was ghosted by them." What's the meaning of "being ghosted"?

Ignored, guys often complain about girls "ghosting" them when they no longer want contact.

Before they sign two imports, I wonder if Adelaide should wait and see how Blake Jones goes? If he can offer something, they might be able to use both spots with a bit more flexibility.

Oh hang on, he'd have to make way for the import wouldn’t he...

Thanks, Zodiac.

Officially been released by the 36ers

https://www.adelaide36ers.com/news/club-statement-36ers-and-harrell-part-ways

Trez on X "Wait till you hear the real story on this lol how quick the switch goes!"

36ers and drama. Get the popcorn out!

He thanked the NBL, clarified for the CBA, blamed Sports Integrity Australia, but never mentioned Adelaide. I wonder what his view is on his team during this incident.

I wouldn't expect anything overly scandalous from that. Adelaide have probably dropped the ball somewhere down the line, but the bottom line from what I understand is Harrell can’t play basketball right now and this is not the fault of the club.

I predicted early on that Harrell would blame everyone but himself and it does seem that way. I am not even sure he understands why he can’t play. If there is something more to this, happy to accept I’m wrong.

Someone should be holding the doping organisations in China (too lazy to check what they’re called again) to account over how long it can leave a player in limbo. That is what is not fair on Harrell in this situation.

The situation also gets more attention because it is a higher profile player. The Sydney import (Turner I think) last season was sent home under mysterious circumstances. No one really cared.

Bottom line: Don’t get caught in China.

I don't get his reaction, what is he expecting Adelaide to do?

Bottom line is probably don't take anything that isn’t legal. I’m looking to see in tonight’s game to see if a player is still missing.

At a guess he's taken issue with something Adelaide had in the press release, my guess is their timing of events: "He was tested in April 2025 with a positive finding being announced two months later - after he had already re-signed with the Adelaide 36ers."

Certainly does sound like he's gonna go down the "blame the 36ers path. Said he's gonna do an interview with Jason Cadee and basically said it was "fake love" the 36ers had shown him.

I'm guessing he just expected them to wait until he was available and maybe the ego took a bit of a blow when they decided to move on.

I don't really understand what they’re meant to do, if he can’t play, he can’t play!

At least with an injury there could be a more definitive timeline.

Sad to see this situation unfold and it dents the odds for sure but Adelaide are building something and there’s perhaps a balance and cultural upside to having someone else instead.

For someone whose advice to a former teammate was to "stop being a bitter ex" it certainly does sound like he's not going to listen to his own words.

Matt Logue has reported that Montrezl 'had a drug test during an NBL game last season, but the results were inconclusive due to a lack of fluid'. ... sounds like a deliberate leak.

Joey Wright said on the No Flop Zone that he reckons its all about something else that happened in China, [because the punishment does not fit the crime was implied] but then they changed the subject immediately so that is F@#$ useless, if you know something can't you say a bit more than that???

Also not sure why the 36ers release said that Montrezl was not permitted to even train... surely behind closed doors it would be allowed,

Master Chief, I believe that Blake Jones [NRP] has been replacing Ben Gristi, and that Che Brogan [DP] came in for Montrezl in that last game.

LaPark, yeah he doesn't do himself any favours by carrying on.

As we know, there have been some hints that Adelaide might have used this as an excuse to move on from him. Obviously they don't need an excuse if he can't play anyway, but they might have felt like it was liberating not having any choice.

I wonder if bringing Harrell back in the first place was more of a temptaion than a logical choice. They know they shouldn't have, but they couldn't help it.

That's not to say that Harrell is a bad person or teammate, just disruptive.

It's not always entirely his fault, but he's just not worth the drama.

"Also not sure why the 36ers release said that Montrezl was not permitted to even train... surely behind closed doors it would be allowed,"

Doesn't that sorta answer itself?

"I wonder if bringing Harrell back in the first place was more of a temptaion than a logical choice. They know they shouldn't have, but they couldn't help it."

It's Sixers doing typical Sixers things. Weston's mea culpa earlier in the season saying he and Ice can't be on court together, that was his mistake for signing Trez, he didn't realise he would be a 5 in the NBL.

Then Cotton falls into our laps and Weston then decides to re-sign Trez? I mean WTF. It was always bizarre bringing him back after that earlier "hand-washing" Weston interview with Hooley.

As we have said before, Weston says all this. He signed Harrell as a replacement for Martin who was a 4/5 in Australia. Harrell has been a 4/5 in the NBA. How could he not know that someone could easily be a 5 in a much smaller league. Harell was fine as a 4 or a 5 here. It wasn't ideal, but there was also no reason why they couldn't make Humphries and Harell work. Teams with less talent had bigger problems than that.

I call it temptation because they probably knew they shouldn't. And I don't mean entirely from a balance perspective.

