Kings free agency explained

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings will be the talk of free agency after winning the NBL22 championship and the club will be looking to retain key members of the star-studded team.  

Free agency opened on Friday, May 20, with teams looking to cement their roster spots for #NBL23. 

Teams will still have the ability to contract up to three imports next season included in the 11 contracted players per roster. NBL Next Stars and Development Players will be in addition to the 11 contracted players. 

The Kings made our first move already, bringing back the first of our championship roster in Angus Glover for his third year with the club. 

Teams are allowed to negotiate with players on their roster prior to the start of free agency, which is why the team could sign Glover and other teams around the league have re-signed their returning players. 

The Kings currently have four players signed, Biwali Bayles, Jaylin Galloway, Angus Glover and Jordan Hunter. All are playing in the NBL1, to follow them this offseason click here.  

NBL Next-Star Makur Maker is auto-eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft – NBA workouts will be the primary focus for him over the coming months. Any potential return to the Kings will be determined following the NBA Draft on June 23rd.  

There is a lot of talk and speculation about the future of our championship sharp-shooter Dejan Vasiljevic, who decided not to exercise his player option with the Kings for #NBL23. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be returning to the Kings. This decision was discussed at length between the club and DJ’s representation and allows for the flexibility to potentially restructure a new deal, while also allowing DJ to consider other European and NBA opportunities. 

Bringing back key components of our championship roster is the primary goal in the offseason – however we are expecting many of our stars such as league MVP Jaylen Adams and Finals MVP Xavier Cooks to be highly sought-after NBA prospects. 

Instead of celebrating the championship, Kings CEO Chris Pongrass, Head Coach Chase Buford and Special Advisor Luc Longley are solely focused on the recruitment efforts to build a competitive roster for our title defence. 

With #NBL23 reverting to its traditional starting date of October, there will be little time to be wasted in building the roster for the new season. 

Watch this space, some exciting announcements are on the way.  

SYDNEY KINGS 

Contracted: Biwali Bayles (Indigenous player rule), Jaylin Galloway, Angus Glover, Jordan Hunter, Makur Maker (Next Star). 

Free agents: Jaylen Adams (restricted), Shaun Bruce (non-restricted), Ian Clark (replacement – restricted), Xavier Cooks (non-restricted), Jayden Hodgson (development player), RJ Hunter (released – restricted), Matur Maker (non-restricted), Jarell Martin (restricted), Iggy Mitchell (development player), Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (non-restricted), Dejan Vasiljevic (non-restricted), Tom Vodanovich (non-restricted).