I can see the A League comparisons coming already which previously I have cringed at, but one cant deny that the A League has been a massive succes.

Maybe it isnt such a bad Idea to strip the teams right back to maybe even as low as 8?
Last on, First off approach.

Perth
Adelaide
Brisbane
Sydney
Melbourne
Woolongong
Cairns
Townville

Each team plays each other 4 times. 28 games each a season.
Top 4 only for the playoffs.

Never gonna happen like that, but I think it could work.
The competition would be stronger and more even I believe.

Skip, gets rid of five fairly new teams and puts about 40 players out of work. Also reduces the pay of the remaining players given that there is more competition for jobs.

Will the resulting league mean more fans at 36ers games? I don't really see why it would.

Has the A-League been that much of a success? Spotted a comment on OzHoops suggesting that it hasn't been great in Perth. I think HO or Bulldog on here say that the perception is not quite the reality and that really only Melbourne is drawing massive crowds? United do OK, but I think their marketing and publicity is possibly the best out of all sports in SA.

The Adelaide Untied crowds have been declining (only marginally) over the past couple of seasons since the team was formed.

Perhaps the NBL needs to get rid of the Kings and Razorbacks and form an entire new Sydney team that has no connections to the past. That way they can market the team better.

Why rid New Zealand of its team, apart from having a small fan base they finally appear to be doing well.

Would crowd numbers have something to do with the fact that ALL A-League games are televised live via Fox Sports?

I mean, imagine how many would go to NBL and Sixer games if all home games were streamed live on Fox. I know for one, I would not renew my season tickets and just go to the occasional game. I realise that doesn't make me a 'true' supporter but I think there would be a lot of people who would do the same...

And I don't think A-League has been firing in Perth because the Glory haven't won a game in Perth for almost a year now? I think if United were to have a similar record, you should expect dwiindling crowd numbers. Not too sure about the other teams but Melbourne and Adelaide seem to be doing well.

I suggested this a few weeks ago

I'm all for cutting the teams back to

Perth
Adelaide
Melbourne
Sydney
Brisbane

and then open up the last 3 licenses for the Central Coast, Victoria, Tassie, Northern Queensland people to fight over.

IMO cutting out 5 teams means that there are 20 - 30 quality guys out there for teams to fight over.

Better players, better product, centralised fan base, better rivalries ... more people watching.

As I say this is my opinion - I am all for it.

2000 people used to go to watch Adelaide City ... 10000+ people go now.

There are obviously no guarantees in any direction.

Isaac - How do you see it reducing the pay? Im sure each team would still need to use all of their salary cap to be competitive.

But with so many players available teams would offer less because they know if they miss on one there are still plenty more players waiting.

But of a lesser quality.

Again, I cant see that teams wouldnt still use the full salary cap.

Supply and demand. Fewer teams means the negotiating power is in the hands of clubs and they'll drive a harder bargain. And on top of that, a lot of players will be out of work.

Take out five teams and that's 50 players plus 10+ development players. Take out 10 imports and you have 40 Australian players without a job and younger prospects losing an opportunity. Plus coaches.

Overall quality of competition may be marginally higher, but is it worth it at that cost?

I quite like having the opportunity to see a broader variety of teams and players, and seeing more younger players getting a go. I don't necessarily think that fewer teams is the key.

If his was to happen then I would think the slary cap would need to be increased dramatically. When A-League started a mate who used to play for Brisbane had his contract nearly triple in value when he went from NSL to A league.
Also how would the league remove teams - ie the owners of the new GC licence Im sure wouldnt think too much about spending up big on infrastructue and marketing etc etc to establish a new club and then have it taken away. Suely they would be looking for compensation from the league. OK if a club is losing money and the owners want out but I cant see how it could be done without the owners agreeing?

all you guys just want the teams worth nothing, what would happen if Adelaide got cut, what would u think then.?