I do wonder too if there was a GK influence on bringing Harrell too, especially if he's looking to sell the team. Harrell brought a lot of eyeballs to the NBL and Adelaide in particular, pairing him up with Cotton would bring even more.

From the way Weston spoke earlier in the year about signing Harrell, it sounded like he wasn't being considered as an option until Cotton signed and then suddenly its a "We want you back" scenario.

La Park I do remember something on the socials where GK stated that he had been directly in contact with Montrezl and thought there was still a good chance of securing him. But I have not been able to track it down but it was around the same time as Weston's admission.

Joey Wright also said he was told he had to have an import point guard that he did not want. And that was the last straw for him. But the owner pays the wages so if he is prioritising ticket sales over wins then he has that right.

"Joey Wright also said he was told he had to have an import point guard that he did not want. And that was the last straw for him."

That was Jerome Randle 2.0. Joey was supposedly very unhappy about having to coach Randle again and was especially shitty that he spent a lot of time recruiting Deshon Taylor only for the owner to cut him and replace him with Jerome late in the pre-season. Taylor ended up being a dud at other NBL teams though.

I assume the reason Harrell is not allowed to train or at least was strongly recommended not to, is because his provisional suspension has only recently kicked in. Before this, it was probably still business as usual. Although, Harrell has only physically been with the team for a short time. I don't think he would be able to play with and WADA aligned league right now.

Nick Racocevic appears to be the new import to replace Harrell. Serbian big man. Compared to Harrell, people might feel a bit underwhelmed by this signing. But they did get it done quickly.

You'd think maybe they might target a higher level player with the other spot? Not saying this guy can't play though.

Sorry posted this in the wrong thread

I recall reading some weeks, even months back, that there was another issue Trez had in China, where he supposedly signed with one team and then changed his mind and signed with a rival team.

If that is correct, could that be contributing to Trez's problems? Perhaps the Chinese club he p1ssed off is holding up the process?

If that were the reason though why wouldn't have Joey said that on his show with Boti? He said something else went down with Trez in China and he thinks that's the real reason for this not the doping thing.

Must've been something pretty serious, perhaps illegal, for a failed drug test to effectively be a cover.

@Beantown that was the case, he signed with one team, got offered more so then signed with the other. He claims he never put pen to paper on the first deal, they claim otherwise and there was talk about them suing him or something.

All together though, if this is happening because China are dragging their feet about charging him I dare say doing things like that probably doesn't motivate them to help him out and push this through in a timely manner.

If Harrell wasn't signed with Adelaide then I assume he wouldn’t be insured in the case of injury.

Training with Adelaide if that’s the case could hurt both of them financially.

Hoopie, probably part of the whole complication, but he can't train because of the provisional ban. Adelaide would just be complying with WADA. It doesn't matter if the team is Adelaide or anyone else.

Trez has no one to blame but himself.

He smoked the drugs, he failed the test, he didnt stay and deal with it at the time, just leaves China and assumes he can ignore it and play elsewhere.

He managed to play in the Big3 and Puerto Rico as they are not under FIBA.

But most leagues are under FIBA so until he gets it sorted, he wont be able to play in any of the FIBA leagues.

This is not the fault of the 36ers, who are frankly better off without his drama, its 100% on Trez himself, his lack of taking responsibility says it all about him really. You can see why the NBA moved on from him.

He was live on insta this morning, whingeing about how he had to travel through Singapore as if it were some huge sign of disrespect. A quick look at his insta now has him promoting weed products... I loved watching him play, but he just doesn't seem to get it.

Jonno, you are right. But Harrell or any player still deserves to be treated fairly in this process. For example, the Cooks situation is put forward as hypocrisy, but his ban was handed down quickly. He served it. Now everyone has moved on. Harrell is effectively frozen. He is provisionally banned while waiting for his formal ban. If he is banned for 6 weeks, at least he and the club would know.

I think Harrell might be triggered because Adelaide promised him they'd work with him over a pending ban, and then went back on their word. Maybe over the past week or so they have given Harrell the cold shoulder, giving the impression to Harrell they have just thrown him under the bus.

But they must know that this situation is not even close to a resoltution, and might have some expecation that pending the ban is lengthy enough to give them no choice. So the facts have probably changed since/if Adelaide assured Harrell they'd keep him. Knowing Adelaide, they might have suddenly treated him as disposable or made sure they didn't owe him a cent. Maybe didn't assist him getting back home. That might be the angle Harrell will focus on when exposing "The truth", but none of this changes the fact he is an import in Australia who can't play basketball right now.

I don't know what his agent has been doing this whole time.

I doubt Adelaide wanted to move on from Harrell. He is a drawcard. Many fans love him. He could have been made or broken a championship season. It could have been the most entertaining roster in history. There are so many reasons to want this to work.

