A lot of these kids while obviously talented, would be very physically challenged in the NBL, particularly the PFs & Cs. Two possible candidates next season are Jordan Brown & EJ Montgomery, nice additions as some form of 'advanced' DPs but would be limited impact & take away opportunities from our growing local talents.

Not sure if its the best idea except for the exposure.

My only concern with this is that with so few teams and only so many roster spots available - potentially 4 taken up by imports moving forward - I wonder what opportunities our younger, talented players will get moving forward?

The opportunities are already so few and far between already.

LC Agreed. Its a difficult balance trying to expand/progress the league in some sense yet trying to ensure we don't lose the authenticity of having an Australian League.

It's the reason why guys like Greg Hire are slowly being pushed out. Prior to the 3 import rule guys like Hire would play 20 odd mins/game yet now given the number of imports in the league and the marquee player rule the talent has increased so much.

Could be fantastic exposure for the league. I like it.

My only issue is seeing less Australian's develop in our league.

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT.

I think it would be cool if the NBL is signing these players that they are distributed to teams by a televised draft.

Team with the lowest salary cap spend the previous season picks first.

Or Team who finished last picks first.

It could work and would be "fair".

I just had the scary thought of Lavar Ball landing on our shores... yikes.

Presumably, these kids would have similar playing time/role to Ferguson's time with the 36ers. Otherwise there's not much attraction for them to come out here in advance of going into the NBA draft.

So the 4th import would replace one of the Australians at number 6-8 off the bench. Given they're going to be young and inexperienced, probably a young Australian player.

As a hypothetical, who would have been relegated down the bench in each team's line-up if this additional import had been in place this season? Assume every team would have gotten one of these imports and they'd have played 15 mins per game, like Ferguson did.

Going back to 48 mins wouldn't work IMO. I personally would love 48, however the fringe basketball fan wouldnt have the attentions span for it.

The NBL purists such as myself may be hesitant about the 4 import but realistically history shows more imports = bigger crowds.

Keeping the mix of aussie vs oseas talent in our league has been lopsided for the past 3 yrs already.

Have a look at our NBL all 1st team this year. 4 imports 1 aussie. All 2nd team? again 4 imports 1 aussie.

If Aussie's want to play they need to get better.

Simple as that.

Not too many of these guys will raise the standard. One and done guys who play in good comps OS are rarely stars.

Need to have more teams now, hopefully that will happen soon. NBL HQ fixated on the overseas dollar, which I guess in because there isin't much corporate $$ for basketball here.

In the two SF series we will have six Aussies starters out of 20, that's not healthy.

With this rule and the 'Asian Passport' rule you could have 5 on 5 with no Aussies playing.

This could fast track the number of teams being allowed licences, which would increase the number of job slots for Aussies.

Good idea imo

LK definitely putting his money on the line. $800k plus car/flight/accomm contra/deals. I assume he's banking on getting a couple of contract buyouts from drafted players?

Just don't screw that up. I heard a rumour that the 36ers accidentally released Ferguson freely rather than getting paid the buy-out.

On one hand, money is money and if you want to go big, you open up and take the best players wherever they're from. On the other, people are obviously sensitive to the idea of the premier Australian league losing spots for Australian players.

I'd rather see a maximum of three imports, and if you use the third spot, it has to be one of these draft prospects, or someone who played a minimum number of games/minutes at ABL level the off-season before.

Does the A-League have limitations?

Im confused about the "Draft eligible' player. is it a guy who wasn't drafted after entering the draft or is it like a Emanual Mudiay/LaMelo Ball situation where they forgo college to play overseas before going into the draft?
If its the latter, I doubt the talent will be high as guys do this to get noticed and paid, China and Europe do more of both.
If its the former it's no different to the current model except an extra import that teams don't have to pay for...can teams refuse a 4th import?

If they've entered the draft and gone undrafted, they're not eligibleffor the draft.

Wouldn't a draft starting with Brisbane 1st, Sydney 2nd etc be the fairest way to distribute the players.
Would stop any Melbourne United speculation.
Until we have more teams I don't see why we don't just use third import spot on these guys.

Does this mean we have rosters of 11 still or rosters of 12?

