'We Want Bigs': Kelly Declares Phoenix Hand

But while he’s rekindling family ties, he’ll no doubt have an eye on the basketball talent that his home country is full of, and he’s not shy about showing his cards early.

“We are looking at bigs, we’re looking at someone with length and athleticism,” Kelly told Phoenix Media.

The Phoenix currently have Mitch Creek, Australia’s most dominant Power Forward, and have brought in Jordan Hunter from Sydney after the departure of Alan Williams, but will be looking to bolster their stocks in the NBA Summer League period.

The Phoenix head coach was a two-time NBL Defensive Player of the Year himself, so it’s understandable why he’d be targeting stoppers in the off-season too, as well as backup for the recently recruited shooting guard, Nathan Sobey.

“I’m always going to try and bring in more defence, and we really need some depth in our shooting.”

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Kelly hopes that the local roster will be finalised before he heads over to Las Vegas at the start of July, and that the two remaining import spots fall into place during his time in Nevada.

While not done yet, the 56-year-old is confident in the trajectory of the roster build and the off-season acquisitions.

“I’m really excited about the guys we’ve brought in, I’m stoked, we have some big holes to fill but some far we’ve got everything we wanted.”

The Phoenix have so far brought in Jordan Hunter, Angus Glover, Derrick Walton Jr, Nathan Sobey, Tom Vodanovich and Luke Fennell.