Who'd you want back?

[spacejammer]

Now we're coming to the end of the season I thought now would be a good time to ask the question of which players you would like to see return to your club and which players you wouldn't want back.
Or maybe there are players at your club you want to see retire or move on to better leagues possibly.

I know during the off-season anything can happen and players will either stay or go depending on what their offered and what their upto in their personal life.
However while the season ain't over yet we might aswell make the most of the current rosters until the final buzzer sets on the season.

Thoughts?

[johnjack]

As a Nix fan….. anyone! :-)

[massiveridersfan]

Mackenzie
Lall
Idowu
Thomas
Bowman

[jt]

Apr 3, 2024 11:40:47 GMT massiveridersfan said:

Mackenzie
Lall
Idowu
Thomas
Bowman

Im curious, would you want Teddy A to come back?

[D44]

Definitely - JJ, McGill, Tahj, JWH, Darius.

Probably over simplifying but throw a starting 3 with a reliable outside shot and a new starting 5 who can defend the bigger ENBL centres and score easy points and we're pretty well set if JJ, McGill and Tahj return.

[isthaturinal]

To return
McKenzie
Lall

Definitely not to come back
Shelton
Walker

[cosbyrider]

Apr 3, 2024 11:47:48 GMT jt said:

Apr 3, 2024 11:40:47 GMT massiveridersfan said:

Mackenzie
Lall
Idowu
Thomas
Bowman

Im curious, would you want Teddy A to come back?

Bloke can’t defend, and always a discipline issue

[spacejammer]

For the Eagles I would probably have every player back except Spencer, Neighbour and Defoe next season.

Spencer and Neighbour because they haven't shown me enough to say they are worth keeping and get limited minutes.
Whilst Defoe I suspect will retire after this season and is starting to show signs its time to hang it up.

Apart from that I would keep the rest the team and hope we can build on this roster for next season.
I certainly want JJ and Ricky back next season in the guard spot.

[dandayr]

be nice to see all 10 teams back

[eagles18000]

Defoe has been the only thing that has held eagles together for much of this year. As takes go, that is an abominable one.

[spacejammer]

Apr 3, 2024 20:25:30 GMT eagles18000 said:

Defoe has been the only thing that has held eagles together for much of this year. As takes go, that is an abominable one.

I understand that and I hope when he eventually does retire he gets a testimonial or some sort of honours.

But as a team I don't think we can keep relying on him season after season to be one of our main players if we want to move forward with the current BBL.

And I think stamina wise and gameplay wise it is reminding me of Charles Smith in his final season where he was slow on defence at times.

[erj14]

Apr 3, 2024 12:07:32 GMT D44 said:

Definitely - JJ, McGill, Tahj, JWH, Darius.

Probably over simplifying but throw a starting 3 with a reliable outside shot and a new starting 5 who can defend the bigger ENBL centres and score easy points and we're pretty well set if JJ, McGill and Tahj return.

Tajh frustrates the hell out of me, and judging by his minutes in some games he frustrates Marc too. The guy can't be relied upon to defend at all. Give me an Onwas over Tajh any day. His obvious offensive talent doesn't shine on a regular enough basis to put up with his lackadaisical approach to the other end of the floor.

I'd like to see McGill and one of Larry or JJ back. Definitely would like to see JWH, Darius and Delpeche back too. Wouldn't be disappointed to see Whitfield back either.

Neighbour, Spencer and Tajh I'm not shedding any tears over. As much as they seem like decent lads.

[massiveridersfan]

Apr 3, 2024 11:47:48 GMT jt said:

Apr 3, 2024 11:40:47 GMT massiveridersfan said:

Mackenzie
Lall
Idowu
Thomas
Bowman

Im curious, would you want Teddy A to come back?

Not bothered. Prefer to have the roster playing for each other as a team. Allen is too much about himself, and his regular technicals are ridiculous.

[Stephen Abootman]

I think some people must have forgotten where this Riders team was back in mid December when Ted arrived. Defensively we've been trash all season, with or without the guy. Offensively we may well average more passes per possession without him but I'd be very surprised if we average more points per possession. And we sure as hell haven't been better at winning basketball games.

Stupidly I think this is a player the club probably should attempt to re-sign. But I can't see us shelling out a fortune on any one guy. And I reckon he's the most likely player on the team to get an appreciably better opportunity elsewhere this summer. So there's probably every chance he'll leave and us Riders fans can get back to enjoying more of the better basketball we've apparently played this season without the bum.

2 thru 4 I actually think we've got a decent enough group here. When you consider how much quality and experience we lost at those positions last summer, I think we've rebuilt in that area fairly well.

We need more at PG. Kimbal frequently finds himself playing massive minutes now because the drop off is so big when he's not in the game. Personally I like him better as a 6th man than a starter... Oh to have a player as good as MacKenzie backing up a player as good as Geno again. But I've come to accept that if he does return it'll likely be in a starting capacity. If that is what happens I think we should at least look to bring in a quality backup. A cheap rookie perhaps with a promising college resume. Ironically what I'm basically asking for here is precisely what we could have had this season had we not let Pinson go.

