ILLAWARRA coach Rob Beveridge is confident he can “snag another Lisch” following the reigning league MVP’s shock defection to arch-rivals Sydney next week.
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Beveridge had only planned to fill two of the available three import slots on a new 11-man roster for next season but Lisch’s departure will likely broaden that search to three including a guard to fill the considerable void in the back-court.
Having first brought Lisch to Perth as unknown college graduate in 2009, Beveridge is confident he can find a similar rough diamond ahead of the 2016/17 season.
“With Lisch gone we’ll definitely replace him with an import,” Beveridge said.
“The established imports are going to be very difficult because they have a market value but a stud coming out of college or someone in the [NBA] D-League who isn’t earning a lot of money, you can offer them some decent money and an opportunity.
“There’s plenty of diamonds in the rough. We signed Lisch pretty cheap coming out of college and now he’s at a stage where he can reap the benefits later in his career.
“He was coming straight out of college and there was pressure to have him fired in the first few weeks in Perth and turned out to be a superstar. I’ve found plenty of players like that and obviously I want to snag another Lisch.
“I’ve started that process and now and I’ll need to get over to the US and have look at a few players. I’ve got my network going and people know what type of style I play. I need to have a tough-nut guard who can score, who can defend and those types of things.
“We’ve got a very comprehensive [scouting] list and one thing I can guarantee is that a couple of players I’m looking at are extremely exciting. There could be a big wow factor if I get them.”
With Lisch having slipped through the net, Beveridge said retaining Kirk Penney and AJ Ogilvy remains a top priority after club’s entire roster became free agents on Friday. It was the first day of trading under a revamped $1.1 million ‘soft’ salary cap that allows clubs to exceed the mark provided they pay a subsidy to clubs who may struggle to fill their cap.
It will likely see unprecedented player movements and salaries and Beveridge said regional clubs like the Hawks will need to be smart in how they build their roster.
“Obviously it was our priority to re-sign the big three but unfortunately it’s a player’s market, nearly everyone was a free agent and we just got blown out of the water with Lisch,” Beveridge said.
“The super-rich clubs, you’re Melbourne’s, your Perth’s your Sydney’s your Brisbane’s have shown they’re going to pay as much as they need to to get players. If we overspend and try to match that money we’d go broke. That’s the reality.
“We had such a successful season and now everyone wants to steal our players. You take it as a compliment but us smaller regional clubs have to super smart with what we do.
“But I’ve signed for four years, I’m committed and I’m going to put a competitive team on the floor.”