Kings move for Bolden years in making

The Sydney Kings’ signing of Jonah Bolden may have seemingly come out of nowhere but, according to ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc, the Kings have been keeping tabs on the former NBA big since he stepped away from the game almost three years ago.

Bolden has signed with Sydney on a one-year deal ahead of NBL24, having previously retired from the sport as a 25-year-old back in 2020.

He was a crucial part of the 76ers’ side that advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the 2018-19 season.

He played 44 games with ten starts during the regular season and appeared in 10 post-season games during that campaign.

“It’s important to note the Sydney Kings have, realistically, been chasing Jonah Bolden for three or four years and it’s always been a hard no,” Uluc said on The Marketplace.

“Jonah Bolden’s been an NBA player, he was a budding NBA player who played rotation minutes for the Philadelphia 76ers and played in the playoffs.

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“He was an NBA player and everyone around world basketball thought that way, and so the Kings have been on his tail for quite some time.

“It was only recently when those talks became serious, everyone engaged seriously, and this became a real possibility.”

The major question surrounding Bolden’s impending return to the rigours of professional sport surrounds the ability of his body to stand up to the pressure of competing night in, night out.

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Bolden was listed as being 203 centimetres and 108 kilograms during his most recent NBA campaign.

“Athletically he seems to be in a really good place,” Uluc said.

“He’s been doing yoga over the years, apparently he’s put some mass on as well – so athletically he should be fairly similar to what he was before he took that three-year hiatus.

“I’m sure there will be some sort of teething process ... the Kings are prepared for this, Jonah Bolden is prepared for this, but the expectation is come halfway through the season he can get his feet under him and get himself back into a very similar spot to where he was before taking that break.

“If he does get to that point the Sydney Kings believe he can be a top three, four, five player in the NBL – it just might take that little bit of time and teething to get to that point.

“I think everyone has to be realistic about the prospect of someone not having played basketball for so long coming in and playing professionally again.”

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The Kings’ roster is now almost fully formed ahead of the new season.

Bolden is set to be the final local player added to the Kings’ roster, while they still have two import spots alongside DJ Hogg. They could also, potentially, add a Next Star to their ranks for the new season.

While Bolden moves the playing roster one step closer to completion, Uluc says Sydney is also closer to finding its new head coach following Chase Buford’s departure.

“I’m told a shortlist of candidates has been narrowed down to three,” he said.

“I’m told they’re all American as candidates as well.

“When it comes to that decision being made, I wouldn’t expect it extremely imminently – but I’d imagine there will be some sort of buffer ahead of Summer League.”