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Post by saintpat on Aug 17, 2020 22:01:31 GMT
Byron Mullens signing for Lions according to Mark Woods
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Post by youngrocks on Aug 17, 2020 22:09:42 GMT
Time machine back to the olympic cycle. Next will be ben gordon or popa outof retirement. Seems ti have mostly been in japan and korea could be good could be a waste of s wage
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Post by baldeagle on Aug 17, 2020 22:13:34 GMT
How many bigs is that?!!!
My guess is that several players will only be in for the duration of the European “adventure”.
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Post by saintpat on Aug 18, 2020 7:37:18 GMT
I'm unsure about this signing, all the rest look like team players, what I read about Mullens suggests this might not be the case. Can't have one person upsetting the dynamic. Hoping I'm totally wrong.
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Post by samgray on Aug 18, 2020 8:21:14 GMT
I just don’t get how this will work. Way too many players to keep them happy... be interesting to see what happens. Surely some of this money could have been used to develop grassroots basketball?
On the other hand it’s really exciting they’ve put together a roster that should be competitive in Europe and people like me should stop being negative and enjoy watching it seen as it’s not my money nor will it be my challenge to ensure their 15 players are used effectively.
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Post by interestedridersfan on Aug 18, 2020 8:30:07 GMT
I just don’t get how this will work. Way too many players to keep them happy... be interesting to see what happens. Surely some of this money could have been used to develop grassroots basketball? On the other hand it’s really exciting they’ve put together a roster that should be competitive in Europe and people like me should stop being negative and enjoy watching it seen as it’s not my money nor will it be my challenge to ensure their 15 players are used effectively. You've got external investors who want to compete in European basketball Sam You can't expect them to come over and sort out long standing issues with investing in grassroots basketball in the UK at the same time. They have got enough on their hands as it is. There's a good chance they will fail in anything they try. But at least they are trying and having a go at a time when most wouldn't even have a go Let's be honest Good luck to them Without them being involved in UK basketball Lions would likely be struggling to even exist any more So I agree with your second paragraph |
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Post by samgray on Aug 18, 2020 8:46:12 GMT
I get that. But if I’m an investor I don’t need 15 players for Europe and I’d like some balance to it.
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Post by interestedridersfan on Aug 18, 2020 8:48:08 GMT
I get that. But if I’m an investor I don’t need 15 players for Europe and I’d like some balance to it. They will no doubt learn a lot from this whatever happens Like I say - at least they are having a good go at it I'm going to get behind them and hope they do well as at least it's something to get behind that looks like it's going to start |
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Post by samgray on Aug 18, 2020 8:51:42 GMT
But you can learn from what teams across Europe do year in year out?! This isn’t a new thing they are doing in terms of general basketball it’s just fairly new to BBL fans.
I will be backing them entirely and can’t wait to watch the European games
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2020 9:05:15 GMT
I imagine some of these players are only on contract while Lions are in Europe and then they'll go with a smaller roster for the BBL
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Post by samgray on Aug 18, 2020 9:21:36 GMT
I imagine some of these players are only on contract while Lions are in Europe and then they'll go with a smaller roster for the BBL Suppose so but with that outlay won’t they be hoping to be in Europe well beyond Christmas? If they don’t qualify for CL I’d hope they’d make the second stage of the Europe Cup at least that runs until February? |
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Post by LTFan on Aug 18, 2020 11:11:11 GMT
I imagine some of these players are only on contract while Lions are in Europe and then they'll go with a smaller roster for the BBL Suppose so but with that outlay won’t they be hoping to be in Europe well beyond Christmas? If they don’t qualify for CL I’d hope they’d make the second stage of the Europe Cup at least that runs until February? It’s been confirmed (last week I think) that Lions will play in the FIBA Europe Cup if they aren’t successful in the Basketball Champions League qualifiers. So yes, they’ll be in Europe for a good months. |
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Post by casualhook on Aug 18, 2020 12:02:01 GMT
Surely with the BBL salary cap most of these guys will only be playing in Europe and the BBL starters will mostly drop to bench roles in European games?
Think that way there’s plenty of minutes for everyone
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Post by Solly on Aug 18, 2020 13:38:53 GMT
Mullens is definitely a name for Lions, now giving them two ex-NBA guys  , albeit that Mullens inparticular seems to be bouncing around clubs with increasingly-less air left in those bounces (and he probably left College a year or two early, and struggled early doors accordingly).
And there is going to be a serious issue over minutes if any of the big-names on the roster still have ambition.
Any ambitious player is not going to be happy giving up minutes when they need to accumulate a decent statline to get their next contract.
I guess we've already seen Liverpool and Royals chuck money at a smaller number of big-names, so it'll be interesting for us all to see this new method of chucking money at a greater number of names.
