Hunter Maldonado has signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the remainder of the season. He had been released by the South East Melbourne Phoenix to make way for the signing of Ian Clark. Maldonado averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 16 games played with the Phoenix.

Maldonado was not left to wallow in free agency for long. It was truly a case of here today, gone tomorrow. The Bullets signed Maldonado one day after he was released by the Phoenix. It is a signing that qualifies as both necessity and ease: the Bullets needed an additional ball handler and Maldonado has already been familiarised with the league.

Maldonado was not released by the Phoenix due to any inefficiency. He was a consistent third import who did a little bit of everything for them while other players were relied upon more strongly for their offensive or defensive abilities. The Phoenix decided to increase their potential for championship contention by picking up the tried-and-tested Clark and Maldonado was the player to be cut.

Maldonado enters the Bullets as the injury replacement player for Dakota Mathias who had been brought in as the replacement for Javon Freeman-Liberty who has now returned in the absence of Jaylen Adams. It has truly been a season of turmoil both metaphorically and literally for the Bullets. Maldonado will be their seventh import to play in a game this season. The Bullets have a 6–15 record and look unlikely to make any major progress. They must plan on ending the season with some type of hope and Maldonado will be able to do that by bringing in some reliability.