United Prepare for NBA Swoop

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Matthew Dellavedova. Jack White. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. They’re three names all NBL fans would be familiar with and three players currently capturing plenty of attention at the NBA’s Summer League.

The trio all lined up at Melbourne United last season, and with Lual-Acuil Jr already confirming his departure from the club, coach Dean Vickerman admits there’ll be some nervous moments for him and his coaching staff in the weeks to come.

“It’s a crazy situation for us at the moment with ‘Delly’ being over here (Las Vegas) and doing some work with Sacramento and Jack (White) with the (Denver) Nuggets,” Vickerman explained.

“We go through the scenario of what we came here for, with both of them coming back, with one of them coming back or the other one coming back, or neither of them coming back.

“Right now we’re in a holding pattern and we wish both of them the best and we want to see them both in the NBA.”

White has arguably been the standout of the NBL contingent in Vegas, with a 14-point, six rebound effort on Thursday further enhancing his chances of an NBA contract.

“I’m so pleased for Jack and his performances and the confidence that he’s playing with, coming off that Boomers series as well,” Vickerman said.

Dellavedova will look to press his claims for an NBA return, having played a total of nine seasons at Cleveland and Milwaukee, before returning to Australia last year.

Lual-Acuil Jr’s exit leaves United with an empty spot on its roster, but it looks unlikely Illawarra Hawks star Duop Reath will fill that void.

“I don’t think so. I think if he (Reath) comes back to the NBL, he’ll go back to the Hawks,” Vickerman added.

“Would he be a good replacement for ‘JLA’? For sure … the skillset and size and all those things are pretty good.

“I respect what he’s doing with his own club and the Hawks should have the right for refusal with that one.”

United finished the 2021/2022 Hungry Jack’s NBL Season on top of the standings, but were ultimately knocked out by the Tasmania JackJumpers in the Semi-Final decider.