UPDATE* — Since the release of this story, Jerome Randle’s agent, Daniel Moldovan of Entersport, reached out to foxsports.com.au.

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Jerome Randle, the NBL’s reigning MVP, won’t be returning to the league after the Adelaide 36ers chose not to make an offer, sources told foxsports.com.au.

Despite promises from the 36ers’ new ownership, as well as general manager, Guy Hedderwick, that the team would enter renegotiations with Randle, they never took place, sources said.

Randle, 29, received offers from several other NBL teams, but none had the budget required to sign the point guard, who had already taken under his market value to remain with the 36ers for the 2016-17 season, multiple sources said.

*Randle’s agent confirmed that his client never received an offer from the club.

“At no time was an official offer ever tendered to Jerome via myself, despite numerous assurances that a deal would get done before the conclusion of last season,” Moldovan said.

“On February 4th, the club’s GM ran an idea by me to determine whether it was worthwhile taking back to the owner for approval. I gave my feedback on the idea, but never received another communication on the subject from either owner or GM.”

It’s been widely known that Randle held onto the sentiment that he would never sign with an NBL team outside of the 36ers.

While it appears Randle’s time in the NBL is over, his agent made it clear that the reigning MVP would love to remain in Adelaide, and that Joey Wright is still the best coach he’s played for.

“Jerome would love nothing more than to return to Adelaide and continue what they started to build over the last two seasons, but it’s been made clear to me that as of right now, he isn’t part of their plans,” Moldovan said.

“If things change, we would be delighted, as Jerome loves his teammates, the 36ers fans and has stated on numerous occasions that Joey is the best coach he has ever played for.”

The 36ers, via Wright, have denied the report.

“Yes, an offer was made to Jerome initially that still would have made him among the top-five highest-paid players in the league,” Wright told The Advertiser.

“He asked for an increase but I thought it was more important for us to retain our core group of guys than to deplete the group we have now, to accommodate Jerome.

“We haven’t definitively ruled Jerome out and we made an offer before the end of the season. He rejected it.”

Jerome Randle. Source: Getty Images

This a surprising move for a 36ers franchise that was able to re-sign head coach, Joey Wright, to a five-year deal, and retain its entire Australian contingent, but is coming off a league-best 17-11 record with Randle at the helm, before the team bowed out of the playoffs in the semi-finals.

Randle, who’s currently playing with French side, Limoges CSP, averaged 21.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, in all 31 games for the 36ers during the 2016-17 NBL season, and was consistently marketed as the ‘face’ of the league.

Throughout his two-season stint with the 36ers, Randle became a fan-favourite in Adelaide — regularly holding camps and clinics for children in the city — and, at the conclusion of the 2016-17 regular season, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in a February ceremony.

During the 2015-16 season, Randle became the first player in the NBL’s 40-minute era to average 20 or more points and five or more assists per game over a season, and repeated that feat the following year.

With the NBL no longer an option for the 5’9 guard, he’ll look at Europe as an option, as well as potential opportunities at NBA training camp, sources said.

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Olgun Uluc covers basketball for Fox Sports Australia. Twitter: @OlgunUluc