Adelaide would never be cut form a national basketball competition, they have the highest crowd support and probably have had the highest on average over the last 10 years (change to summer season). They have an owner connected to the league and play in a stadium owned by a man also connected to the league.

so: Adelaide have one of the strongest crowd bases in the NBL. Teams with low crowd numbers, such as Melb Tigers, Singapore, etc, would be the ones on the chopping block.

D16, your forgetting that Adelaide's crowds have also halved in the last few years, and there is but a small fraction of the sponsors that the club used to attract.... How many other teams in the comp have 4000 less people coming to the games than they did 5 years ago ? The team can't win away, and can't beat any teams above them on the ladder at home.
It's not entirely beyond the realm of possibility that Adelaide could be excluded from a new comp similar to the Rabitos a few years ago. High court challenge anyone ?

Toughen up Melbourne, etc!

Through thick and thin, Adelaide have been in the NBL.

Mrelbourne has tried too often to have two or three teams and spread themselves too thin, seeing teams fade away, but they still try..!

I think NBL needs to go to free-to-air games, reaching adults, and more importantly kids in all states like they used to. Don't show games live into the home teams city, make the buggers wait til the following day - i watched sixers at the pub during their recent gf winning seasons but woulda paid to see them if i'd had to wait.

No chance of Tigers, 36ers, Wildcats or Bullets going anywhere IMO.

But the Tigers, at times, struggle to fill their 3500 seat stadium - can't be too good there. The Dragons pull stronger crowds.

i would cut the foreign teams (NZ has their league, we have ours, and singapore is just too expensive to manage), and west sydney (sydney has shown that two teams haven't worked for some years)

that's 10 teams remaining.

then, no more mid-week games. i'm sorry foxsports, but people in this country really haven't warmed to mid-week sports. games only to be played on friday nights, saturday nights, and sunday afternoons/sunday nights, with foxtel televising one game on each of those days. if this at all affects crowd numbers, don't show games live into host cities (maybe go with a 1-hour delay).

of the 10 teams, only the top-4 make the playoffs. if this is deemed too unfair to lower teams, go back to the top-6 system we once had.

ideally, 4 teams. play best-of-3 semi-final series on one weekend (i.e. game 1 Friday, game 2 saturday, game 3 sunday). both series on the same weekend, and fox sports to show all playoff games...they choose which matchup to show live, with the other delayed and shown immediately after...whatever matchup they show live in game 1, they must show the opoosite in game 2, and then pick any in game 3 (hopefully one of the series is still alive).

one weekend off for the grand final teams, then the following weekend the same format best of 3 (friday, saturday, sunday). i understand that the three games i three days could be a travel nightmare, but playing the games in one weekend as opposed to week nights or over spread weekends will really get the crowds coming


however, to really make the grand final a spectacle, we could go to a one game grand final as opposed to a series - this would ensure a sell out you'd hope. however, if the league improves at the rate hoped, a three game series could also enjoy large crowds and therefore greater revenue. also, the best team may not win with one game, but nevertheless that's how it's done in most sports - at least in australia...one game to decide the champ. in european football cups (eg.champions league), the semis are done over two matches (with agreggrate goals deciding the winner), yet the final is always one game. we could have semi-final series, then just one grand final game. i just think that 5 games is too much trying to be like the NBA. the nba system works, but they're the only league that plays series of more than three. even the euroleage has a one-off game grand final (they have a final four system)
i don't care whether it's a one-game or a three-game grand final, as long as it's not 5

there's food for thought there guys

let me know what you think

Tigers being 'kicked out' of the NBL could be a Rabbitohs style story.

From what I've read, the league has been pretty happy with Mark Cowan and the energy he has created at the South Dragons.

Although it was strange that the league assigned the All Star Game to the Tigers... The Dragons managed to sell 7910 tickets to the cross town derby against the Tigers on Oct 22, and 9175 people packed into Vodafone Arena on Dec 26, 2006 for the Dragon's second home derby match against the Tigers. (source)

Should have been able to get close to a sell out crowd in Vodafone for the 2007 All Star Game, I would have imagined.

The 36ers are currently averaging over 4,400 people per game (which is best in the League). The venue only holds 7,600.

