Barlow and few of those others are not going to elevate crowds. Needs to be players like Ennis or name players (ex-NBA) types to get media attention
Ennis is the prototype - plays hard and to entertain and he's there to win.

Wouldn't mind seeing Jawai back. As for the other Aussies agree that crowds wouldn't change much. More players like Ennis or Young are what the league needs imo

LOL Kickert? He can stay wherever the hell he is right now..

The thing is that teams are starting to be able to get these players without the marquee rule.

If we do create a marquee rule, it could just result in teams overpaying imports.

If we can get Ennis for 160-200k, why play him 300k under a marquee rule?

Plus wouldn't the marquee rule undo all the parity that the points/salary cap has aimed to achieve?

e.g. The Crocs can't even spend the cap. The marquee rule would allow a team like Perth to spend over the cap. Aren't you just widening the gap between each teams spending capability?

Depends how the cap is structured. If it was $850k plus a single player outside the cap, then that might be too problematic.

If I were the league, I'd do more to make sure the NBL was known to upcoming American players. Play here for $100k+ rather than D-League for $25k.

Players in the US know about the NBL, according to a number of imports I have interviewed it's seen as a pretty attractive destination.

There it is again, the NBL needs to promote itself!

Just keeps coming up in conversations about the league, time and again, yet we also apparently need to be patient because of all the other things the NBL needs to do since the split from B.A.

House needs to be in order before we look at such things, I agree with MACDUB on this one...

In answer to the O.P. I think a player like Ismail Mohammad is what the NBL needs, not him necessarily, just the prototype (Ennis is also the prototype).

If I was an nbl club I would be talking to as many NBA teams as possible about getting the lower second round picks. Much like an Ennis deal.

Have an NBA out clause so if the team wants them back at any time they can. Teams could even possibly try to make a partnership with a team so they can get access to players who are cut near the end of training camp etc.

I think the NBL head office are suppose to be figuring an NBA link out.. but we will see how far that goes. I still wonder where the hell NBL's promotion is right now.

The only teams that would get a marquee player in my opinion are Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. Other lack $$$$

Correct me if I'm wrong but does any other team in any other basketball league actually have a deal with any NBA team Re: developing picks & signing players that were cut during pre-season..?

Pressed enter too early!

So if there are no deals like that in place (And I can't find any), then there must be a reason. Obviously the NBL aren't the first to have this idea. So makes me think the NBA have stopped such deals happening for whatever reason.

Promotion of the league is more important than a marquee player.

Sure a marquee player would bring promotion with it but I think the $150k extra would be better spent on advertising.

Look what the Wildcats have done over the last two years, sure they have Ennis now but last year they didnt.

Would much rather seen signs up around town promoting the team rather than a washed up NBA player looking for a pay check. The NBA die hards might get some interest but wont hold onto it as much as the families and casual fans looking for a good night out.

Teams struggling to use the cap now are just going to become further behind the pack.

I would argue that the struggling teams should shape up or ship out because they are holding the league back..

And also.. yeah, advertising is more important. But I actually think that the season should maybe be shortened until we have enough teams,.. right now every second game feels like groundhog day.

I think building links with NBA clubs is the way to go. Build a level of trust that you are a good place for some of their picks to go to.

If only one import is allowed for teams that have a marquee player (if that person isn't Australian) then that would even things out somewhat.

Agree with Isaac. Ennis has the most exciting highlights reel of any import from memory (and we're only 9 weeks in). The stuff he comes up with will make news bulletins, media reports etc, which is what the NBL needs at this present moment.

Let's not confuse promotion with advertising either...

Different, not same!

Ideally, Ennis stays, Perth wins title, all other teams see the Ennis deal as a prototype to look for and emulate. If Ennis leaves early or we blow it, it might get chalked as flashy-but-ultimately-ineffective!

id love to see a few retired big names come here.

If NBA scrubs like Copeland, Davis and DMac (I mean no disrespect to those greats) can play successfully past 40 y.o.here why cant a former NBA All-Star?

I was devo a few years back when Mark Price was coaching and he was released before playing us, really wanted to get a jersey signed.

2 types of imports draw crowds, high flyers and Names, the rest are just your come and go types who are forgotten as soon as they leave.

Yeah... Agree, Perth have been made to forget Kevin Lisch in the most spectacular way.

I think James Ennis is the best kind.

Exciting but affordable.

Guys like Ingles, Jawai and Newley would be great to have back but the big spending clubs don't appear to want to structure their rosters in a way to afford them.

I suppose the issue is that its not possible to keep an Ennis type (someone up and coming rather than an already there or end of career type) for a sustained period, so you're always having to work at sourcing replacements. Which is part of why you get them on the (relative) cheap.

Have always have thought that Paul Pierce would have been fantastic for the NBL, sort of like Del Piero is for Sydney in the A-League. Coming to Austrlalia means he would have remained a one-team NBA player but could continue playing and having a major impact here.

Just my thoughts.

Guys like Ingles and Jawai won't generate the excitement that Ennis has brought.

TV news services were wanting teams to sign more Ennis's

If you are one of the 3 or 4 clubs that can spend the full cap, you can easily fit in a guy on 300-400k and be competitive. It's just about structuring your roster in a different way. NBA stars on max deals take up nearly half of their team's (albeit flexible) salary cap.

Look at Townsville or Wollongong: they are only spending (by a rough guess) no more than about 800k on their rosters this year (could be as low as 700k)

If you transplant Townsville's roster to Perth, for example (because they can spend the cap), and replace the highest paid import (say it's conklin on 120k ish) with a "marquee" guy, you have that 120k plus the entire cap surplus to spend on them = 320k, with a damn solid team behind them.

It's just about not overpaying your role players.

That's if that is the way you want to build your team...

Depth is way overrated in the NBL anyway. Not many games in a season, just over 1 game a week on average, 40 min games.

It's a waste going ten deep unless the skillsets have no overlap.

LOL. Well seems like you want a whole lot of Ben Allens and Graeme Danns in the league! .. I don't think the leagues depth is THAT great as it is.