The "bargain play" tipped to light up NBL

South East Melbourne Head Coach Josh King says the Phoenix have landed a “bargain play” with the signing of Skylar Mays, pointing to the enormous upside of the 28-year-old import.

King is confident Mays, alongside other key signings including Dash Daniels and D’Shawn Schwartz, will help take the Phoenix to the next level, following consecutive Playoff appearances.

“Skylar’s a guy who’s got a lot of NBA experience. He’s got two years in Europe recently. I think we got a bargain play here,” King told SEN.

“He hasn’t had a great last two seasons ... but I think he’s got potential.

“He had a little run in the NBA where he put together ten to 15 games where he was averaging close to a double-double, so there’s a lot of potential there.”

Mays produced those numbers during the 2022/23 NBA campaign with Portland, while also spending time with the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers during his career.

He has played the last two seasons in Europe.

“His first stop in Europe was at Fenerbahce ... you don’t get to go there if you don’t have something,” King said.

“We’re excited about him and been tracking him for a while.”

King said fellow import Schwartz and the reported signing of French big man Yannis Morin had put the Phoenix in a strong position to take another leap forward in the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season.