Lions are close to completing their first signing of the summer and coach Vince Macaulay says he's delighted to get his number one target.

The formalities of the deal are yet to be finalised, but Macaulay believes that the capture of the unnamed American point guard will trigger his 'A plan' of future signings.

"We've liked this player for a long time and he will be a great addition to the squad," he said.

"Once the contract is signed it will open the door to bringing in the other guys we have targeted.

"Once we have our top target on board then we'll know who else we need to bring in to play alongside him."

Macaulay would not name his man, but he is expected to join from a fellow British Basketball League outfit.

The veteran point guard will replace Terrell Brown after he
became the first man to leave Lions last month.

Brown has now been joined by Jayson Obazuaye and Tommie Eddie, with Macaulay confirming that both have played their final games for the club.

"They were offered new terms but didn't make a decision before the deadline we set, so we had to make a choice for them," said the Lions coach.

"We would have been happy to keep them, but I am not bothered that we haven't. They were good players, but it should be easy to replace them."

And despite believing his side had the potential to improve on their disappointing ninth place finish last season, Macaulay says that big changes in personnel are definitely needed.

"I always thought we could get better in time, but the fact is that we missed out on a place in the play-offs and don't want to again.

"Our aim is to improve year on year and to make sure we do that we need to make some changes."

>> Meanwhile the Lions coach has backed the BBL's changes to its competition structure for next season.

The BBL Championship will be a 13-team league next term after the Essex Pirates were given the green light to join.

And the format of the play-offs sees a modification as the semi-final matches will now be battled out over two legs, with the higher seed getting the choice of home advantage in either the first or second leg. Aggregate scores will determine the victors.

The climax of the season will be a single day showpiece event.
"I'm not sure how good Essex are going to be but more games is only a good thing for us," said the Lions coach.

"And with the Trophy now being a knockout competition instead of having the group stage, the extra games in the league are probably needed."

The BBL Trophy will now be a straight knockout competition, and incorporates the top three English Basketball League teams from Division One last season, Reading Rockets, Manchester Magic and London Leopards.

The first round of games and the quarter-finals will be one-off ties, with the semi-finals being contested over two legs – home and away – and being decided by aggregate score.

The final will be a one- off game at a central venue in mid March.

The BBL Cup format is set to remain the same as last season with three teams receiving a bye from the first round based on their BBL Championship finish last season.

The three this time being Newcastle Eagles, Everton Tigers and Leicester Riders.