Cleveland and Franks: Will the Adelaide 36ers' instant rebuild pay off?

The 36ers have spent up big this offseason, with a pair of stars swiped from NBL rivals, but it remains to be seen how their new signings will fit.

Credit: May Bailey Photography

For the last four years, the Adelaide 36ers have been mired in mediocrity. Following on from five straight seasons with a record of .500 or better, including four finals appearances and two grand final berths, they have failed to make the postseason in each of the past four years. During that span, they have amassed a combined record of 49-71, enough to make even the most hardy of fans wince.

They hit a new low last season, as a roster with plenty of individual talent won just ten games and finished closer to a wooden spoon than a spot in the finals. There were plenty of factors at play — they changed coaches on the eve of the season, and injuries to key players were a constant disruption — but at the end of the day, they still vastly underperformed after entering the year with high expectations.

Part of the reason for that was the subpar play of Adelaide’s imports. In the past two seasons in particular, Adelaide have searched for value in their overseas slots. The likes of Tony Crocker, Brandon Paul, Todd Withers and Dusty Hannahs have cycled through and, for the most part, have made little to no impact.

It was clear that something had to change this offseason if the 36ers wanted to stop their slide. The team’s ownership group must have agreed, as they opened their cheque books and made one of the biggest free agency splashes in recent memory.

The NBL @NBL

Antonius Cleveland and Robert Franks. The @Adelaide36ers have got themselves one heck of a combo for #NBL23

After reports of big money offers from teams across the league, the 36ers won the bidding war for two of the biggest stars on the market. They snatched Antonius Cleveland, last season’s Best Defensive Player winner and an All-NBL selection, away from the Illawarra Hawks, and he was joined by Brisbane’s leading scorer Robert Franks. Adding them to a local core featuring defensive studs Mitch McCarron and Sunday Dech and veteran scorer Daniel Johnson gives Adelaide the talent on paper to vault back into finals contention.

By signing a pair of stars away from rival NBL teams, and on multi-year contracts to boot, Adelaide have clearly signalled their intent to do whatever it takes to climb back up the ladder. While that willingness to spend big can only be a positive, it doesn’t automatically guarantee their success on the court.

Antonius Cleveland

The Illawarra Hawks were the surprise packet of the 2020-21 NBL season, and a central component of that success was Justin Simon.