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Post by Steven McTowelie on Aug 18, 2020 16:01:35 GMT
Bit of a weird reaction to this one. As bloated as the roster is now looking, they did have a fairly obvious need to fill in my view and this guy fills it quite nicely. High pedigree big who can score inside and out. Looks to be a good rebounder and shot blocker too. And I'd say he's done less 'bouncing around' in recent seasons than Liggins. Spent almost all of the 2019/20 season with the same Korean side and was a highly productive player in Japan the previous year. These are both pretty good leagues I think. Certainly plenty of ex-NBA guys kicking about over there. Given that he's also a year younger than Liggins and has played almost double the amount of minutes in the NBA, I'd suggest he's probably the most impressive signing of the lot.
Assuming this guy is confirmed that takes the number to 14 now I believe, not 15. Some of the bench signings certainly look they're going to struggle for minutes. A few in fact look completely obsolete at present. But I don't think court time is going to be an issue with any of the big(ger) names. What they're going to make of Vince and British basketball as a whole remains to be seen but provided they turn up in shape and look like they give a **** I think they'll be happy enough with their minutes.
It's a little surreal watching a BBL club assemble a roster like this and the fact that it's happening now of all times makes it even stranger. I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they could qualify for the BCL regular season. I imagine Neptunas will be fairly tough but if they can get through that a 'final' against Bulgarian or Belarusian opposition sounds like it ought to be quite winnable. If they don't qualify I definitely think we should be expecting them to show a pulse in Europe Cup. There's pressure on Vince to achieve something worth mentioning here, even at the first attempt.
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Post by interestedridersfan on Aug 18, 2020 18:06:12 GMT
Yep
Obviously Vince is a confident guy
But is Vince even confident he can coach these level of players?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2020 6:37:36 GMT
Suppose so but with that outlay won’t they be hoping to be in Europe well beyond Christmas? If they don’t qualify for CL I’d hope they’d make the second stage of the Europe Cup at least that runs until February? It’s been confirmed (last week I think) that Lions will play in the FIBA Europe Cup if they aren’t successful in the Basketball Champions League qualifiers. So yes, they’ll be in Europe for a good months. Europe Cup is only a guaranteed six games, though i'd expect them to progress in that. formatting's a bit tiffy but draw details are here. |
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Post by saintpat on Aug 19, 2020 21:36:28 GMT
Good TV interview with Vince & Deandre tonight where Vince announced that Lions would be announcing a new ex-NBA player tomorrow.
I wonder who!!!
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Post by casualhook on Aug 20, 2020 14:09:12 GMT
www.mvp247.com/2020/08/mullens-london-appeal/Confirmed now and this is a good interview with him, talks about wanting to play for the GB men’s team as well and that he plans to stay the season whether the Lions are in Europe or not
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D44
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Post by D44 on Aug 20, 2020 14:57:51 GMT
Leicester said a big part of their struggles in Europe was having a small squad and playing in Europe midweek and BBL Friday—Sunday.
Lions remedy this by signing 14 players and everyone is slating them for having too much depth 🤔 I expect it all about managing minutes.
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Post by saintpat on Aug 20, 2020 15:22:00 GMT
Two to go???
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2020 15:37:45 GMT
Leicester said a big part of their struggles in Europe was having a small squad and playing in Europe midweek and BBL Friday—Sunday. Lions remedy this by signing 14 players and everyone is slating them for having too much depth 🤔 I expect it all about managing minutes. Don't think it's so much about them being slated for it as people worrying about another Royals scenario where the spending keeps happening and the lack of income proves it not to be viable and then it's all downhill from there. |
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Post by Steven McTowelie on Aug 20, 2020 15:52:18 GMT
I assume you're referring here to that player grid Lions have been using to tease new signings? I broke out in a cold sweat when I saw three new boxes appear on that thing earlier today. But in the Mullens piece on Lions' website, Vince does promise this is the final signing. He's a man of his word right? |
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Post by interestedridersfan on Aug 20, 2020 17:35:36 GMT
Leicester said a big part of their struggles in Europe was having a small squad and playing in Europe midweek and BBL Friday—Sunday. Lions remedy this by signing 14 players and everyone is slating them for having too much depth 🤔 I expect it all about managing minutes. Rob also said Riders needed big men to be able to compete in Europe |
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Post by interestedridersfan on Aug 20, 2020 17:36:46 GMT
Leicester said a big part of their struggles in Europe was having a small squad and playing in Europe midweek and BBL Friday—Sunday. Lions remedy this by signing 14 players and everyone is slating them for having too much depth 🤔 I expect it all about managing minutes. Don't think it's so much about them being slated for it as people worrying about another Royals scenario where the spending keeps happening and the lack of income proves it not to be viable and then it's all downhill from there. I think these guys will have enough money for a couple of years at least. They wouldn't have completed the purchase of the club otherwise |
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