More changes to come at Phoenix?

Are the South East Melbourne Phoenix ramping up for wholesale change ahead of NBL25? Alan Williams has already departed the club, and ESPN’s Olgun Uluc says he might not be the last surprise departure from the club this off-season.

Fan-favourite Williams parted ways with the Phoenix at the end of the NBL24 regular season, in which South East Melbourne endured consistent injury problems across its roster to finish bottom of the ladder.

Williams led the league in rebounding in his final season with the Phoenix, and was the only player across the competition to average a double-double across the entire campaign. He did, however, miss 13 games

“I don’t think Alan Williams will be the only player off-contract we assume isn't going to be in a Phoenix uniform next season,” Uluc said on NBL Overtime.

“The South East Melbourne Phoenix conducted their review of all their performance processes, and some of it was figuring out which of the players that were on multi-year deals might not be right for the future of that team. They did not have a keen desire to retain Alan Williams for next season, so they initiated a mutual parting of ways – not necessarily a buyout.

“From what I understand it may not be the only change that gets made within that franchise.

“There’s a consideration I’m told of the Phoenix to bring in a basketball general manager, or decision-maker of some sort – to come in under Tommy Greer to basically head up a lot of the processes. Part of those processes were the medical ones and Tommy Greer has gone out with a CEO’s message to the fans of that club, their head of high-performance Eric Hollingsworth, his contract came to an end, and they won’t be renewing that.”