News Article

Dynamic duo key to roster build: Weston

04 Jun

3 mins read

Written By

Dale Fletcher

“We have got the best shooting guard and the best five man (centre) in the league.”

Building the NBL25 roster around key pieces Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic has been the challenge for new GM of Basketball Operations Matt Weston.

Weston said having arguably two of the best players in the competition locked away on multi-year deals before free agency was a blessing, his role now to bring in players to complement their talent.

“We have been able to get in some Australian talent in a supporting role to support DJ and Isaac who were signed before free agency was even a topic,” Weston said.

“To get guys like Lat Mayen to come in, Jason Cadee, who we have on contract along with Sunday Dech and Nick Marshall has been instrumental.

“We have got the best shooting guard and the best five man (centre) in the league, and now it’s about putting the pieces around them, they are going to be pillars for us.

“It’s all about bringing guys in who are going to support them.”

After re-signing power forward Alex Starling and adding swingman Jacob Rigoni and big man Ben Griscti to the roster, the 36ers are now looking at two imports to fill the NBL25 roster.

“We are looking for a one (point guard), a distributor, a defender, then a scorer, because we already have certain pieces in the place,” Weston said.

“And at the four spot (power forward), we are after someone who can stretch the floor and some who can defend.

“Someone who can defend (Jack) McVeigh, (Jack) White and (Xavier) Cooks.”

Weston said the import ‘four man’ will have to play multiple roles, be able to put points on the board and have the ability to play some minutes ‘at the five’ (centre).

“We are looking for a guy who has grunt, not a fancy guy and be able to fit in with the culture we are building,” Weston said.

The GM of Basketball Operations said the point guard spot will be a patient search and one that could take months depending on circumstances around the world.

“With the point guard spot, it’s a deep list of players and I’m going to be taking my time to ensure we get the right guy,” Weston said.