The marquee men in Perth's sights

The Perth Wildcats are officially on the clock — and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Yanni Wetzell are holding all the cards.

With Bryce Cotton departing, Keanu Pinder unlikely to return, and Matthew Dellavedova slipping through their fingers, Perth has swung into full recovery mode. Their focus? Securing a marquee big man to stabilise a roster in flux.

With Kristian Doolittle locked in at the four, the front office is targeting a true center to anchor their starting five — with some well known names on that list.

“They’ve reached out to Jo Lual Acuil Jr,” ESPN’s Olgun Uluc revealed on The Marketplace.

“They’ve also reached out to Yanni Wetzell.”

With the Wildcats missing out on some key names early in this free agency period, the rest of their roster needs a big boost. It's a boost that won’t come cheap.

“Unfortunately, they’re now in a position where they have no leverage,” Uluc added.

“The leverage is almost entirely with the players. Perth almost has no choice but to overpay.

“If you’re JLA, for example, and let’s say your market at one point in your career in the NBL was $600,000 — well, you can go and ask for $800,000 or $900,000, and the Perth Wildcats almost have no choice but to pay that because of how desperate they are for a marquee right now,” Uluc added.

“Yanni Wetzell — why wouldn’t you?,” Pete Hooley said.

“If you haven’t seen his stats or the way he’s been playing recently ... looks fit. He’s playing exceptional basketball.

“Perth needs a big marquee or import. So he would potentially fill that, but he won’t be cheap.”

Perth remains active and well-resourced — but they’re short on leverage.

“The leverage unfortunately for the Wildcats is entirely with the players,” Uluc noted.

This marquee pivot is critical. Land one of these two, and Perth’s identity resets. Miss out, and it’s an uphill battle to build a championship roster.