JackJumpers' coach Scott Roth strategising NBL championship defence

Coach Scott Roth has spoken and here is your one-stop shop ahead of the pre-season.

American guard/forward Craig 'Chicken' Sword, who is 191-centimetres, is the Jackies' new import and has signed a one-year contract.

The 30-year-old has played three NBA games with Washington Wizards as well as lined-up in the NBA G-League.

Sword comes in for American big Marcus Lee, who along with veteran Jarred Bairstow and nominated replacement player Lachie Barker, didn't have their contracts renewed.

Meanwhile, 200cm forward Roman Siulepa, 17, has signed a two-year contract and will join the team as part of the NBL's Next Stars program as he pursues his NBA dream.

Forward Gorjok Gak has switched from South East Melbourne Phoenix on a one-year deal.

The 27-year-old forward, who stands at 211cm, is coming off an injury-riddled season in which he averaged 15 minutes across 17 games.

Most valuable player Jack McVeigh has committed to the club for a further two seasons, keeping him in Tasmania until at least 2027 while Majok Deng has been locked-in for two more years.

Guard Sean Macdonald will remain with the club until the end of the 2025-26 season after inking a contract extension.

Roth said the JackJumpers were still looking to round out their roster with two development players to join the likes of Walter Brown.

He said the Jackies were seeking a young point guard and a bigger player.

McVeigh and Will Magnay are in the Australian Boomers' 22-player initial squad for the Paris Olympics to be played in late July-August.

Roth said Magnay had plenty to offer because of his defensive game while he talked up McVeigh's elite shooting.

If you've been following the JackJumpers closely in their first three seasons, you'll know how important the three import spots are.

Josh Adams, Milton Doyle and Jordon Crawford have all turned it on during the play-offs.

The JackJumpers made the grand finals series in their inaugural season, were knocked out in the semi-finals in season two and then won the championship.

As Roth explained they had two guards and one forward in their first two campaigns.

Adams, a guard, was the hero in season one and they also had point guard Josh Magette and forward MiKyle McIntosh.

They kept Magette in season two and brought in shooting guard Milton Doyle, who made the all-NBL first team, as well as forward Rashard Kelly.

Roth said the Jackies felt they already had a centre going into those campaigns.

"In both those situations, we were hopeful that (Will) Magnay was going to be up-and-running and playing a little bit more and ready to go," he said.

The coach said they went with a similar strategy in season three but decided to get some cover for Magnay's long-term knee injury.

They signed 211cm Lee and ushered in point guard Crawford while Magette retired.

"To protect ourselves we went with a big in Marcus Lee which obviously was helpful throughout the entire season for us as Magnay got his feet back underneath him," Roth said.

The 208cm Magnay came good and played a crucial role in the championship series while Lee continued to offer support through the finals.

So what's the plan for this season?

Crawford, who recently re-signed, and Doyle are going again while Sword has been brought in for Lee.

Roth said that while 211cm recruit Gak was still developing, the hope was he could fill the hole left by Lee who averaged six points and five rebounds.

The coach added the JackJumpers were hopeful Magnay, who is attracting NBA interest, would be back and they also planned to play Deng and Fabijan Krslovic in centre.

"That allowed us to find an X-factor, a wing type of player that can guard 1-4 positions which Chicken (Sword) can and (he can) be a disrupter," Roth said.

"We went with that formula and we'll see how it goes."

Roth said Tasmania had focused on retaining the majority of their roster and they would benefit from continuity.

"The big key for me is just to retain our guys, to have this six-or-seven-guy core group to continue to move through over the next few years," he said.

"We have guys coming back in their fourth year and some guys coming back in their third year, which is a huge advantage."

The coach was asked what ingredients were key for NBL success.

"One of the things that has been proven in the last three years is that if you have a really good scoring point guard or a guy that can put up numbers there, you have a good chance of having a team that can score the ball and get into the play-offs," he said.

"A lot of the teams have gone with a combination of one and two guys (point guard/shooting guard) that can score and we are obviously in that same mode."

Roth said releasing Magette and Matt Kenyon was the toughest thing he had to do last off-season and it was no easier with veteran Bairstow this year.

"It was much, much harder to have the conversation with him, he's loved by everyone," he said.

"There was a lot of crying going on in that conversation with him and his wife and it was a difficult thing to say that 'we're moving forward'.

"He kind of already understood that a little bit.

"But what he's done for three years with this franchise will not be forgotten, I will not allow it to be forgotten."