Anonymous
Years ago

Boti calls for Winter Superleague

HOW can the NBL get marquee names such as Andrew Bogut, Patrick Mills, Joe Ingles, Brad Newley, Nate Jawai and others playing in its competition? With a biennial Winter Superleague, that's how.

Despite the constraints of inherited BA contracts and deals, the NBL has shown it is trying to look forward and to be imaginative so a biennial NBL Winter Superleague might be something worthy of discussion.

Picture this. Every odd year - that is, non-World Championship or Olympic year – the NBL runs a six-team, four-week Winter Superleague.

The teams are West Australia (Perth Wildcats), South Australia (Adelaide 36ers), Victoria (Melbourne Tigers + a second Melbourne-based club in time), New South Wales (Sydney Kings and Wollongong Hawks), New Zealand (NZ Breakers) and Queensland (Cairns Taipans, Townsville Crocs + Brisbane Bullets in time).

Invite our overseas superstars, players such as Bogut, Mills, Ingles, Newley, Jawai, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Aleks Maric, Daniel Kickert, Anatoly Bose, David Barlow and our best current guys in college to compete and run it from late July to early August.

Obviously any of the men in Div.1 NCAA programs could not be paid and there could/would/might be insurance issues with some of our foreign-based pros.

And some might simply not be interested.


http://www.botinagy.com/blog/nbl-winter-superleague-why-not/

Topic #33035 | Report this topic


Anonymous  
Years ago

Hate the idea.

Reply #443266 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Terrible idea

Reply #443269 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

If you wanted to encourage the state of origin concept or players to suit for their NBL club affiliate, you could provide some incentive/disincentive. e.g., Daniel Johnson would have an incentive to suit for the SA or WA teams, and a disincentive for heading to QLD or VIC, etc. Without caps though, I don't know how you'd do that.

Why would you bother? It'd be in the team's interests to have some familiar players in front of their fans. Maybe the fact that clubs would need to spring for accommodation/car for out of towners might be enough.

I do think it would impact the NBL somewhat negatively but might be a good springboard to supplant the NBL and leave the current NBL as a simpler/cheaper league with more teams. If the teams were all big city NBL teams, that risk would be reduced.

Not sure how it would come up with enough money to reach Irving and Bogut-level players, but I could see it coaxing guys like Newley, Ingles and maybe Mills which is better than nothing.

Consolidation of 8+ teams of players into 6 would bump up the general talent level, plus it's the inclusion of name players that is really key. Extra bonus is that it gives the NBL a foot in Winter and a fresh chance with TV.

Reply #443270 | Report this post


Curtley  
Years ago

Weeknight games in winter = good idea.

Reply #443284 | Report this post


ricey  
Years ago

And where does the magical money tree grow?

Reply #443287 | Report this post


BALLER#3  
Years ago

Would actually love this in a state of origin format. WA, SA, NSW, QLD, VIC. Everyone plays everyone over a couple weeks. Top 2 play off in a 3 game series for state of origin chamionship.

Reply #443295 | Report this post


Steven  
Years ago

I personally don't mind the idea I just don't see it ever happening

Reply #443299 | Report this post


bowtie  
Years ago

IT's not the clash of playing dates that keep those guys out of the NBL. No way would they risk their lucrative overseas careers to add an extra league during the winter, their off season.
Best you can hope for is that they are seen in the crowd as spectators.
However I agree to give the NBL another go at the Winter. Something has to happen and I'm not seeing any changes so far this season to believe that we have turned any sort of a comeback corner.
Semi-pro is where this is heading with teams chopping their salary caps and support systems.
Will they recover from semi-pro? People tell me NO.

Reply #443303 | Report this post


Tornado  
Years ago

You'll never get those 'star' players due to insurance and contract issues.
Does Boti honestly think the Spurs or Warriors would let Mills/Bogut play their offseason in Australia and potentially risk injury?
I know AFL players who have things like this written into their contracts, 1 contract even said he wasnt to participate in bungy jumping.

Reply #443305 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Looks like Boti believes in Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny too.

Just ridiculous!!!

Reply #443307 | Report this post


Curtley  
Years ago

I think Boti knows the majority of his readers don't know squat about NBA contracts so it makes him look like a genius.

Reply #443309 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

In the new FIBA calendar there will be one year off international basketball every four years after the Olympics - 2017, 2021 etc.

If this league was a four-week competition plus a week of playoffs you might get some guys interested in playing who want to get a run leading into pre-season. Best bet would be to have a bit of a WWE approach where all players agree it's mostly about the offence and the game is reffed accordingly.

Good on Boti for putting the idea out there.

Reply #443312 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Umm, actually the year off might be 2018, 2022 etc not sure.

Reply #443313 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Which has nothing at all to so with the fact that's their contracts would preclude all those guys, or that it would be unfinancial

Reply #443319 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

If the worst case is basketball in Winter, using mostly the same guys we already have, it's worth considering. As he said, JVG got $250k from Footlocker for HSH which was hardly exceptional.

Imagine if they loosened import restrictions and/or had no cap. Good imports who've played here before might be keen, plus guys like Penney, Barlow, etc. Consolidated NBL teams would help as well - combining Crocs and Taipans, Kings and Hawks, etc.

Reply #443326 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Some of the short tournaments in the Middle East attract good imports for not massive amounts of money. It would be at a time of year when there's not a lot of competition, and certainly a lot of players around the world play in more than one league each year.

It might not work, but it's certainly not a dead in the water idea like some people are making out.

Reply #443336 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

There's a cost effective, well run and organised winter basketball league which doesn't try to be anything it isn't. It's called SEABL.

Reply #443342 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

I am sure the people of Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Auckland enjoy going to their local SEABL game each week during the winter.

Reply #443344 | Report this post


Moneyballer  
Years ago

Winter Season = Better imports

Reply #443359 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Crocs and taipans are 400 k's apart. Looked at a map lately ? They will never join each other.

Reply #443360 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

This story has merit.

The hard part is money which seems hard, but really isn't.

If sponsors were to suit up and pay naming rights to a particular player, there is the grand old money tree. So, Newley is a household name. Whats he worth for 3 months of basketball? 200k? 250k?
The big corporates look for players like this to sell their brands.

Its like Usain Bolt. The guy is the fastest in the world, the freebies he gets is amazing. Why, corporates want to be part of his name. Same for the NBL, if you create and A-League style series, you get sponsors. If you get major names in NBL basketball associated with NBA, then HELLO.....?
They will come.

Its bold in its entirety but possibly worth looking at in a revised format.

Reply #443362 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

Townsville and Cairns probably wouldn't be in this comp. The best of their players might be borrowed by a Brisbane team who could potentially play a game up there.

The distance isn't really relevant.

Reply #443363 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

lol at Newley being a household name.

Reply #443365 | Report this post


Steven  
Years ago

Agree with Isaac the earliest this proposed competition would start is 2015. By then there could be a Brisbane team in the NBL and who knows if Townsville will still be around?.

Reply #443368 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

How about concentrating on the main league.

Reply #443370 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

JVG... wait Jef Van Gundy played in the high stakes hoops!

Reply #443373 | Report this post


Anonymous  
Years ago

Jeff van Groningen

quite impressed he got $250k out of Foot locker.

Reply #443375 | Report this post




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