Brisbane sign Jervis and Petrie. Illawarra re-sign Martin and White
Brisbane have announced signing number three and four today with Tom Jervis and Anthony Petrie joining Adam Gibson and Daniel Kickert at the Bullets.
https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/721844834135224321
With the signing of Kickert, an offensive ace, it was always going to be interesting to see who they paired with him inside (given his rebounding and defensive limitations). It remains to be seen if they will also add an athletic import up front, although these two signings certainly go some way to addressing these concerns.
Jervis was one of the most productive bigs off the bench last season as he proved a consistent difference maker with his ability to hold his own as a defender in the pick and roll, protect the rim, and rebound in limited minutes. Petrie possesses more to his offensive game, but like Jervis, it is his defense and toughness that would have appealed to Brisbane.
Illawarra have also made some announcements today with the re-signing of guards Rhys Martin and Kevin White to go along with the already re-signed AJ Ogilvy.
White started on the wing alongside Kirk Penney for almost all of last season and clearly Rob Beveridge appreciates his high intensity defense and low usage on offense. Martin missed a chunk of last season and was inconsistent as a shooter in his limited time, but his play-making at point guard and ability to slide over to shooting guard with his length makes him a valuable local.
The Hawks are expected to make more re-signings from last season's roster although how far they go will certainly be determined by the quality of who they bring in (given the departure of Kevin Lisch and Kirk Penney, as well as the three open import slots).
“You can see that he (Bevo) is starting to get the core back together with me at the point, AJ at the centre and [the other soon to be announced players]. I’m sure if we recruit the right import there’s no reason why we can’t go further than we did last season” - Martin on Illawarra's prospects for next season
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