"Just don't screw that up. I heard a rumour that the 36ers accidentally released Ferguson freely rather than getting paid the buy-out."

Why would the Sixers be eligible for a buy-out? T-Feg's contract was for one season which finished. He left and another team picked him up.

"DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT."

Yes but I prefer lottery then draft.

Last spot = 8 balls.
7th place = 7 balls.
....
1st place = 1 ball.

Giving it to the lowest money spenders just rewards teams like Cairns who don't even try to improve their financial situation.

The only issue with the worst team picking first, is that the worst kid in the draft will end up on the best team in the league and likely receive no playing time at all.

Which is fine from a league fairness perspective, but what high school prospect wants to sign up for that and kill their draft stock?

There's already fewer Aussies in the NBL than any other time in history and they want to make it worse. With kiwis and, whatever Tai Wesley is counted as, its conceivable there could be more non Aussies in the league than Aussies with this new rule. Awful

Yeah - great for an established NBL star like Creek.

But what about returning Aussies from college? What about a local product who does not head to the US?

Let's say 4 Americans + 1 Aussie star in the starting 5 as a baseline. 2-4 genuine rotation players across 8 teams.

That's not a lot of opportunity for developing Australian junior talent, especially given the growth of the sport. We have 70-odd D1 guys in college at the moment. Now granted only a reasonably small percentage make the transition to pros each year, there are up to 7 guys NBL level or higher that will graduate this year. How many of those can the NBL reasonably expect to accommodate next season?

Without opportunities for our young players, they may choose other sports instead. That is a real risk, especially if they want to stay in Australia rather than play overseas.

Even counting the 11th player on the roster, there'd likely be fewer than 50 Aussies in the whole league.

"It's the reason why guys like Greg Hire are slowly being pushed out. Prior to the 3 import rule guys like Hire would play 20 odd mins/game yet now given the number of imports in the league and the marquee player rule the talent has increased so much."

Oh no! Not the virtuoso talents of Greg Hire! Whatever will we do without players of his standard?

I'd say a drop in his minutes represents a raise in the standard of the league.

And I think there may be some just concern for the future of Australians in the NBL, but the NBL is no longer about developing Australian talent alone. It is about having the best possible competition here, and retaining our best possible players.

And the league will expand in the next season or two. I'm not too phased at all. Any Aussie who was going to be particularly good is going to get his spot.

Well if that's the case why not just have it completely open? No import limits, just the best players that teams can afford. If Aussies are good enough they'll find a spot.

If they bring this in at the same time as bringing in 2 new teams, say Tassie and Wellington, you actually don't give up any local spots, you gain a few, and the talent pool isn't watered down which otherwise is a risk when expanding.

It also exacerbates 2 long term issues with the league. People who dont want to give it a try because its a "yanks" game and we are shit at it will see a court with 4 Americans and potentially more with naturalised guys and have their suspicions confirmed. Its also virtually guaranteeing added player turnover, another lingering problem.

Pretty sure I read that an extra roster spot will be created for these fourth imports.

However, there is the issue of saturation point of imports. Some teams just sign role players with their third import spots already like Derek Cooke, Delvon Johnson, Nnanna Egwu etc which could be used to sign local bigs from the SEABL instead.

"I tuned out of this discussion when someone argued it would take playing time away from Greg Hire." Had a great laugh at this haha!!

I think its a great idea for exposure for the league and people saying it doesnt benefit players in our league is stupid. The more scouts coming to our shores the more chances our best aussies get NBA looks. Bravo to Larry and the team always working on new things to improve our league!

Agreed Benno and further strengthening our ties with the NBA can only be a positive in future for the NBL.

Bravo to Larry and the team always working on new things to improve our league!


Or I guess you could argue bravo Joey for giving Larry the idea for new things that could improve our league!

@Snooch - Is that what Joey's twitter comment was about lol?

Joey "I'm amazed at how a group can only portray you as a " angry man “ but yet they keep stealing your ideas and calling them innovative!! #respectwillbegivenwhenitsgiven"

One would assume so.

@snooch is joey paying all the money and expenses for the players when they come? NO.... so sit the f down

"I just hope the focus remains on the growth of the league" umm this doesnt count as growing the league???? Yes maybe wont get 8 first year but i would like to see team like cairns or the hawks receive these players first dibs.

