The star bigs coming out of contract

Three of the NBL’s most influential big men will hit free agency at the end of the season, and rival clubs are ready to pounce.

Former champion Pete Hooley told The Marketplace that several players on expiring contracts are primed to cash in, pointing to overseas interest and the lucrative deals secured by Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Xavier Cooks as the standard moving forward.

Sam Mennenga, Sam Waardenburg and Will Magnay are all headed for free agency at this stage, and with demand high around the league, a fierce battle could be brewing for their signatures in the months to come.

“Something we’ll have to watch going forward, with JLA how’ he’s getting paid, Jack McVeigh, Xavier Cooks … there’ll be a snowball effect with guys like this saying ‘those guys have got that contract, now I’m not asking for a million dollars, but I want to be paid like one of the best big men in the league’,” Hooley said.

“There’s a chance all three of these guys are on different teams next season,” ESPN’s Olgun Uluc continued.

“They’re entering Free Agency and when we think of historically, over the past two or three seasons, every year the price of Australian and Kiwi bigs have gone up.

“That’s because of the market around world basketball. They really like bringing these bigs in. So when that happens the price of these guys goes up in the NBL too.

“It’s about teams finding the sweet spot of, Japan can offer this much, Europe can offer this much, we can offer this much … if this guy wants to stay in Australia because of the quality of life, because the league is professional, maybe there’s a middle point, there’s some common ground. If teams can get up to that number, then these guys are really attainable and you can keep them in the NBL.”

Hooley said 2023 Next Generation Award winner Waardenburg could be on the move after four seasons in Cairns, while Mennenga, at just 24 and averaging career-high numbers, was set for a big payday.

“I don’t see Sam Waardenburg back in Cairns and that was something last year alluded to in taking a one-year extension,” he said.

“Sam Mennenga’s an interesting one. The contract he’s currently on compared to his output … you’d be shocked.

“He’s going to come in and deserve a marquee-level contract and the guys with the NBA aspirations are probably more likely to want to stay in the NBL and you can fill up a bit more in Puerto Rico in the off-season.

“Sam Mennenga’s going to get paid … he is going to get paid exceptionally well.

“If you’re New Zealand and you talk about retaining Kiwi locals, you’ve kind of got to look at it and get to a number that he’s very comfortable locking in for a multi-year deal, with the outs that they want.”

Former MVP Derek Rucker said Mennenga loomed as perhaps the most attractive prospect of the three bigs coming out of contract, but expected Tasmania to do everything in its power to keep Magnay.