Free Agency Analysis: Colton Iverson to NZ

With free agency underway, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria is taking a look at each and every signing and breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

Signing Snapshot: Colton Iverson to New Zealand

Signed by: New Zealand Breakers

The deal: One year

Age: 31

2019-20 team: Zenit Saint Petersburg

2019-20 stats (per game): 6.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 55.8 FG%, 71.8 FT%

Projected role: Starting centre.

Quote: “Colton can pass, has the body and the skill to have a presence in the paint at both ends of the floor and, therefore, I think he will be a great player for us.” – Dan Shamir (NZ Breakers head coach)

My take: This is another excellent signing by the Breakers who, in my opinion, have absolutely crushed their roster construction for NBL21.

Iverson’s a big boy – a legit 7-footer with a strong, solid frame – who has played at the highest levels in Europe for teams like Maccabi Tel Aviv and, most recently, Zenit Saint Petersburg.

He’s not particularly flashy. As in, he’s not a centre who is going to regularly catch bodies, shoot threes or send shots packing into the fifteenth row. In that sense, he’s not a Shawn Long and he’s certainly not a Cam Oliver. What he is, though, is precisely what this Breakers squad needed: a high IQ, pick-and-roll big who is an effective defender, sets great screens, seals hard, can pass and works well within a Euro-style system like Dan Shamir’s.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A HUGE <a href="https://twitter.com/colton_iverson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@colton_iverson</a> slam!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/FEA2MKDEWE">pic.twitter.com/FEA2MKDEWE</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1234909518514909185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


That’s what I like most about this signing; the fit. The Breakers haven’t just gone out and recruited the most high-profile guy they could find with numbers that jump off the page. They’ve looked at their star-studded line-up and found a piece that will compliment what they already have. That right there is how you build a championship-contending team and it’s why this one gets a big tick from me.