B+

What LK has done has been remarkable. He's led from the front with his money and vision to bring relevance to the league again. To see where the league was before he bought in, to where it is now is an absolute success.

Would have gotten an A+ if not for a few ongoing issues which hopefully can be improved on:

1. Refereeing standards need to improve
2. Website needs to be more mobile friendly
3. App needs to be a bit more polished (eg dont give away scores when people rely on watching a replay)
4. Brisbane ownership - Bullets still need a buyer
5. Expanasion must happen
6. MSM getting on board the NBL again (its still the best kept secret in australian sport)
6. Crowds need to improve in Illawarra.

All factors taken into account and the NBL is in a much better position now than 3 years ago as that list above would have been much longer.

Why are people still bringing that up like it has any basis in reality?

I think it's a very solid A, I want to give it higher and the refereeing I can't knock as there is nothing I can do about it really! I go to games and yell and scream and try and get my team an advantage on 50/50 calls + employing full time refs is a fantastic step in the right direction.

A few issues with classics games being in wrong format and a few other website related things but overall the thing that is stopping me from thinking it's been a complete success is...

Hearing that we are getting another 2 teams expanding for 2018/2019 (hopefully Tasmania and 2nd NZ team). Off season is so exciting and we have players with NBA summer league experiences to bring back to us in this upcoming season and we will have a new crop of imports to be wowed by and we recognise that there are more eyes on this league and it pains me that we only have 8 teams and we can't have more imports and more NBA opportunities.

I know it's a pretty crap reason to not give an A+ as LK has been trying to solidify the foundations to keep building this league upon but I feel with so much buzz around that we are missing an opportunity here and I'm not sure a Chinese team out of the Gold Coast is the answer but it could help

Have to agree with all the positives that every has mentioned and have to give it a solid B+ for sure...

It's just the little things that are more frustrating than anything... The app was a great improvement, but the inability of them to recognise that it would be good to NOT spoil the results for people instead of splashing it across the top bold as brass, and something really nitpickingly annoying was how the play-by-play and boxscores worked and looked... If they can get a usability person in there and make some really simple tweaks, it could be really impressive...

They need to completely redo their website... I understand that a couple of seasons ago, they needed to do a rushed job as they had access or rights problems and needed to get something done quick, but there's no excuse to have kept it the way it is and anyone with half a web developer brain just cringes at it, I can't even imagine what the experience is like for normal people...

From an overall view, the refereeing was the huge anchor weighing the league down... Lack of quality, lack of consistency, lack of responsibility taken when they got things wrong... Teams improved leaps and bounds, but if the standard of refereeing keeps dropping, it will make the games unwatchable...

All that being said though, the NBL front office has done an amazing job, especially lifting their social media presence (the latest eing their great NBA Summer League stuff) and a lot of behind the scenes stuff that hopefully pays dividends...

With regards to expansion .... I'd hold off doing that until the current teams have sustained long term so we don't add to the list of extinct teams.

Lets not make the same mistake as the expansions of the early 90s.

But I'd go with an A.

I think LK has done an outstanding job, in a relatively short period of time (is this coming season in October, his 2nd season or 3rd, I can't remember?).

I'd give him a B+

Areas of improvement:

Television ratings. Whilst the tv ratings were apparently up by 20% last season on Foxtel, I could bet you that they are still nowhere near what they need to be. The broadcast rights are still being paid for (by the League) and are worth nothing (at this stage). This MUST change for the NBL to be a viable sport in Australia.
As we all know, television is the lifeblood of any sport. It needs to rate highly.

Bigger Crowds. Yes there was an increase and it was impressive but we need even bigger crowds across the board. Particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. I think we need to engage more with the Chinese community in Australia. Get these people to the games (we saw what can be achieved when Melbourne played China recently).

I'm impressed with what has been achieved so far but there is plenty of room for improvement. Every aspect needs to be continually worked on and improved.

F. I still have no team for no reason.

In the context of the NBL being well and truly critical in the Emergency Room, and subject to actually seeing the financial situation now, it's an A to an A+. However, with higher standards in mind and talk the talk/walk the walk - i'd give it a solid B+, even an A- if my arm was twisted.

The fact that we are able to raise our standards in what we demand is a testament.

Business Confidence: B+
This is a highly important factor which Larry's investment of time and money has helped the NBL the most. The old saying 'Spend money to make money' rings true in this respect. Investment is the thing that will keep the NBL a) alive and b) progressing forward. If you want other people to invest, you need to create confidence in the product and Larry has done that. We see investment in a few key ways: 1) investment into ownership in clubs, 2) investment in sponsorship of the league and clubs and 3)investment by broadcasters

1) The 36ers are in a good situation *finally*, much of that has to do with the SOS who kept Adelaide alive and the previous owners who developed the business strategy - but plenty of credit can go to Larry. Illawarra are looking stronger then they have been in a while (although they are still in the requiring investment from a white knight phase) and we saw Sydney have impressive new owners with an interest and experience in the Sports business and plenty of $$$. Breakers and Perth remain strong and Cairns benefit from a strong community model. It was a shame Townsville had to be cut out but they were too deep in trouble to be fixed IMO. For Larry to shoot to that A grade, we need Brisbane to have owners instead of the NBL financing them. That's the next big achievement to be made.

