Very sad news Isaac. I hope someone does a Lowy with Sydney. That market is rip for the picking if someone markets to it properly.

Interesting how this story effects the Dragons-Goorj rumors.

With so many clubs on the edge (Kings, Hawks, Singapore), someone needs to start pointing the finger. The NBL really needs to sort this out ASAP.

Yeah I have heard that too anon, but people still talk about it. I think they will play next season.

I hope Lowy does a Lowy for Sydney..

So that means Goorjian to the Dragons, Smyth to the Kings, and who to the 36ers?

@*#@#$& Phil Smith. Take two.

So that means Goorjian is at the Dragons, Phil Smith at the Kings, but who to the 36ers?

Well that is gonna be interesting to follow the events then, Moses. (You were right 'bout Cole. Not genuinely seeking or considered. He's from my era.)

Hope Adelaide is looking at some of the King's roster

It's interesting that it has come to this after all the discussion here at the start of the season regarding Firepower and how dodgy they are. It's hardly a surprise but it's sad news for the league.

Why sign Hodge when you could get Kendell AND Crosswhite for the same money???

Hi Kad . Slingers are not in trouble . Now they have a good group of private local shareholders, some very fine sponsors like CLSA and AirAsia and the number of people attending the games is on the way up and more will come. Still a lot of work to be done by the Slingers organisation but financially they seem out be heading in the right direction.

becasue kendall and crosswhite are homo's. so is cam tovey. hodge is better than all 3 of those put together.

The kings are dead; long live the Kings!

Well the NBL has been peddling the tripe that the NBL needs a strong Kings for the NBL to grow and thrive.

I guess we will see if this is really true.

I blame Goorj. When will people realise this man bankrupts ball clubs.

With the NBL backing Sydney for years, we thought Sydney was the only place Brian couldn't bankrupt a club, but looks like he's achieved it.

I wonder if he could bankrupt the Boomers?

I thought you were joking, but just in case: This is not really anything to do with Goorjian and more to do with the new owner who is just not paying salaries (admin staff as well, etc) or funding any marketing it seems.

Forget post-playing-career support from the league, they need to put together a primer: "So, you're thinking about buying a basketball franchise?"

Just a thought...shouild the NBL do an "NSL" and restructure the league and start from scratch? Look what has happened with the A-League, persaps the NBL could at least look at the A-League's model as it seems to be working whilst the NBL struggles.

Is that along the same lines as.......

So, you think you can dance?

If it's broken fix it.
It if works, bottle it.

I like it Isaac.

With Troy McClure to host it (you might remember him from other educational films such as "Lead Paint: Delicious But Deadly," and "Here Comes the Metric System!")

Isaac, why don't you think it's Goorjian? He has a track record - every club he's coached has ended up going broke and going under, in spite of their on-court success. Does he coach too much with a checkbook, getting the best players regardless of cost (and salary cap - and we all know there are ways around the cap)? Plus he always seems to have a corps of assistants, I'm sure they don't work for free.

OTOH, didn't Sydney take off for a tournament in China a few months ago? I wonder how much that cost, and whether it was part of the "global brand" push. Maybe they should've started smaller, made them a "Sydney brand" first!

The Tigers play in China too - those trips are subsidised by the Chinese (local business groups or clubs - not sure) and I think clubs might actually make money from them?

Goorjian runs an expensive program - support staff, health supplements ($40k/yr was stated for supplements at a previous club!), etc. That might've had a role previously, but I'm not convinced the same is happening again here. The owner is just not putting up the money.

The 36ers went into administration as well and while some of Phil's early championships came to stacked teams, I don't think you can put the financial issues on Phil's back when there are so many other factors involved.

Brisbane, Cairns, New Zealand, etc - they'd all be losing money I suspect. The one difference between them and Sydney is that the owners are still making payments. Melbourne is always touted as making a profit, but losses could easily be masked behind Seamus' company - and if that were the case, he's smartly keeping fan attitude very positive.

I don't blame Goorjian. IMO the NBL is to blame for allowing 'Firepower' to buy the licence. I seem to recall (Isaac, help me here) a link 2-3 years ago which highlighted news articles about 'Firepower' and their less than legal business practices. Doesn't surprise me that the Kings are in financial trouble. What will the NBL do given their blind vision that Sydney is the centre for basketball in Australia???

Yes, I posted about them a number of times. As soon as a scheme unravels, the flow of money dries up.

The whole league is in a pretty bad state, thanks mostly to completely crap management of the sport by the NBL, some ego tripper who will remain unamed ticked off the free to air TV execs and lost their coverage a few years ago, and since then the league has been steadily declining. Many teams have gone bankrupt since, (hello! Ilawarra Hawks, Newcastle etc...notice no Goorgian!!)

Goorgian is not to blame for the bankrupcy of the team. I have 1st hand inside info that the Kings don't offer much extra in the way of perks on top of salaries, in fact they offer the WORST package in the league, and it's the most expensive city to live in. The top Aussie Kings players get around $120k, imports around $200k and some rookies on a pathetic $20k.

Tim Johnstone is SHONKY AS...he probably spends 3 times what he owes in the Kings salaries on shoes and handbags for his wannabe-it-girl-daughters and his wife's cars, he's just a lying con man, thesE guys have put their bodies on the line for his team and he repays them by shafting them

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/firepower-founder-tim-johnston-banned-from-managing-a-company-for-20-years/story-e6frg6nf-1226099083835

Some closure on the whole Firepower fiasco. If this guy doesn't serve time, I'll eat my hat. Fortunately, it's a nacho-man hat.