Excitement brewing in Cairns

On Monday, it was reported that Keanu Pinder will be returning to the Cairns Taipans for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season.

The Taipans is where the Australian Boomer established himself as one of the country’s top big men, winning back-to-back Most Improved awards, while vaulting himself into MVP discussions.

So it’s understandable why NBL commentator Pete Hooley is so excited about the reunion.

“Him [Pinder] and Adam Forde still have a very good relationship, and this [reunion] is going to be a whole lot of fun,” Hooley said on The Marketplace, presented by Paywise.

“I can't wait to see him [Pinder] back in Adam Forde's system, because there are just certain guys who get the best out of each other, and I think they get the best out of each other.

“You talk about the best basketball he played was with the Cairns Taipans. He went from a guy struggling to get into the rotation in Adelaide for whatever reason to finding the right situation and absolutely blossoming under Adam Forde and becoming a superstar.

“I can't wait for this, and it’s great to have him back in the League.

“There are so many positives about this reunion, and Cairns fans should be excited.”

The other element that has the 2019 NBL champion excited for the Taipans next season is how Pinder complements fellow Boomer Jack McVeigh.

“What they could build around a frontcourt of Pinder and Jack McVeigh is really exciting,” Hooley said.

“McVeigh was outstanding last year but lacked some support in terms of some offensive weapons who could carry the scoring night in, night out and be a focal point.

“Now with those two pieces, and the prospect of complementing them with a few other pieces, is going to be a whole lot of fun.

“[Honestly] I feel the Taipans fans deserve this [exciting team], after a couple of rough seasons, which have been out of their control with injuries.”

Fellow panellist Olgun Uluc from ESPN echoed Hooley’s comments, saying having these two marquee players in place, alongside Boomer Reyne Smith, gives the Snakes plenty of versatility with their imports for this season.

“Adam Forde has been very open about the idea that he’d love to get two imports [at the start] and then get another import later on,” Uluc said.

“This is a luxury that some teams have that other teams don't have, which is you have two marquee players, and you have two imports.

“[With this approach] you can sit back, see what maybe needs tweaking, see if there's an injury that happens, and then you can get that other import later in the piece.

“The Phoenix, 36ers, and Kings did it last season [and it paid off for them].”

The 30-year-old Pinder, who last played in the Japanese B.League with the Akita Northern Happinets, has career averages of 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game across his 142 NBL games.

>> Free Agency Tracker: Rolling updates, signings and reported moves