I have zero sympathy for Trez

I dare say if he had stayed in China dealt with the CBA and their process it would have likely been dealt with by now.

Instead he skips the country and just plays elsewhere basically thumbing his nose at them, which likely angered them and now has them holding him up.

He and his agent should be working with the required parties in China to sort this, not just ignoring it.

He just thinks hes above the rules and can do what he wants and its coming back to haunt him now, his fault.

I honestly am glad he is gone, cant remember any or many NBL championship contenders with guys like Trez who are full of drama despite how talented they are.

Time to grow up Trez. Which i was shouting at the TV many times last year and hs and KD drama derailed our season many times, so i say Good Riddence to both.

Jonno, that is fair enough.

I'm conflicted one one hand I'm glad to see the back of Trez and all his drama but at the same time I feel really deflated about the season ahead now. I had assumed Trez was okay coming off the bench and thought once the games start with no KD drama and now with Cotton who Trez looks up to that we had the serious potential to win the championship this season, but now that feels gone.

We seem to have cheaped out with the Rakocevic signing who appears more a replacement for Griscti than Trez so when are we going to sign the Trez replacement? Mid-season? Not at all?

Someone said the Sixers were talking Creek earlier in the off-season and he ended up signing in the lowly Romanian league perhaps it might be time to revisit that, a Creek 'homecoming' would be a great story and could be the thing that re-ignites our championship hopes.

Zodiac, that's the point I have been trying to make. It's all well and good to assume that now Harrell is gone, the team will finally be in ultimate harmony, but the reality is also that Harrell elevated Adelaide in the first place, and it puts too much unproven trust in Wells to coach lesser talent.

Harrell is still only 31. He could probably get massive offers all over the world but seemed to genuinly enjoy Adelaide and the league. We had a very rare and unique situation. He looked in better shape this time round. He was a legitimate weapon in this league. As per my previous post, he could make or break the season. Perhaps the situation is the break.

It is deflating, because suddenly Adelaide don't look that much better than anyone else.

I think they will try and make a splash though.

I do think they will try and make a splash too, this current team isn't enough, but now we will be integrating that new 'star' player on the fly in-season. The whole thing just sucks. Maybe the new guy ends up being a Josh Childress type and he puts us over the top?

And the thing is, people will call it foolish to still have this mentality and point to Melbourne as an example of how coaching, culture and fit are more important than flash. This is true. But in the context of Adelaide this season, the aspirtions were always going to be based off this 'hit and run' style campaign, and not one built off years of building, cohesion and culture. They have already gone down this path so there is no going back.

Again, if it was Roth or Vickerman, then I would encourage Adelaide to find pieces that are just good fits. But I think under Wells, Adelaide are more all or nothing. They will either win it all convincingly, or crumble completely. Happy to be wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong.

I don't think they know what they need yet is the issue, but would guess they will seek a big name.

I don't think Rakocevic is a dud at all. He could be as good as any other import. We never know.

Creeks team is Romanian but they certainly don't play in a lowly league, they play in the aba league and the euro cup, the just below the euro league. While no games have been played yet, it looks like he’ll be coming off the bench, his pay packet will be very good and while the nbl is quality a lot of the teams he’ll be playing against are stacked including Partizan.

Rakocevic fits in nicely as the bench player to backup Ice and Cheatham. Not the pedigree of Harrell but perhaps a better team fit for that role. Sixers still have an import slot up their sleeve. Who knows, if Harrell can sort out both his ego and Drug issues, perhaps he may be an addition later in the season.

May not be the right person to suit requirements but would certainly be a boost to the team.

Trez challenging the 36ers again on this as he leaves.

At the end of the day if a player can't play or is in limbo for potentially most of the season, then that’s that.

I understand Adelaide taking the risk whether they knew about the situation or not and the risks of the awkward fit because he is just such a talented and dominant player.

Adelaide are unlikely to find a replacement nearly as talented.

On the other hand when you have so much talent in Cotton, DJV, Humphries plus a nice group that could conceivably be in Adelaide for the years to come, it’s a good silver lining to prioritise culture and team balance.

Having an extra import slot up their sleeve is very helpful when they can look broadly for a high character better team fit even if less impactful.

Adelaide has a seriously good circuit-breaker opportunity here.

So, as best as they can, 36ers need to set a Melbourne United or Tassie JJs high bar for themselves management-player relationship wise and similarly place an emphasis on talking to really good character players.

I don’t fully believe Davis and Trez but I don’t fully believe the 36ers either and even this stuff about ghosting Creek, it’s just an unnecessarily stupid thing to do or find itself involved in.

I’d also love to see Adelaide management work hard throughout the year to convince Cheatham that this is his club for the future - another highly talented culture piece.

Ket, well thought-out and presented post. Probably over the heads of those who should take the most notice.

What? Plan for the future?