Seeking a winning formula
Storm adds three players in search for more offence
The Island Storm is looking for a spark.
They hope they found it in a trio of former NBA D-League players, including former Storm point guard Josiah Turner.
The team also added Tirrell Baines and George Beaman Wednesday while releasing Mike Martin, Gary Gibson, Andre Malone, Anthony Simpson and Raheem Singleton.
The Storm (4-8) finds itself in an unfamiliar spot in the basement of the four-team Atlantic Division.
“Our organization has a track record of winning,” said owner Duncan Shaw. “That comes from holding everyone in the organization accountable for our performance. The players we released were great young men who will continue their careers elsewhere. We appreciate their work with us, but our performance this year was not to our standards so changes had to be made. We’ve made changes, and will continue to focus on making our team better every day.”
Turner helped lead the team to the league finals in 2012-13.
“Josiah is one of the most gifted players I have had the opportunity to be around,” said Storm coach Joe Salerno. “He has the ability to make everyone around him better, which is something that we need right now.”
The six-foot-three point guard played two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders.
Baines, a six-foot-six forward out of Marshall University, played with the Ottawa Skyhawks and also spent time with the D-League’s Erie Bay Hawks.
Beamon, a six-foot-four guard, has several D-League stops, including with the Oklahoma City Blue and the Texas Legends.
“We have really struggled scoring the ball over the past four to six games,” Salerno said. “This is something that our franchise has never had issues with, so it was fairly clear we needed to bring in some more offensive talent that will fit in with the systems we have run that have shown success over the past several seasons.”
The Storm re-signed Martin in the offseason hoping he would be an impact player for the team, but during the past six games he’s averaged less than seven points per contest.
“Players are brought here, given a role and have certain expectations. That role needs to be filled, and those expectations need to be met,” said Salerno.
Ankle injuries have impacted Gibson’s ability to play.
The Storm left Wednesday morning for Ontario where it starts a two-game road trip Friday in Windsor before playing the former Storm guard Nick Okorie and his London Lightning teammates Sunday. The three new players are expected to be ready for Friday’s contest.