The Sydney Kings were happy to allow some Los Angeles Clippers staffers access to the Australian team’s practice in Hawaii Baptist Academy’s gymnasium on Thursday.
As the Clippers watched a scrimmage and took the occasional note on a player or two of interest wearing the purple and gold of the National Basketball League franchise, Kings coach Andrew Gaze went right on coaching. On the surface, it seemed counterintuitive; why allow a competitor such direct means to scout personnel?
While Sunday’s exhibition matchup between the teams at the University of Hawaii is the immediate purpose of the Aussies’ visit, there’s a broader goal: establishing lasting ties between the resurgent NBL and NBA.
Afterward, Gaze, considered by some to be the greatest player Australia has ever produced, offered some of his country’s trademark self-deprecating humor by way of an explanation.
“Good luck trying to figure out the stuff we were doing in here,” the five-time Olympian said. “We went through some of the stuff, but it wasn’t particularly pretty.”
In the Kings’ defense, it was their first action since arriving in Honolulu on Wednesday.
They spent a full day crossing the international date line, but they hope to gain much more in exposure from a nationally televised game against the more talented Clippers.
“Now, the critical part of that is how competitive we can be,” Gaze said.
“It’s a tough, tough assignment for us,” he said. “They’ve got guys who are fighting for their lives to be on the team, fighting for their lives for a role on the team. I don’t think they’re going to come out here and just take us for granted and be passive against us and have a polite situation. And by the same token, we’re not coming out here to be the Washington Generals.”
The Sydney Kings, featuring former NBA veteran center Andrew Bogut, are one of five NBL teams playing seven games against NBA teams during preseason action this year.
If they sound familiar, it could be because they played UH in the Rainbow Warriors’ foreign tour last month. The Kings, using mostly second-unit players, won 82-65.
The eight-team NBL has enjoyed a comeback in recent years, following a downtrodden period that included the previous iteration of the Kings folding up shop in 2008.
Gaze, players and team representatives at HBA described incremental improvement in the NBL over the last five years in particular, as it’s made a return to free-to-air TV back home behind new ownership. That’s lured some Americans over and prominent overseas Australians to come back home.
The most prominent example is Bogut, a former No. 1 draft pick who decided to play out the remainder of his pro career in his homeland when he signed with the Kings in April.
“It’s good to be home. That’s the main thing,” Bogut said. “(Playing) where you’re from is much better, for me, anyway. I enjoyed the NBA but it was just time to go back home. I thought I have a few years left in basketball, so I decided to give it a crack. So far so good. It’s a young and talented group, a lot of work to do as well. We’re not where we need to be at yet to try to compete.”
Bogut was an important piece on the Golden State Warriors’ breakthrough title season of 2015. He showed Wednesday he’s still got something, as he went baseline for a reverse stuff over forward Deng Deng.
Dane Pineau, a second-year pro out of Saint Mary’s and the son of former UH big man Brad Pineau, has enjoyed showing members of the Kings’ entourage around Oahu with the knowledge he gained from several past trips as a visiting Australian. But he has only to look over at the 7-foot Bogut to get right back to business.
“To get a guy like ‘Bogues’ to come in and help turn it around, everything gets more professional when he’s here, everyone works harder and everyone works better,” Pineau said. “He demands that of you.”
The Kings went 11-17 last season, including wins in their last four games. That was thanks in part to 5-foot-9 guard Jerome Randle, a former Pac-10 player of the year out of Cal who averaged 19.8 points and 5.2 assists per game, becoming the first player to lead the NBL in those categories since Gaze in 1989, according to the league.
