The Otago Nuggets are not planning on peeking through the trade window.
The franchise hooked two serious players in the National Basketball League (NBL) inaugural player draft on Thursday night. Their No1 draft pick Jordan Ngatai is already being touted as a potential tournament MVP.
The basketball community is excited to see what the Tall Blacks small forward can achieve on a roster where he is the leading scorer.
And experienced Tall Black point guard Jarrod Kenny should slot in nicely alongside Ngatai. He is more of a facilitator whose defence and leadership will be invaluable.
There was a sneaking suspicion the Nuggets might look to trade Kenny for a big player like Sam Timmins, who grew up in Dunedin.
Coach Matehaere has ruled out any trading.
"We are really, really happy with our roster, so I don’t think so," he responded.
The seven teams have until Sunday to complete any trades. The rosters will be confirmed on Monday, but you can probably go ahead and ink in the 12 names the Nuggets have on their list.
The next event on the agenda is a meet and greet in Auckland on June 19 — all 56 games are being staged in the city during a six-week period.
The Nuggets will not be able to train together as a squad until the following day. They play the Manawatu Jets on June 24, so it will be a short build-up.
"We have four days together prior to playing ... so building through the tournament is going to be key."
