The Winnipeg Sea Bears’ roster has undergone a major overhaul in the span of only 24 hours.
Just a day after cutting loose leading scorer Tevian Jones to pursue other opportunities, the Sea Bears lost two more key players off their roster.
Forward Jaylin Williams and guard Terry Roberts both left the Sea Bears to play in the NBA Summer League. Williams joined the Dallas Mavericks, while Roberts is headed to the Brooklyn Nets.
Roberts and Williams were third and fourth on the team, respectively, in minutes played and both averaged double digit points in the first half of the season.
Sea Bears general manager and head coach Mike Taylor wouldn’t get into the circumstances surrounding Jones release, but admitted Jones was frustrated with his role. Taylor says it’s the nature of the CEBL for players to move up, but added there’s still a chance both Williams and Roberts return to the Sea Bears later in the season.
“We can’t control everything,” said Taylor. “We’re doing everything we can to control it. We want them to come back. We hope they come back and we’re planning on (them) coming back. All the indications are they will and then we’ll have some decisions with our roster before the, let’s say, roster deadline as we finish the season.
“But that’s a great place to be in because we’ve got a lot of good players and we’re excited about the opportunity to put the best team together for a championship run.”
In the meantime, the Sea Bears signed two new imports to fill the holes. Winnipeg added six-foot-eight-inch forward Trevon Scott and guard Will Richardson on Tuesday.
Richardson comes from the NBA G League, while Scott played briefly for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers four years ago and also played a season in the CEBL with the Calgary Surge in 2023.
Scott is a former teammate of Roberts and current Sea Bears forward Simmi Shittu, and that played a role in him coming to Winnipeg.
“It seems like a locker room of guys who want to win, who want to be great, want to get back on track,” said Scott. “It’s a very close-knit team from what I’ve been hearing, from what I’ve been seeing. So, it’s a lot going for the guys who want to turn this season back around.”
Both Scott and Richardson will make their Sea Bears’ debut on Friday after four straight losses by Winnipeg.
“If you lose good players, you need to have good players come in,” said Taylor. “Will Richardson is a guy that I’ve had my eye on all year. He’s a dynamic point guard.
“Tre Scott is a guy that’s played well in the league before. He’d done well in Calgary. Also, a great teammate. Simmi and the guys that played with him before speak very highly of him.”
The Sea Bears will look to snap out of their losing streak on the road on Friday against the Saskatchewan Rattlers.