Ngatai likely to get Breakers nod
Tall Blacks small forward Jordan Ngatai looks like he has done enough to retain his full roster spot with the Breakers for the 2017-18 Australian NBL season.
The Kiwi ANBL club has one final position to announce on its 11-man fulltime roster, with coach Paul Henare leaving the final decision until after his Tall Blacks completed their Fiba Asia Cup campaign in Beirut.
Now that is wrapped up, with a young New Zealand side finishing fourth in their debut in the newly expanded Asia zone, an announcement should be imminent.
It would be a major surprise if Ngatai is not retained, on the basis of what we saw from the Tall Blacks in their recent campaign, and also the deeper body of work in last season’s ANBL and this year’s New Zealand NBL.
The Breakers have already sig- nalled that the last spot would go to an unrestricted player (Kiwi or Aussie), even though they are permitted to sign a third import.
Given the 10-man roster they have already put together, it is also more likely to be a minimum-level contract, seeing limited minutes, than anything more significant.
Throw in Henare’s clear aim to give opportunities to New Zealand players rather than journeyman Australians, and the moons look like they will align for Ngatai again.
Further aiding the Wellington Saints player’s cause is that he covers the small forward position, which is where the Breakers are lightest in their 10-man roster signed so far.
Tom Abercrombie is the only specialist three man, though Kirk Penney, new import DJ Newbill and rising young Tall Blacks star Finn Delany are all more than capable of slotting into the spot.
Ngatai played solidly rather than spectacularly for the Tall Blacks in Beirut where he averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 22.2 minutes a game. He shot 43.5 percent from the floor, 31 from deep and 88 from the line.
His closest challenger for the Breakers’ roster spot might have been fellow Tall Black Ethan Rusbatch, who was a development player for the Kiwi club last season.
But Rusbatch is more a shooting guard than a small forward, and did not set the world on fire in Beirut where he averaged 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.0 assists in 16.1 minutes, shooting 30 percent from the floor, and 27 from beyond the arc.
Ngatai is also a superior defender and rebounder.
Young point guard Derone Raukawa was probably the most impressive of the free-agent Tall Blacks at the Asia Cup, averaging 10.0ppg, 3.2rpg and 1.8apg, but the Breakers are stacked in the backcourt and likely to use their development spots for backup cover.
There had been some hope freeagent Tai Webster would sign with the Breakers, after failing to land an NBA gig.
However, it is understood the talented point guard is now committed to playing in Europe, with an announcement on his future also expected to drop soon.
It looks likely, barring injury, that Henare already has his nineman rotation in place, with imports Edgar Sosa, Newbill, Tall Blacks star Shea Ili and veteran Kirk Penney covering the backcourt, Abercrombie the lead option at small forward (with help from Newbill and Penney), and Delany, Mika Vukona, Alex Pledger and Rob Loe seeing the minutes at the four and five spots.
The Breakers tip off the ANBL season on October 8 against the Cairns Taipans at Spark Arena in Auckland.