Knight in shining armour: Perth's patience rewarded at last

Patience proved to be a virtue for the Perth Wildcats, who this week landed the signature of former NBA guard Brandon Knight.

The contract is still to be approved by the League, but locking in the ex-NBA talent is a genuine coup for the Wildcats, who played the long game in their search for a point guard this off-season.

That patience drew plenty of criticism and backlash from fans and experts alike along the way, but club GM of Basketball Operations Danny Mills has stood firmly behind the decision.

Speaking with The West Australian, he revealed the club held discussions with Knight in January as a potential replacement for injured import David Duke Jr., and again midway through the year, before ultimately announcing his signing on Monday.

“We felt that if we were going to be this patient, we had to bring in a guy who we really liked. We didn’t want to be winning the NBL Blitz. We wanted to win the NBL title in March,” Mills said.

“Brandon hadn’t made up his mind about if he wanted to go overseas.

“Bringing in the wrong person at the wrong time just doesn’t make sense. We would love to get deals done in May or June, but that’s not the reality of where we all sit financially in this global market.

“We’ve waited longer than most clubs. We know all of the players that have signed with other NBL clubs. They’re all very talented, but they weren’t right for the Perth Wildcats.”

The 451-game NBA veteran has been signed just in time for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season, but he won’t be rushed onto the court.

“There’s opportunities for next week, but it depends on when we get him here and where the High Performance staff sees him,” Mills added.

“We’re not going to risk giving him the best chance we can to have success.”

The 34-year-old played nine seasons in the NBA, enjoying stints at Detroit, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Houston and Dallas, producing averages of 14 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest.

Most recently, Knight has spent time in Puerto Rico (Piratas de Quebradillas, Capitanes de Arecibo and Mets de Guaynabo) and Greece (AEK Athens).

Read the full story here >> Perth Wildcats General Manager explains why the club waited so long to sign NBA veteran Brandon Knight