Bogut is telling it how it is which is awesome.

Always valued his honesty which we don't see alot of in AFL/NRL players.

Hope it goes well for him and Gaze this year.

Wow! Massive negotiation coup. I'm slightly flabbergasted by all the unexpected development. Didn't expect how passionate he is about the Kings.

I recall a little joke by Wookiee about purple-tinted glasses... he is strong in the force this one...

Wonder if he's taking less salary for the ownership stake or if thats just an incentive for signing?

10% ownership stake? ROFL

Did he get a slice of the Harbour Bridge as well???

The two year deal with no outs at all is amazing and tbh, was the most shocking part of the whole thing for me... It removes any doubt of his commitment to making this work and really sells me on it... You could tell from what he was saying that he has really bought in (pretty much literally, once his playing career is finished) and sees this as a way to grow his personal brand as well as that of the Kings and the NBL...

A big thing to come out was the reinforcement that it wasn't just about the money, but he was straight up that he obviously wants to be financially compensated for his effort and knows that if he puts the work in, it will pay off for everyone... Passing up a Chinese deal for what, $2mil (can't remember exactly?) tax free just goes to show that he's not about the money and is really impressive...

Obviously lots of factors played into him coming here, his relationship with Kevin(?) and especially Newls brought some chuckles and seems to be key as well...

Speaking of having that ownership stake waiting for him and the option to buy in with his own cash up to 50% as well highlights his keenness to do well and actually grow the team and the league...

I hate to say it, as I'm usually a glass half empty guy, but it's actually got me a bit excited to see what happens now...

The NBL is now officially a league with no salary cap, once outside deals are allowed like this it's confirmed.

Get ready for years "the haves vs the have nots", where the power teams are up the top and the rest are just surviving to provide opposition for those teams, just like Europe.

He knows how expensive it is to rent a place in Sydney right? ;)

The lack of a salary cap is necessary for the growth of the league and if equalisation payments can be sorted out then it will be great. Obviously these payments are under a cloud at the moment by Illawarra and Cairns have still been relatively competitive.

No negatives from me, hope he goes well, just not to well against the Wildcats :).

Just think a few years ago everyone in the media was talking of the NBL demise, yet here we are the league is still going and seems to be attracting better quality players and names that joe public who normally doesn't follow NBL has heard of, can only be a good thing, because we all post here because we love the game and hope it keeps going.

Sydney is the biggest city in Australia (doh).
I don't know much about their venues, but if they could finally start to pull some massive crowds and fill a big venue, they might actually achieve a level at which they could throttle back and become sustainable.

If Bogut helps them achieve that, then great.

I don't see the 10% ownership as any big deal, its effectively worthless. I just hope he is smart enough NOT to get suckered into putting his own money in.
Yes, i imagine he's socked away a few million, but an NBL franchise could empty that rather quickly.

Is there much money in Australia in endorsements for Ballers? He might be able to supplement his income that way.

My big concern is this:
This decision by the Kings, and the hoopla surrounding it, smacks of the same misinformed crap that caused them to sign and persist with Gaze.
Signing "the NBL's Greatest ever Player" as your Head-Coach (despite his inability to coach a fart out of his arse), is exactly the type of thing you'd expect from a rich American who knows nothing about Australia, the league, or Gaze.
Similarly, signing "our greatest ever basket-baller and NBA STAR" with the idea that he will magically double attendance, smells of the same crap.

Playing a few years for a % of ownership didn't work too well for Jordan at the Wizards.

What is his salary?

Bogut being in the nba for so long can bring more than his game. He could really help the kings out in other areas and get the crowds coming

Fingers crossed that Melbourne United can sign Liz Cambage now. Let's get a bit of oomph in that Kings/United rivalry.

