36ers close in on import signing

The Adelaide 36ers could be less than a week away from announcing their first import of the NBL25 season, according to GM of Basketball Operations Matt Weston, who says he is targeting culture fit in tandem with playing ability for any incoming players.

The 36ers have announced the signing of South Australian trio Ben Griscti, Jacob Rigoni and Lat Mayen ahead of NBL25, in addition to long-term extensions for DJ Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries.

The club played with just two imports for the bulk of NBL24, following the early termination of Jamaal Franklin, a situation which Vasiljevic has discussed in the aftermath of the season.

“We’re looking at players that have played here before, guys that have five, six, seven years of NBA experience. It’s a real process, on my whiteboard there is a lot of deep diving into that,” Weston said.

“What I will tell you is we’re going to invest in getting the right people, I believe in getting a good player is going to cost, but we’re going to invest to ensure we can supplement and give the support to the Australian contingent we have.

“I think with one of the spots I’m relatively close, maybe a week or so away. The point guard spot is a little bit harder, there are a couple of guys I’m looking at, they look like they might go to camp with the NBA which isn’t great, because that goes too close to my season.

“There are a lot of people out there, but it’s finding the right one, and that takes a lot of time to get through. That one I wouldn’t put a timeline too, that’s still a lot of late-night calls and homework.”

Former Adelaide player Brock Motum has been consistently linked with a return to the NBL, with the Sixers often said to be in the race for the services of the former Olympian.

Weston, though, looks to have struck a line through any potential return for the forward – at least this season.

“I’ve spoken to his management a couple of times now and he’s got a pretty good opportunity in Japan still with another year to go, and we both agreed maybe it was best he did that because what he was able to earn was going to surpass anything we would be able to do,” Weston said.

“They did flag it and said he does have interest, but this is where it needed to be financially. It would have taken away an import spot, so we decided to let that sit.”