We also definitely need better at the center spot. Mo is looking increasingly lazy and disinterested with every passing week now to me. And whilst you can't fault Duke's effort, he's neither the most skilled big guy on the planet nor the sharpest knife in the drawer. It's quite possible that our best lineup at this point includes neither of these guys.

[massiveridersfan]

I assume Allen will be moving on, probably for better remuneration. I don't have a downer on him at all BUT his volatility and ability to attract technicals is a problem. Let's not forget he missed 2 games because of that and last game he put himself on 4 fouls with his technical in a very important tight game against Eagles. That was maddening.

Shelton & Walker need to be replaced. Other teams have secured excellent big men but that hasn't been true for Riders this season. Totally agree about our weakness at PG without Kimbal on court. Holmes is good but imo he doesn't offer the creativity of guards such as Green or Johnson. Their assists make other players better. Not arguing Holmes doesn't do that too at times but not often enough for the team to prosper.

[erj14]

Apr 4, 2024 12:22:04 GMT Stephen Abootman said:

I think some people must have forgotten where this Riders team was back in mid December when Ted arrived. Defensively we've been trash all season, with or without the guy. Offensively we may well average more passes per possession without him but I'd be very surprised if we average more points per possession. And we sure as hell haven't been better at winning basketball games.

Stupidly I think this is a player the club probably should attempt to re-sign. But I can't see us shelling out a fortune on any one guy. And I reckon he's the most likely player on the team to get an appreciably better opportunity elsewhere this summer. So there's probably every chance he'll leave and us Riders fans can get back to enjoying more of the better basketball we've apparently played this season without the bum.

2 thru 4 I actually think we've got a decent enough group here. When you consider how much quality and experience we lost at those positions last summer, I think we've rebuilt in that area fairly well.

We need more at PG. Kimbal frequently finds himself playing massive minutes now because the drop off is so big when he's not in the game. Personally I like him better as a 6th man than a starter... Oh to have a player as good as MacKenzie backing up a player as good as Geno again. But I've come to accept that if he does return it'll likely be in a starting capacity. If that is what happens I think we should at least look to bring in a quality backup. A cheap rookie perhaps with a promising college resume. Ironically what I'm basically asking for here is precisely what we could have had this season had we not let Pinson go.

We also definitely need better at the center spot. Mo is looking increasingly lazy and disinterested with every passing week now to me. And whilst you can't fault Duke's effort, he's neither the most skilled big guy on the planet nor the sharpest knife in the drawer. It's quite possible that our best lineup at this point includes neither of these guys.

Very much agree with your point on Kimbal. Having him come in as a back up to Geno was a ridiculous luxury to have. I'd have him at Newcastle in an instant.

[dexter]

For Eagles

Definitely want to keep: Johnson, McGill, Green, Defoe (assuming he doesn't retire), JWH and Delpheche.

Don't mind either way: Whitfield, Austin Jnr.

Goodbye: Spencer, Neighbour.

[spacejammer]

Apr 4, 2024 22:30:09 GMT dexter said:

For Eagles

Definitely want to keep: Johnson, McGill, Green, Defoe (assuming he doesn't retire), JWH and Delpheche.

Don't mind either way: Whitfield, Austin Jnr.

Goodbye: Spencer, Neighbour.

Whitfield whilst he isn't flashy I would definitely have him back as we need players like him.
Players who aren't necessarily stars but can come off the bench and do whatever they need to do for the sake of the team.

I would even be happy with Larry back but have him as more of our back up PG compared to Johnson and Mcgill.

[massiveridersfan]

If 777 remain owners of Lions then we will all be playing second fiddle because of the ridiculous disparity in money available to hire players. Definitely don't want 777 back!

[dexter]

Apr 5, 2024 7:14:54 GMT spacejammer said:

Apr 4, 2024 22:30:09 GMT dexter said:

For Eagles

Definitely want to keep: Johnson, McGill, Green, Defoe (assuming he doesn't retire), JWH and Delpheche.

Don't mind either way: Whitfield, Austin Jnr.

Goodbye: Spencer, Neighbour.

Whitfield whilst he isn't flashy I would definitely have him back as we need players like him.
Players who aren't necessarily stars but can come off the bench and do whatever they need to do for the sake of the team.

I would even be happy with Larry back but have him as more of our back up PG compared to Johnson and Mcgill.

Of the two I would prefer Whitfield to return. I don't mind if Austin Jnr returns, I just think he could play more of a leading role at a different club. If either JJ or McGill move on Austin Jnr will be very much needed. I would be disappointed if either of Neighbour or Spencer returns. I'm quite excited to see who will replace them. Hopefully a couple of guys who are big and not old.