Melbourne United offered Jock Landale a contract

Melbourne United are trying to sign Jock Landale and made an offer to the Australian big man.

Per NBL, Melbourne United is pushing star Australian Jock Landale to make a decision on the contract they’ve offered him by the end of this week.

Landale has been training with United this year due to the impacts of COVID-19 on European basketball. The 25-year-old centre most recently played for Žalgiris in Lithuania and has also played for Partizan in Serbia after four years at St Mary’s.

The Australian Boomer would slot right into United’s roster and coach Dean Vickerman has revealed the club has the paperwork ready for him to sign – if he is willing to do so.

“We would love to have him, there is a contract there for him and we hope we sort it out pretty quickly,” Vickerman told NBL Overtime.

“We would like to see something happen this week either way. Otherwise the timing of it to try and get someone else on a plane and do those kind of things at the start of the season is going to be a battle.

“If we can in any way have it cleared up by the end of the week it would be amazing.

“Jock Landale is a talented kid and we have been so fortunate to have had him for the past couple of months in our practice.”

Vickerman believes Landale will play a vital role for the Australian Boomers at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and preparing him for that tournament is a key piece to Melbourne’s sales pitch.

“We have sold to him that we believe the Olympics is such a massive thing, he can play such a big part in it, that we think we are the best preparation for him to go and really have an amazing Olympics,” Vickerman said.

“If that leads him to the NBA or to where he wants to get to after that, or if he stays here.”

United signed star import Scotty Hopson this week, with the 2020/21 NBL season to tip-off in mid-January.