Pardon Granted Exit for Mangok

Losing one of the best defensive players in the League leaves a giant void but New Zealand has found Dererk Pardon’s perfect replacement according to NBL legend, Lanard Copeland.

The Breakers announced the signing of former Illawarra centre, Mangok Mathiang, who is the closest like-for-like replacement for last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up.

“If Pardon’s not coming back then Mangok is probably the next best defensive player they could have got,” Copeland told NBL Media.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a finish to the quarter ?<br><br>A Man????? Mathiang (<a href="https://twitter.com/mangok_mathiang?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mangok_mathiang</a>) rejection followed by an <a href="https://twitter.com/DererkPardon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DererkPardon</a> ??? ?<br><br>Follow along with the second half of this <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> Blitz clash live on Kayo Freebies ? <a href="https://t.co/fnM3VqYNqI">pic.twitter.com/fnM3VqYNqI</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1572140913136377858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“If you look at New Zealand’s roster last season, their three imports were designed to do specific jobs – Barry Brown and Jarrell Brantley were there to score the ball, but Dererk Pardon was there for his defence.

“I thought Dererk was the best five-man in the League when it came to his defence, getting up on screens, directing pick and rolls, and every time you saw him you saw him chatting to the guys to keep them positive, and so if they lose him it’s going to hurt them, but Mangok reminds me a lot of him.

Mathiang started slowly last season working his way back from an extensive rehabilitation, following a gruesome leg break in 2020. Once he got rolling though, he established himself as an intimidating inside presence.

Controversially, upon Mathiang’s signing the Breakers claimed their new centre was “better” than the 26-year-old Pardon.

RELATED: Maor: Roster Continuity "Unattainable"

Last season Pardon pulled in 8.1 rebounds per game along with 11.8 points and 1.1 blocks across 36 appearances, while Mathiang averaged 7.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and one block in 25 appearances.

“Let’s be honest, Pardon gave them everything they asked for,” Copeland said.“I’m not coach Maor, but I’m sure he was pleased with what Pardon gave them. All year long whenever those three imports played they gave their all – especially Pardon. You have to be a special type of guy to go overseas and play basketball to do a specific thing.

“I was a scorer, most guys that come over want to be a scorer to help their game progress and get to wherever they want to go. He did the little things. He rebounded the ball extremely well, and I can’t speak highly enough of his defence. The game is a pick-and-roll game now, and he was up on every screen bumping the roller and being in front of the guard – and it takes a lot for a big man to move his feet like that.

“They were the best trio of imports I’ve seen in a very, very long time.”

New Zealand’s opening game of NBL24 is set to come against Cairns on Saturday, September 30