When does the draw come out?

Wait and see. At least partly with Ten, I imagine.

Oh it will be launched very soon. and if slapping a cheap coat of paint makes an old house new, thats pretty much whats to be expected here if I know anything about NBL revivals

too many useless attempts at it. I havent seen a single change

There definitely won't be any changes this coming season.

You'd just hope that they would have some long term plans and aren't just taking it six months at a time...

If Crocs put together a similar campaign to last year they won't be around for 14/15 so you would think stabilising that situation or ensuring the wellington/brisbane/melbourne bids get across the line would be priority number 1 right now, but who knows...

Reliably informed that Cochrane has also landed a NRS league sponsor so is awaiting that sign off to do the launch as well as the renegotiated 10 deal

What, no more iiNet?

There will be no changes for the 2013-14 season. Even though de-merger talks originally happened in February this year, it was too soon to put in any real changes.

But for the 2014-15 season there will be changes. Look for Brisbane to re-enter in 2014-15 as well.

We shouldn't be hoping for much of a change this season, it's not likely and shouldn't be done anyways. If they have a plan of attack to start implementing next year then that's awesome. We have to make sure it isn't an overnight change either, unless its a change of year for the season, otherwise it will all be too much to handle at once. Baby steps is the key

And let's hope no And 1 deal. They have shit gear. Each team should get brands on their own and not have a league filled with the same looking gear. This way we can get bigger brands on the bigger teams like Perth and get them more involved in the league gradually

Ricey, sometimes you're quite sensible! ;)

Does the NBA have a league-wide shoe/apparel sponsor?

Read something once that said that when they (soon) add sponsor logos to their jerseys, they will be the first of the US big-four sports to do so. Quite remarkable.

Isn't it Adidas?

Breakers have a deal with Nike to provide footwear, would be nice to have them also provide uniforms.

Yeah NBA has Adidas now, after having Reebok, which while it may be better financially for the league it is really annoying as Nike had the best team gear before they made it all universal. It really does take away from a teams identity when 2 opposing teams have similar gear.

didn't Adidas buy out Reebok to aquire the merchandise rights for NBA & NFL?

either way Nike>the rest.

#428274

Excepting that you have them out of order, you cloud the facts by listing Keneally. Of the four, she is the only one who is NOT solely CEO of the NBL. The other three only had one thing to worry about.

I don't want to get anyone out of shape but it pisses me off to read how a team can't afford to have another bad season... Basically with an 8 team league, teams with decent rosters will have bad seasons and even my Perth Wildcats can't really afford to have a bad season... They may pack out a mega stadium but what if it doesn't then the club are paying huge money for stadium hire... Let's hope the league is a nail biter and teams survive through to when changes can be implemented and then teams like Townsville and Cairns need stadium upgrades due to support and Melbourne moves back to Hisense arena... But stuff Adelaide, they have an awesome roster again and will cause grief for every team

Yeah but Townsville especially so, after their offseason, it goes without saying. Attendances have been falling for the last 8 years and after it reached critical mass with the owners pulling the pin, if they pull the same crowd numbers as last year they will be toast. By "bad campaign" I meant holistically as a franchise, rather than solely W-L record (crowd attendance, community engagement, sponsor engagement, media engagement, marketing etc).

Is revenue sharing an option that has been discussed?

Mick, it doesn't matter that crowds in Townsville have been falling for the past eight years because league average attendances have been increasing. Nothing to see here... move on...

It absolutely does matter because if the trend continues this season then the Crocs are out of the league.

And then you have 7 clubs, and more pressure on rushing in Brisbane / Melbourne / Wellington / whoever.

Not to mention the PR disaster for the NBL losing yet another franchise.

So yeah, nothing to see here, move on...

"Nothing will change, its still run by a bunch of selfish owners, no marketing skills and players who want to get paid way to much."

So selfish are these owners that they pour Millions of Dollars into a Sports Team with no hope of ever recouping their investment. Real Selfish they are providing us with entertainment.

Maybe that is the point? Being FIBA recognised and unmarketable in this country, or losing FIBA credentials (whatever that may provide) and becoming an entertaining sport is what the new owners group will be weighing up, among other things.

Situation is right. Being fiba sanctioned is nothing. There is a tiny little league called the National Basketball Association somewhere overseas that is doing alright without FIBA's nose in their business...

