Breakers Primed For Signing "Flurry"

New Zealand fans can expect a “flurry” of signings in the not too distant future, according to ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc, who has reported former Illawarra centre Mangok Mathiang has agreed to a deal with the club.

Mathiang's rumoured move is unofficial at the time of writing. 

New Zealand possesses just five fully-rostered players heading into NBL24, as at June 10, but with negotiations reportedly flying with a number of potential key pieces – that could number could grow significantly in the short term. 

“I’m told they’re deep in conversations with multiple players,” Uluc said on The Marketplace. “What I was told today was to expect a flurry of roster activity within the new week or two with the New Zealand Breakers.

“They’ve been waiting, holding ship, just waiting to see what happened.

“They did their due diligence with Mangok Mathiang and ended up with him, and they’re in conversations with a few people … I’m told we should expect them to make a bunch of moves in the near future.”

The potential signing of Mathiang means the Breakers are likely to have found their replacement for outgoing centre Rob Loe – who announced his retirement from the NBL earlier this week.

Mathiang’s season with Illawarra in NBL23 marked a return to the court for one of the most highly touted local talents plying his trade anywhere in the world.

Formerly of the Charlotte Hornets, Mathiang spent two years on the sidelines, as he dealt with the effects of a lower leg injury, but Uluc believes the 30-year-old is primed to keep improving next season.

“Prior to his injury he was a really, really excellent player,” Uluc said of Mathiang. “He was excelling in Europe, and his season in Illawarra was interesting – he started off slow, but then he really picked up towards the end.

“There was a sense he was coming back from the pretty significant leg injury he went through.

“The New Zealand Breakers saw him, they conducted a medical on him to make sure everything was good, and I’m told everything came back pristine.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they consider him as a potential starter because of the skillset they saw before his injury – they think he’s back to that level.”