The Steelformers Taranaki Mountainairs have made a change to their roster ahead of the Sal's NBL Showdown, tipping off on Tuesday June 23.
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Selected in the ninth round of last Thursday night's historic draft, Will Heather advised the Airs almost immediately that he had unfortunately been prevented from playing due to his college commitments.
Under the rules of the competition, the Airs are able to replace Heather with either an un-drafted player or with a like-for-like player who didn't originally register for the draft, however any change under the latter scenario requires sign-off by the NBL Independent Panel.
Late on Saturday June 13 the Airs advised League General Manager Justin Nelson that coach Doug Courtney was applying to replace Heather with Auckland-based forward Zach Easthope, who hadn't previously registered for the draft.
"The Airs have made a submission to replace Heather, who is unable to play due to other commitments," said Nelson.
"The like-for-like player replacement is within the rules and late today the NBL Independent Panel has approved this submission. Effective immediately, Zach Easthope will join the Airs as their ninth ranked player."