Also teams can make money from this. They can set a buyout price for NBA clubs so they make money when the player is bought out. With Larry paying the first year if a club gets a player and could put a say $300k price tag on his buyout. NBA clubs can now pay upto $700k for buyouts.

A lot of people are just stubbornly against the league getting better. They want to see as many Australians in the league as possible but want to do so at the detriment of the playing standard and commercial interest. If the Aussies are forced to have to earn their place in the league is that really a bad thing? Imports can be kicked out in the cold for having a bad couple of games, yet some absolutely gutter scum Aussie players stick around year-in and year-out. And Americans may not be the only ones to take up an offer = Josh Green anyone?

Its an Australian league. The selling point is that its Aussie players. Its never going to be more than a second rate league talent wise, but the flipside is being able to see our local players. If its going to be half Americans - transient players who hope to be gone after one season - whats the point?

I'm just not sure.

Perhaps limit the minutes these players are allowed to play?

If the NBL had an all star game, they could use this for a reprise of the "future forces"? game for younger players. Maybe these guys, DPs, “Asian rule” signings and younger players who’ve played limited minutes? Then invite NBA scouts and some of the analysts who try to predict draft prospects. Try to sell the NBL as a league for future stars from the Asia-Pacific region (US has a Pacific coast).

If NBL does it, maximise the promotional potential for young guns, NBL and Australian bball in general.

"Yet another half arsed poorly conceived LK idea.
The fans to relate to players that have talent and will be a part of a team, not effectively one season wonders.
Who wants to see 4 imports starting? No one."

LK's "half assed and poorly concieved" ideas have taken the NBL from the brink of death to sporting relevance. Tell us how your ideas would do better.

Remember not a single aussie loses their job or money with this

This is an extra player, a 12th spot added, and funded by the league.

Yes some may lose minutes, but put it simple, if the 18 year old pospect out plays you they deserve the minutes, if you dont want to lose minutes to them, out play the 18 year old prospect.

Its another way it puts pressure on players to get better and develop further, which I like.

"It's becoming more of a global world. It is definitely a positive to be able to relate to players "as our own", but I think fans come to see more than that. They want to see high quality hoops"

I get that. But again, the balance is wrong. 2 imports are more than enough. That keeps it an Australian league with a chance to bring in outside quality.

As it is, United may win the title with only 2 of their best 6 (at best) as Aussies, and you wanna add more Americans to that?

I repeat, the league will never be close to top flight talent wise, so the selling point has to be that its Australian and we're just moving further away from that.

"A lot of people are just stubbornly against the league getting better. They want to see as many Australians in the league as possible but want to do so at the detriment of the playing standard."

I don't think this initiative will improve the standard, one-and-done players in overseas leagues don't exactly set the world on fire. Tyler, Ferguson, Jennings and Mudiay are all examples of that.

In the long term it may drop it if it means less development for the guys who will be the quality players of the future.

It's not a bad idea in terms of attracting overseas interest (it's unlikely to help here), which is where they're looking to source revenue from, but it needs to be balanced with the long-term view too.

Will the money lure major American prospects? It's far more than the NBA’s minor league pays, and forgoing college basketball opens the opportunity for above-board endorsements. Australians speak English, making the transition overseas easier.

It could work, and good for the NBL recognizing a market inefficiency.

The Australian league is also running an impressive gambit. Expect these contracts to include an NBA buyout. NBA teams will be able to pay $725,000 toward international buyouts in 2019 without it counting toward the cap, and that amount will increase $25,000 annually. NBA teams are generally cool with paying that for their draft picks, and the money will go to the NBL (and trickles down to the young players whose signing with the NBL is necessary for the scheme).

The NBA has relied on college basketball for a free minor league for years. Now, the NBA might essentially have to pay the NBL to handle some of that responsibility.

It’s a small price and one that makes sense right now, but this could ultimately push the NBA toward emphasizing its own minor league.

This is nothing but a marketing gimmick. 17 and 18 year olds offer nothing to any serious pro league

It's all about the $ for LK, not that one can blame him for wanting a return on his investment in the NBL. Those buyouts after the players' one season stints are huge carrots in his eyes.

Haha and its dead