Lucas Walker inks short-term NBL deal with Perth Wildcats as Matt Knight injured

Last week Lucas Walker was watching at Melbourne United practice game and patiently waiting for an NBL spot to break open.

By Friday the free agent forward had his wish with Perth Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson calling Walker to ask if he was keen to sign a two-month injury replacement deal which will likely see Walker play out the preseason campaign and the first seven games of the season.

Walker, who has just finished his South East Australian Basketball League season with Dandenong Rangers, accepted the offer and on Monday he had his first training session in Perth where he will fill in for championship winning centre Matt Knight who has injured his shoulder.

The Wildcats believe Knight, who has a history of shoulder injuries, will only need rehabilitation work and not surgery meaning he should be back within eight weeks.

Knight will leave big shoes to fill as he was the leading rebounder in the NBL last season and was a driving force inside for the Wildcats in their run to the championship.

The injury gives Walker the chance to prove wrong the clubs who chose not to sign him for this season.

Walker has played 159 NBL games with Adelaide and Melbourne and was in the extended Boomers squad for the Rio Olympics but Adelaide replaced him with third import and no other club had a spot for him.

Walker told Perth media on Monday he was happy to have the opportunity to remain in the NBL.

"It's tough," Walker said when asked about waiting for a deal.

"I don't know how I felt about it or if I expected to get a call up or not. I think I started 24 out of 28 games last year but here I am sitting in my apartment in Melbourne unemployed and looking for a job.

"It was a bit of a shock and I had my ups and downs, some bad days when I thought that was it. You really don't know how much you appreciate it until you get into that situation so I'm extremely appreciative of the Wildcats for giving me this opportunity."

As Walker understands, his future is up in the air but he plans to do his job for the Wildcats then see what the future holds after that.

"Mentally I stayed with it and I didn't take any days off," Walker said. "I stayed in shape when I could have sulked and said to myself that no one wanted me.

"I have a lot to catch up on but I'm going to do the job they want me to do."

Melbourne United have yet to confirm whether they will need an injury replacement for forward Owen Odigie who injured his ankle in the club's 85-78 loss to Cairns Taipans in Ballarat on Saturday night.

Odigie started the game but went own with an ankle injury while David Barlow, Chris Goulding and Dave Andersen all didn't play.

Alex Loughton was the game-high scorer with 21 points for the visitors while Ramone Moore led Melbourne with 15 points, Tai Wesley added 13 points and Kyle Adnam 12 points.

New Zealand Breakers are also looking for a short-term replacement for guard Shea Ili who is recovering from stress fractures in his back and is expected to miss the opening months of the season.

The NBL's new Australian Basketball Challenge, formerly the NBL Blitz preseason tournament, will run in Brisbane from September 23 to September 26 with the NBL season tipping off on October 6.