AD: There's a difference between bringing in Bogut at the tail end of his NBA playing career to PLAY in the NBL and bringing in the NBL G.O.A.T to coach. Apart from a crap run as a SEABL head coach, Gaze had ZERO experience in actually coaching and it was a huge publicity stunt that actually paid off to start with, but could have achieved as much as if he was made general manager or something as high profile...

The 10% ownership aspect of it does raise interesting questions around remuneration.

Can Bogut and the Kings argue that this 10% stake is not within the remuneration package of this tenure at Sydney? A bit like Terrence Fergson's Under Armor payments.

If not and the 10% is considered part of the remuneration, how will the value of that 10% be considered? The Kings aren't listed so may have to rely on Assets less Liabilities to determine value.

"There's a difference between bringing in Bogut at the tail end of his NBA playing career to PLAY in the NBL and bringing in the NBL G.O.A.T to coach."

Depends on what they are trying to achieve, which is what concerns me.
He'll be good on the court no doubt, and may even win them a few games. But at what cost? If Sydney are expecting their investment in Bogut to reap huge dividends in ticket sales, then I worry.
Winning games will definitely help, I just don't think Bogut himself is going to galvanise attendance the way they hope.

What's their target demographic?
The minuscule number of people who have any clue who Bogut is, but don't currently attend Kings games, and will be inspired to change that on a long-term basis merely by his presence?
The few non-basketball fans who don't actually gag when enticed by their "Ex-NBA STAR"?

Don't get me wrong, back in the day Longley said that he would like to finish his career playing for the Wildcats (before he got injured again and left the NBA with an injury payout that prevented him playing)
At the time when I read that, I may actually have jitzed a little.
But then I only knew who Longley was, and what that would mean for the Cats, because I was already a diehard fan.

Too Many fans on this forum are far too myopic. They look at everything from an existing fans' perspective, when what we need to be doing is expand the appeal beyond that.

At the end of the day, Bogut will be good for the Kings and the League, its just a question of how long the owners are happy to keep pouring in the millions.

Anyone know how NBL will treat the deferred ownership under the salary cap rules. If Melbourne franchise is worth $10 million (that's what Kestleman wants for it), Sydney's worth say half of that? So $500,000 value for a two year contract? Does it count as part of the salary cap's scope?

There are salary cap rules?

To be fair I think just about everyone would be willing to turn a blind eye to the 'rules' to see Bogut back home in the NBL.

It's not just about the team he's playing for it's a massive boost to the league and to have him playing in the biggest market with a big stadium to fill for a crap Kings team that needs him badly is huge.

Not to mention the spin offs of possibly getting the NBL a good FTA TV deal and of course increased attendances everywhere around the country when the Kings play in your city.

"It also shows that Kestleman will do anything and make his own rules to get someone like a Bogut."

Yes, you are right. I can only imagine the support and accolades Kestelman would get if he prevented Bogut from playing in the league because of important rules that need to be followed!!

With the sorta cattle gaze has got , let them loose... i could coach them...

Wasn't there a stand-alone NBL game (or possibly NBL double header) that got a fairly similar attendance? Or am I completely misremembering?

Camel31

Would cattle follow a camel?

Bovines leading dromedaries?

I'm gonna let them loose

Here it is:

Round 1 double header played on 2 October 1999:

17,000 Razorbacks v Bullets
17,143 Kings vs. Cannons

Back to Bogut

It will be interesting to see the crowd figures for Kings' games next year, both home and away.

You couldn’t compare crowd figures with last season though, as they would have been down because Kings were stinking it up. Late season crowds should have been up (winning games, excitement of Randle).

Away games crowds will show if he’s a boost for the whole league. I remember when George Best played in the NSL in 1983. He was well past his best then, but there was some kind of deal done to split gate takings from his team’s away games. Crowds were up to see him play.

Not suggesting that Nogut is the equivalent of George Best, but we might see a similar effect for a tv deal.

Will Bogut get involved in tweeting (or tv work) with Homicide??? Could be fun.

Sorry, Bogut. Stupid iPad.