#428372 et al,

Do you really believe that changing back to 48 minutes and bringing back the jump ball contest will revive the fortunes of the league?

(BTW, I think they could still have these things and be endorsed by BA/FIBA. My recollection of the rule book is it acknowledges the 48 minute format.)

Back to the point. The problems of this league are vastly more strategic and complex than the rules of the game.

If the NBL isnt sanctioned by FIBA then players with aspirations of playing any form of international hoops won't play in it. Given about 2/3 of the local players in the league have already played internationally, and most of them (and others) would have ambitions to do so in the future, that would be a big issue.

Having said that, the NBL was FIBA recognised when it played 48mins previously and will be again if they decide to switch back, I doubt BA and FIBA would ostracise the NBL over quarter lengths.

Things like jump balls and 12min quarters are very minor issues though when it comes to achieving growth, so hopefully these arent priority items for the owners.

It's no panacea, but providing an extra 20% product per game is surely not going to hurt! Getting 20% higher scores may also help with that element out there that sees really low scorelines and thinks "the quality must be terrible".

The flaw with that is the NBL had 48mins for years and endured a long slide in popularity. I dont think it is a deal clincher or breaker.

If they get the bigger factors right (professional management, social media, TV, community engagement, reffing/game style etc) I think people will come regardless of whether it is 40 or 48mins.

We all know how well teams have abided by the cap in the past.

Maybe a luxury tax like NBA? Feed to excess back to the clubs that are under the cap.

As boty says if its going to be 48 minutes of grind... its not going to be worth considering

The whole thing about "making teams even" is very under 10's. Besides, that's what the salary cap is for.

Yeah, I really like that idea. It makes it more of a floating cap which allows a bit more common sense.

"The points system can be cheated just as easily as the salary cap"

Please elaborate.

The problem with the points cap isn't the intent, it's that you can have two teams of equal points total ratings but one can be the worst team in the league and one could be the best. It doesn't do anything in terms of parity, it just makes it harder to put a team together.

You could also say you could have two teams of equal payroll, one great and one terrible, and I say yes you can, but salaries are determined by the market mechanism while a player's points rating is determined by some moron in NBL HQ. And that's why I say it stinks.

How can you even say that it creates parity with a straight face when, since its inception, it's been New Zealand, Perth, then daylight the whole time?

I'm against the marquee player rule, I think it will just send dumb owners broke, and it's not really fair when a team like Townsville or Wollongong only can spend around 750k on their roster as it is.

But what about a marquee player rule with the caveat that it can only be used on a local player?

Ie. get Ingles, Newley, Penney, etc. back in the NBL.

The competitiveness in games between bottom and top teams in recent years has been the best I can remember. In 2012 the bottom two split series against the top two. For me that comes down to a low number of teams and a strict points system.

I like the idea of making it more flexible but to keep teams competitive (ie give them a chance to be financially viable and keep the game worth watching) I think we need some sort of regulartory system, and until the NBL shows it has resources to police a salary cap I think that means a points cap.

How can you say that with a straight face Paul?

Are you actually serious?

A season split doesn't mean anything. Top teams lose to bad ones all the time. The only thing that matters is who is actually a legit shot to win it all at the end of the year, and since the points system it's been a foregoned conclusion.

Just saying, when half of your league isn't spending the salary cap, you have bigger problems than what a player points system can alleviate.

Mick, NZ and Perth have been successful through consistency of roster and club. NZ have also had the benefit of drawing on a country worth of talent who wouldn't be unhappy about living near family. Where Adelaide have been through ownership changes and so on that have tripped up recruiting efforts somewhat, NZ have been stable (same staff, good facilities) for years. Marty era never helped. Tigers have had some ownership upheaval, Kings, Hawks, Taipans and Crocs too.

Besides the top two, the rest have been pretty even. At various points late last season, anyone could've gone for a finals spot. Even Adelaide had slim, slim chances later than seem deserved, and many losses were narrow ones.

Points cap annoys some fans (seems dorky, confuses some, etc) and frustrates players (who generally want to earn as much as possible, regardless of impact on clubs and league).

I am not sure why 48 games is the big issue in all this. they need to make the gameplay more entertaining to warrant 8 minutes more of it.

