Could Adelaide look local for further roster shake-up?

Following the signing of local sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic, have the Adelaide 36ers finished tweaking their roster for the remainder of the NBL24 season? According to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc, the answer is no.

Uluc reported on NBL Overtime the 36ers are currently searching for an import backup big to support Isaac Humphries at the five spot, and following the replacing of import Jamaal Franklin with local talent Vasiljevic, they still have an import spot open.

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Derek Rucker believes the 36ers could look far closer to home, and says there’s a currently unsigned local talent who would be the perfect fit for the 36ers.

“We had heard the DJ move was going to be the final one,” Rucker said of Vasiljevic on NBL Now. “I point to another DJ – and I’ve been on this case for weeks. Daniel Johnson is sitting at the crib in Adelaide ready to play basketball.

“He is a local, he understands what’s going on in the league, he’s a professional scorer, he’s a rebounder, he would be ideal as a seventh or eighth man and a backup to Isaac Humpries and Jacob Wiley.

“Get him back into the program, not to mention the PR exercise – and I hate to be corny right now – but you bring him back with the signing of DJ Vasiljevic, this is a major boost to the self-esteem of the basketball community in Adelaide.”

Johnson made over 400 NBL appearnaces - most of which were with Adelaide - and was named a three-time All-NBL First Team member across 13 seasons with the club.

One player the Adelaide basketball community has been rallying around this past week is Next Star Trentyn Flowers who – after struggling in his early appearances for the side – led the 36ers to their opening win of the season on Saturday night.

The signing of Vasiljevic as further muddied a 36ers wing rotation that already includes Trey Kell III, Sunday Dech, Nick Marshall and Flowers – with local guards Jason Cadee and Mitch McCarron looking set to rotate through the point guard position.

Despite Flowers’ incredible performance against the Hawks, Rucker believes the Next Star should continue to be utilised in a short and sharp, “sparkplug” role for CJ Bruton.

“I don’t think CJ can afford to give him [Flowers] extended minutes just yet,” Rucker said. “It’s certainly a thing you have to continue to show.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trentyn Flowers went ??? ?<br><br>The 18-year-old Next Star’s fourth quarter explosion led the <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adelaide36ers</a> to thier first W of NBL24 ?<br><br>Brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/HungryJacksAU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hungryjacksau</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/i8uVyvIOzf">pic.twitter.com/i8uVyvIOzf</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1713367345115385912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I think he’s a sparkplug you can inject into the game, let him go wild and run uncaged and free – and if he knocks down some jumpers like he did the other night and roll with it for as long as you can.

“Keep him contained, keep him hungry and hopefully you can see more of these performances. It’s a long season and there’s still time to augment his playing time as we get deeper into the season.

“I’ve maintained all along Adelaide aren’t that bad, and they’ve got a chance to make some ground.”

Adelaide is set to host both South East Melbourne and Perth this weekend.