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          Olgs' NBL Notebook: Harrell trending towards 36ers extension

          • Olgun Uluc, ESPN Basketball Insider
          Oct 14, 2024, 09:14 AM

          Every week, ESPN's Olgun Uluc runs through what's catching his eye across the NBL, and takes you inside the conversations trickling around the Australian basketball ecosystem.

          Harrell trending toward staying

          We were just a few minutes into Montrezl Harrell's debut with the Adelaide 36ers when the question immediately became how the team could keep him in the NBL.

          Harrell initially signed a short-term deal as an injury replacement for Jarell Martin; the contract would then effectively come to an end once Martin returned to the lineup. But, the 36ers also only had two imports locked in, so they could do some manoeuvring to keep Harrell in town.

          That's what it looks like they've done.

          Harrell is in advanced talks on a new deal to remain with the 36ers for the remainder of the 2024-25 NBL season, sources told ESPN.

          The 36ers have been working with Harrell's agent over the past few weeks on a deal to keep him with the team on a full-time basis, and there's now a real expectation that will come to fruition. The team would need to deactivate a local player in order to accommodate that.

          Harrell is averaging 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his first five contests with the 36ers, with the team going 3-3 over that stretch.

          The 6'7 big-man - the 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year - has an eye toward returning to the NBA, but there's a growing consensus among both his and the 36ers' camp that opportunity is more likely to come as we get closer to February and March, giving him reason to want to stick around in the NBL.

          Mike Kelly was the fall guy, but the issues run deeper

          We can have two thoughts at once with what's going on with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

          The first is that coaching is a results-based business, so starting 0-5 - after going 10-18 last season - is enough reason to put serious consideration into dismissing a head coach. The Phoenix did that; Mike Kelly was let go, and Sam Mackinnon has come in as the team's interim head coach.

          The other is that the Phoenix's issues aren't entirely on Kelly, obviously. He's the head of the snake, and we all know the head coach is more often than not the fall guy in situations like this. The reality is, though: Kelly was in charge of a flawed roster; one that prioritised flash over function.

          Everyone knew Derrick Walton Jr. and Nathan Sobey would likely struggle to co-exist on both ends of the floor. They're both high-usage, ball-dominant guards who aren't regarded as highly efficient shooters. Sobey, for example, has shot sub-30% from downtown each of the past three seasons.

          The pairing was always going to be clunky, notwithstanding the lack of effective process the Phoenix has played with offensively thus far. Neither were going to be ideal primary point-of-attack defenders, either, and the team ultimately becomes extremely deficient on that end of the floor when that backcourt is surrounded by the import duo of Joe Wieskamp and Matt Hurt.

          Hurt has shown to be an elite three-level scorer in the NBL, and the idea of Wieskamp's offensive game theoretically can work here, but neither are effective individual defenders at this level. Having one of those two, sure. Both? That becomes tricky. The combination of those four players isn't built to be effective on the defensive end, and Jordan Hunter can't adequately help because he has no choice but to be restrained, thanks to there being no back-up bigs on the roster.

          If the Phoenix had signed, say, a Justin Simon type of player instead of Wieskamp, there's probably infinitely more balance on the roster - there's a POA defender, a rebounder, someone with a high-level motor - and you're paying half the salary. It's the danger of chasing flair over function. The fringe NBA guy is the sexy signing, but not necessarily the one that'll complement the existing roster.

          This is saying nothing about the capacity of those individual players; it just seems like an obvious imbalance in playing personnel that was wholly avoidable. Every issue the Phoenix is experiencing - the most important one: a Defensive Rating of 116.0, which is bottom-two in the NBL - was forecast before the season even began, and Kelly doesn't have the runs on the board as a head coach to overcome the deficiencies in the roster build.

          "The roster is the roster that Mike wants," the Phoenix's GM of Basketball Operations, Simon Mitchell, told reporters in a press conference on Monday morning. "When we convened in the offseason, we go through the options in each position. We assist Mike in putting this together."

          This is the roster both Kelly and Mitchell wanted, and there are currently no plans to make any changes to player personnel: "We haven't gone that far..." Mitchell said.

          "We believe in this group. We believe this roster can actually do really well. Whilst 0-5, we've got 23 games to go. We can still make a run, as we saw last year with Illawarra, and we've seen in the AFL season just gone with Brisbane and Hawthorn. We feel like there is a turnaround in this group."

          Mackinnon is now tasked with lifting this group, and he's flagged with the team's decision-makers that he'd like to stay on as head coach. The Phoenix will go through an extensive- but-deliberate search for their new head coach; Mackinnon will be considered, pending his performance in the interim, while the team isn't pigeon-holing the type of person they're looking for.

          "We wanna do this as quickly as possible," Mitchell said. "But, at the same time, we're gonna take our time. We've got to find that sweet spot where we find the right person to lead this team into the future."

          Matt Mooney is here to stay

          One of the stories worth tracking through the preseason was the play of New Zealand Breakers import Matt Mooney, because his deal was only partially guaranteed.

          The Breakers were keeping the door open to potentially find a replacement during their NBA preseason games, like they did last season with Anthony Lamb.

          The team has just returned from those games, and Mooney has remained with the group. The Breakers had the option to opt out of the remainder of that contract while they were still in the U.S., but the deadline for the team to act has now passed. The Breakers chose not to act, sources said, meaning Mooney's contract is now guaranteed for the rest of the NBL season.

          This was the expected course of action, considering Mooney has looked largely effective and comfortable on this team thus far. He's averaging 12.5 points and 3.0 assists - shooting 45.5% from downtown, on 5.5 attempts a game - over the Breakers' 2-0 start to the NBL regular season.

          My favourite plays of the week

          Kristina Doolittle's high, high-level defence often overshadows how comfortable he is on the offensive end. The versatility here is really impressive.

          This was back-to-back possessions for the 36ers, in a precarious point in their game against the Kings this round. There's a good argument that this stretch won the team the game; not allowing Sydney to continue their momentum.

          I can't get enough of a good Gortat screen. Jordan Hunter is one of the NBL's best at it.

          This is the second half-court - or near-half-court - alley-oop from Melbourne United this season. It seems like they're connecting on more of their lobs, compared to a few games ago.

          WEEK 5 GAMES:

          Thursday - 17th October

          Brisbane Bullets vs. New Zealand Breakers, 7:30pm

          Friday - 18th October

          Tasmania JackJumpers vs. Sydney Kings, 7:30pm

          Saturday - 19th Octoer

          New Zealand Breakers vs. Perth Wildcats, 5:30pm

          Cairns Taipans vs. Illawarra Hawks, 8pm

          Sunday - 20th October

          Melbourne United vs. South East Melbourne, 2:30pm

          Adeliade 36ers vs. Tasmania JackJumpers, 4:30pm

          Check out the NBL Standings so far HERE

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