Breaking down Melbourne United’s big offseason moves
The United front office has been busy with the news surrounding Sam Waardenburg, Joe Ingles, and Dean Vickerman.
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for Melbourne United, with the confirmed signing of talented big Sam Waardenburg, Joe Ingles reportedly keen to join once his NBA season concludes, as well as the looming departure of supercoach Dean Vickerman.
Title favourites through the first half of last season, United’s offence spluttered once the calendar ticked into December. Over their first 15 games, their offensive rating was six points per 100 possessions better than league-average, before it slipped to five points below league-average efficiency for the remainder of the regular season. Defensively, they still stayed better than league-average during that tough stretch, but there was a meaningful decline compared to early on.
With Chris Goulding turning 38-years-old during NBL27 and coming off just 13.4 points per game, as well as Shea Ili turning 34 in October and struggling with availability, there’s a need for additional shot creation. Whilst there will be another key cog still to sign, acquiring both Waardenburg and Ingles, who bring clear above-average passing for their position, will add more balance and depth to Melbourne’s offence.
Waardenburg signing
Of the free agents who played in the league last season, Waardenburg was the number one most intriguing target for me. There just aren’t many bigs in our league that can pass, dribble, shoot, and defend at a high level like he can, something that has been looked past by some, given his injuries last season.
After an encouraging rookie campaign, Waardenburg’s outside shot deserted him in NBL24, but his improvement on defence during that season was noteworthy and impactful enough to earn an honourable mention in my defensive player of the year rankings. In NBL25, he rediscovered his jump shot (36% on threes, including some impressive shot-type versatility) and showed off more passing than ever (3.4 assists). He has all the makings of a top ten player in the league next season.
Dean Vickerman on signing Waardenburg:
“One of our goals this offseason was to add more size per position and being 6’10 at the four spot certainly does that. He has the ability to shift to five and add shooting to that area which is something that we’ve enjoyed in the past. His athleticism and quickness are both massive strengths, and then he has the ability to go get 20 on any given night. He can be your leading guy when you need it. We’ve had that position as a four-man be a real connector in our offence. We saw it with Finn Delany last year where we can put him in the middle on-ball and just let him create: he can pop, he can roll, he can be a facilitator and decision maker for us”
Waardenburg will either be a significant upgrade in positional size on Finn Delany, or a do-it-all big who can play both front court spots, with the ability to close games at center when more nimbler feet and ball-skills are required.
Ingles’ addition
The addition of Ingles does little to suppress any concern around United’s aging core of Goulding and Ili, but given his quality it’s a signing you can’t pass up. Ingles will turn 39 in October and it remains to be seen whether he will start or play a sixth man role, and where his positional split of minutes will come.
Initial thoughts, albeit with a far from finished roster, might have him in that sixth man role, coming on as that secondary playmaker and using his elite vision and shooting to juice Melbourne’s offence. In total across the past two regular seasons, Ingles has played only 267 minutes in the NBA, so he’ll be keen to get back on the floor regularly in a more friendly NBL schedule. Last season we saw 38-year-old JaVale McGee log 25-minutes per game for comparison.
Both Ingles and Waardenburg can fill multiple roles on offence with their ball-skill and ability to shoot threes both off the catch and bounce. The question surrounds defence where Ingles’ lack of speed will likely see him needing to guard the big rather than wing in a lot of matchups. Athleticism and defence will be a target point in free agency to balance out the Ingles and Goulding pairing.
Vickerman’s departure
Vickerman’s departure is a mighty loss, bringing an end to an incredible run that saw him play a major role in turning an underachieving club into a perennial contender. Melbourne’s culture and standards are undeniable. From my piece on the team in NBL24:
“The challenge for me to the group is, regardless of who’s playing for us, can you keep the identity of the club. Can these guys who’ve been with us for a short period of time play defence the way we want to and just live our trademark”
Vickerman has been a defensive taskmaster, getting accountability on that end year in and year out. Melbourne have rated above-average defensively in all nine seasons of his tenure, giving them a tremendously high floor and building block to success.
Simon Mitchell summed up Vickerman’s strengths when interviewed for that same piece:
“He’s built a culture of what’s expected — This is what we do, and the kids coming in, you just see tremendous growth, and it’s quick. They want court time and they’re not going to get it unless they provide [defensive effort]. I think it’s talent identification, but there’s also an element of, you’re not going to get to play unless you’re digging in at that end”
Trevor Gleeson was reportedly keeping a close eye on any potential opening in Adelaide, but with that position not available, he is now being mooted for the United job. This would be a dream pivot for Melbourne, with Gleeson one of the only local coaches who you would draw as much confidence from given his resume.
Gleeson’s flex offence, his desire for his players to cut, screen, and crash the offensive glass, as well as focus on the defensive details brings with it high standards, and would surely thrust the team straight back into the title mix.