"Just saying, when half of your league isn't spending the salary cap, you have bigger problems than what a player points system can alleviate."

That's exactly why you need a points cap, to allow teams to spend within their budget and still be competitive. When teams are competitive in their home games they have the best shot of drawing crowds.

No one wants to see the top teams come into town and thrash the minnows, as has happened for the majority of the NBL's lifetime.

Well, on the upside for the league I don't think the New Zealand/Perth dominance will exist this year, different personell, different coaches...

Agreed YouKnowMe, the gap will be smaller, I think.

But it's still a league of haves and have nots, at least for now. The points cap doesn't change that because you can have a team of 70 points and a payroll of 750k or you can have a team of 70 points with a payroll of 1m. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out which team will have a better chance to win it all. So why bother with the points cap?

It will be good for the league if Adelaide gets their shit together this season though (and next season), puts a winning team on the floor and follows that with big crowds and the financial security that comes along with that.

That way you'll have stability in 3 big markets (Perth, Auckland, Adelaide), and with Cairns starting to get their community model very viable as well, even if they aren't the ones the NBL wants in Sydney and Melbourne.

I've always said that these types of markets, where only one of League / Union / AFL has a massive presence, are absolute key to the league, although I am in the glaring minority in having that opinion. I think you have to lockdown those markets as an absolute priority, and make them strongholds for the sport in this country.

The NBL would be very careless to not put any effort into further bolstering those areas as basketball "heartlands", and take the love of the game there for granted.

But watch them pour all their energy into Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and completely go against every basic market principle in terms of identifying scarcity in sports entertainment markets and capitalising on it...

In the past four years two regional teams that were spending around $750 have made the GF, that's a sign that the points cap works. They have also both beaten the two richest clubs numerous times.

If it just came down to purely salary that wouldnt occur, and a little look back through scorelines over the history of the league confirms just that.

Agree with you but they did very well to overachieve to get there and were no chance to win it all.

I think it's more of a testament to their coaching staff in doing big things with limited resources than anything the points cap afforded them...

Good to see the newNBL has got hold of the Facebook page now. A couple of updates yesterday and even replying to comments and questions. Good start.

I like Anon's idea about allowing teams to go over the points cap and taxing teams X amount of dollars per a point over 70.

Might create more of a power imbalance though.

But there are some ideas out there:

-Maybe look at third party payments for Imports and star players. Allow 2 players on each team to receive 50-80k from sponsors for the year. This sponsorship money will be out of the cap - Australia Super Rugby Teams do this

-Give concessions for certain players in relation to the cap. i.e. give a discount of 30% for those returning from Europe after X amount of years or for Veterans. So if someone like Andersen came back, maybe only 60-70% of his actual salary would count towards the cap. Would attract the Newleys, Ingles, Barlows.

have found a good site that has torrents of old NBL games http://sport-scene.net/signup.php

Watching them makes me a bit sad really, the NBL has been at the top... It has been one of the worlds best leagues and has had enviable star power. I think we need to look 'back to the future' a bit, atleast some of the things that worked then would work now.

I think one of them would be, the NBL didnt seem to have the same sense of self detriment to it. The league believed in itself as an entertainment package and the results showed. Somewhere a long the way, the NBL has lost its passion about itself, it has people like Kristina Keanelly who... try to sell the league with all these big claims... but I can just see she doesnt BELIEVE it. First and foremost... teams and the league need to think of themselves as a winner... South Dragons did... and thats why I really mourn there loss... they came in and believed they could make a mark...

You have to capture your own imagination to capture anyone elses. Lets get some people involved with some passion for the game, and who make decisions and stand by them.

I also think it understood what a 'highlight' was... when I see NBL highlights these days, they show missed shots and people fumblind... wtf!!!! And the league was more offensive minded.... The D in the NBL is probably of the highest level ever.. but it doesnt make for great viewing. A few charactors would be nice too... Why doesnt someone do a crazy hairstyle? someone flip off a crowd? someone dance a bit after making a sweet shot? dont be a bunch of stiffs! The games as much about personalities as it is plays.

"South Dragons did... and thats why I really mourn there loss... they came in and believed they could make a mark... "

they played what 1 season? won the league and then threw their toys out of their cot.
what was so great about a team buying a title that causes you to mourn them after their 1 season of competition?

South Dragons played three seasons.