Perth Wildcats taking long term approach with import Dylan Windler as HoopsFest approaches for NBL

Perth Wildcats are determined to take a long term approach towards recently signed import Dylan Windler with the club yet to decide whether to change their starting five for the beginning of the season. Windler played his first game for the club against New Zealand on Sunday when he came off the bench, spent nearly 13 minutes on court, scored nine points and won three rebounds. He was on limited minutes after enduring lengthy travel in recent weeks, while recovering from an ankle injury. With a short turnaround before Tuesday night’s game against Illawarra Hawks, the club will wait as long as possible to see how the American has recovered before determining his role. If he is rested on Tuesday, Windler will have only one other opportunity to play before round one. Windler’s NBA experience, scoring ability, athleticism and rebounding strength made him an elite signing for Perth. But the Wildcats turned their fortunes around last season after moving import Jordan Usher to the bench and adding Hyrum Harris to the starting five. Starting with Bryce Cotton, Keanu Pinder, Tai Webster, Kristian Doolittle and Harris lifted Perth into second spot and has been their main line-up during an undefeated pre-season. Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Operations Danny Mills said the team was still assessing how Windler could have his biggest impact with the group. “We’ve had success with this core group and have brought them back so it’s about how can we best integrate a player of Dylan’s talent into the line-up,” Mills said. “He’s going to be a very good player and we’ve already seen from his NBA career. It’s just about him finding his feet. He’s very athletic, he’s long, he’s got good positional size, he can shoot and we saw how aggressive he is with crashing the glass at both ends. He’s exactly the type of player we were coveting. “We need to build load into Dylan’s legs so we can feel comfortable about putting him out there for 15-20 minutes. He needs to feel comfortable with himself, the NBL and the players around him. “Whether guys start or play the majority of minutes, we are blessed with talent. Only five guys can be on the court so it’s a good problem to have. We will find the best rotations.”