Brisbane used to sell out a 12,000 seat venue. Magic and Tigers a 15,000 venue. To suggest Adelaide are in trouble because it doesn't get the crowds it did in the League's glory days is a little short sighted IMO.

Also this season's biggest crowd has been 4959, in Adelaide. I think you'll find Adelaide will always have a team as long as someone will fund it.

If changes are made, IMO the only change will be the loss of the two International teams. Which would be a shame for the New Zealand side as has been mentioned, despite small crowd numbers they do seem to be doing ok on and more importantly off the court.

I'm curious if a change back to Winter will be discussed? Clearly the move to Summer hasn't worked and maybe now is the perfect time to reasses this decision and consider moving back to winter.

Move it back to winter? Why? That would kill even the smallest chance the NBL has to appear on FTA. The ABA and NBL would clash. Basketball would be shadowed even more by the major football codes and many sponsors who invest in both football and basketball would chose football over basketball any day of the week. The NBL really needs to spend money on advertising their product.

I agree that the tigers aint safe at all. The report will establish new foundation clubs per state. I think the following would occur.

1 - Team NSW
1 -Team VIC
1 - SA
1 - WA
4 - QLD

The reason i say 4 queensland is that they have proven that they can support 4 clubs, there crowds are consistent.Its the only state that has expanded licences of the NBL, all over states the game has shrunk. I thought GC might have got chopped, but changed my mind as its a growth area and the major football codes are wanting to establish.

I really think peoples mentality will have to change, foundation clubs will no longer exist, it will be a whole rebirth of basketball So the Tigers, 36ers, Bullets are not guranteed i would say. Just like what happened with Soccer and creation of the A league.

Mr Harmison should try to keep his ideas a bit to himself and not go public with this kind of stuff unless a decision already has been made.

There is do doubt that this kind of talk only helps make it more difficult for teams to get sponsors .

The Breakers seems to be well on track as a professional basketball club and even the Slingers are slowly building a group of sponsors and supporters .

Cutting teams whether they are from NZ , Singapore or Sydney may just remove more sponsors from the game and create a worse situation than today .

It is time for the some certainty and leadership to stabilise the sport and Mr Harmison certainly do not seem to be providing neither .

Sponsors simply will not help build a sport where the leadership can not make up its mind but constantly changes direction.

(Mod: Very good point.)

How can anyone say that the Tigers aren't safe? Not only are they one of the proudest clubs in the league, but they also have a strong financial backing and more importantly those people behind them know exactly what they are doing. I believe that the Tigers have been one of the only clubs in the NBL to make a profit over the couple of years?

I agree that Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are not going anywhere. I'd say that West Sydney, Wollongong, Singapore, NZ and maybe one the FNQ teams would come under scrutiny?

Anyone think that a merge of both the Sydney and FNQ teams is possible?

twenty four: The Tigers are getting a lot smaller crowds than the Dragons, regardless of how "proud" they are, how long their history in the league is, or what their team is doing on the court. More fans = More merch sales + More sponsorship deals = MORE CASH.

As well, it is arguable that the Dragons have a stronger financial backing from Cowan Design & Visy than the funding from Seamus McPeake and the Gaze family in the Tigers. eg Look at their willingness to offer the "We win, or you get to see our next game free" deal.

And you can attribute the lower crowds to less marketing and higher ticket prices. Add that they play in a smaller venue, which means less rent and the fact that their players are walking billboards (sponsorship money), I think they're doing fine (or more to the point, it has been said that they are doing fine).

The Dragons have money, I'm not doubting that. But the extra marketing, lower ticket prices and larger rent bill contributes to a loss.

I don't actually think either should or will be cut, just justifying the Tigers' place in the league.

Moose46; yes crowds have halved, yet we still have the best attendance in the comp.

Do you really think they would consider for a second dumping Adelaide? I think not.

Yep get rid of the Slingers and the Kiwis; they really mean nothing to our NATIONAL comp.

The NBL tried to get to big to quick.