Assessing the Perth Wildcats' offseason and pressure points for NBL24

The Wildcats have addressed some flaws by adding Keanu Pinder and Jordan Usher, but the pressure is still on John Rillie, Tai Webster, and in particular Danny Mills.

Entering last season, I was high on the Perth Wildcats being a contender, with everything John Rillie had been preaching in his first preseason making sense. Offensively, his desire to have bigs with skill as a passer or shooter would allow the offence to be a league leader and complement Bryce Cotton.

TaShawn Thomas was a much bigger front-court option than Vic Law, giving them an option to play smaller lineups with him at centre alongside Luke Travers at power forward (if Brady Manek was too exposed on defence). What eventuated though was Thomas not quite being the elite impact defensive piece they needed, as well as Manek being even more of a liability on defence than I anticipated. Rillie acknowledged post-season that he knew he didn’t recruit a big-time rebounder, but believed the team could get it done collectively. They did not.

Despite finishing two points better than any team in half-court offence, Perth was dead last in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage, and the worst half-court defence in the league. Travers wasn’t completely unlocked (or perhaps ready) to provide his elite defensive value, whilst gritty guards in Mitch Norton and Kyle Zunic fell out of the rotation. Rillie’s vision on offence materialised, but the overall balance of the team never reached a point where they were threatening to be a playoff series winner.

Keanu Pinder and Jordan Usher

The two most significant pieces in the roster refresh are Pinder and Usher. Both will provide an injection of energy, athleticism, and versatility on the defensive end to help give the team an identity there.

Pinder’s rate of improvement has been incredible to watch, and it would be no surprise if he got an NBA opportunity after this NBL season like Xavier Cooks just did.

In Cairns, Pinder expanded his one-on-one scoring game and read the floor much better as a passer. He he still has some improvement to come with his efficiency as a finisher, but he’s a great competitor who embraces physicality and is playing under more control now than his early days. Defensively, he was much more reliable, showing an ability to execute in different pick and roll coverages, protect the rim, apply ball-pressure, and switch onto smaller players. Manek did not excel as a ball-screen defender last season with Perth, and Pinder will be far better equipped to hard-show if asked to do so.

Rillie declared his intentions in the offseason of needing a “longer athletic wing so when we have some of the tougher matchups in the backcourt, we have someone that can physically compete”. He’s landed that guy in Usher, who has the enthusiasm and physical profile for elite defence.

Usher via The West Australian:

“I told coach Rillie I want to guard the highest volume shooter on the other team. I want the best offensive output guy. The fans can get mad at me after the game if he has his 20. I make people drop their averages. If you come here shooting 20, you’re going to score 10. I have no fear in saying that. This is what I do. If there’s one thing I do, it’s defend.”

Danny Mills

Mills was announced as General Manager of Basketball Operations on August 5, 2021. This was a newly created position and he was set to bring a deep understanding of the worldwide basketball marketplace with a particular focus on recruitment. Landing Pinder, Usher, Sarr, and Okwera has been impressive recently, but there have been questionable decisions or outcomes in his tenure so far.