Adelaide wants to retain NBA star

He’s been one of the stars of NBL25 so far, and the Adelaide 36ers would love nothing more than to keep Montrezl Harrell on their roster.

The imminent return of Jarell Martin makes that task a little more difficult, but coach Mike Wells has hinted the club will do everything in its power to retain the NBA-calibre star.

“He (Montrezl) is a very talented player, he has a ton of connections in the NBA and I’m sure that he is going to have a ton of different options,” Wells said on Thursday.

“... and hopefully his best option is the 36ers.”

While no specific date has been set for Martin’s return, who has missed the start of the season with a foot injury, Adelaide is hoping to have him back on the active roster in the next few weeks.

With Harrell brought in as an injury replacement for Martin, it would mean the club has to deactivate a local player to keep him on the roster.

There's plenty to play out in that space, but for now, the 36ers' focus is purely on a huge clash against the Sydney Kings.

“We have a ton of respect for them (Sydney); who they are, the talent they have, the coaching staff and the whole organisation,” Wells said.

Adelaide lost its opening game of the season to the Kings, but after picking up two wins last round against the Phoenix and Hawks, the 36ers are feeling good about themselves.

In those wins, fans saw their first glimpse of a Harrell and Isaac Humphries starting lineup, which saw immediate results.

The Kings pose a different threat to perhaps any other team in the league, which Wells is fully prepared for.

“They (Sydney) have a lot of offensive weapons that you have to be dialled in on and they’ve got some bigs who can shoot the ball and space the floor,” he said.

“We’ll just try and put our game plan together, compete and see where we are at.”

Another big crowd will pack into the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday night, as Adelaide and Sydney faces off.

Watch live on ESPN via Kayo, with tip-off from 7.30pm AEDT.