2) When Larry took over the NBL it had virtually no sponsors - it had a few suppliers that was it. Again, not aware of the financial situation and how much is being paid by sponsors but we have seen some massive brands partner with the NBL which instills some serious confidence and hopefully revenue (of which they claim to have boosted significantly). Telstra, Chemist Warehouse, CPA, Swisse, Qantas Assure, Aus Post, Ladbrokes, Westpac etc. If we want the business world to know the NBL is worth investing in, this provides serious credibility.

3) Aside from Brissy ownership, the other next big step is creating value in the broadcast rights. Larry has rightly put an emphasis on this - hopefully in the near future this comes up trumps because we all know it's part of the life blood of a healthy league.

Media: B
Social Media: This has been of significant improvement. The consistency of use, the graphics, the video clips, this has been an A+ effort. This is how you get people engaged, and it's going in the right direction. Improvements:Let's see Youtube used for highlights and clips. It's a widely accessible and used website, why hasn't it been used like their other platforms?

App: An improvement on anything before - however still finicky. Could be improved if you want the average joe to start using it. The Telstra TV app was managed badly - categories were empty or outdated and content updated too slow, if at all.

Website: Effort on content and graphics get an A, the actual website itself is pretty crappy and worthy of a significant overhaul. A stats website would be a great idea. What happened to the idea of a Basketball.com.au website similar to Cricket.com.au encompassing NBL, NBA, Aussies in basketball generally? It's the perfect time and could get people who aren't immersed in the NBL but like NBA to finally come across some local bball coverage!

Broadcast: All games on television, tick. Accessibility of Free to Air, online/mobile and Pay TV, tick. Professional broadcast, tick. They still have a way to go in a) improving the broadcast to tell the story better pre-game/half-time/post game, b) graphics and c) finding consistency in commentators. However, it is definitely better than what we have been served historically. This version of NBL TV is significantly better than before, as is the app in respect to the broadcast. I'd like to see a) a consistent long-term FTA partner and b) a highlights show (which they had in the season before last - that shouldn't have been dumped. A basic acid test on the success of NBL coverage is how easily and often you come across the NBL in the public domain - the answer is significantly more than ever before. This is a strong sign!

Other Stuff: C+

Admin overhaul is tough, especially if you're trying to re-do everything. League has been extremely close the last two seasons, so that is a testament to the league being run well and successfully.

Cap Situation: The boost of cap and marquee situation has meant an influx of stars, this is A++++. Remarkably, it hasn't created inequality in the ladder, just about everyone was in it towards the end. However, questions are raised as to how sustainable this is - will it cause trouble for the poorer clubs by creating an arms race? This has been discussed in depth before - this could work out brilliantly for all clubs and the league or it could become critically problematic. However, one of the key elements are the parity payments: we haven't heard anything since - so this is an issue which ought to be dealt with, and with the public's interest in mind (ie, tell the public you're actually doing it even if you can't reveal the financial figures).

Refs: They were bad. Inconsistent bad. This ought to be fixed, perhaps with better training, full-time head of Refs and clarity in the rules.

Tribunal: This was very suspect, it seemed like they were acting on-the-fly and changed their tone as the time went on or the acted inconsistently depending on club/player. We can't have that in a professional league.

League engagement overall: Absolutely fantastic. Great initiatives and marketing that we haven't seen in a long time (we had a brief bit of marketing in 2009/10 but that was it). This is key and fundamental to success and I think we can have every confidence the initiatives have been great.

League direction: The aim to get into the Asian market, the emphasis on increasing revenue, on partnering with businesses and leagues and value in presentation is a real A for effort and idea. Execution has been reasonable if not good, and there is reason to be enthusiastic about the future.

Illawarra's current owner James Spencely has an estimated current net worth of $45 million by BRW. Pretty white knight stuff there KET!

It takes 2-3 million dollars to run a club and much of Spencley's net worth would be assets not cash. He did find a co-owner which is good but I feel like they need another partner/co-owner to be truely a long-term team.

I think LK's done a great job and I would give him an A-. Having every game live on TV (albeit pay-TV) and able to be streamed live too is a massive thing for the NBL although the cost of all that would be rather expensive. More than one game a week on FTA TV should be a goal.

It would be good if he were able to get Foxtel to wear some of the production costs especially now with Turnbull giving Fox Sports $30 million to support the broadcasting of underrepresented sports. The push into China with the now annual NBL All-Stars vs China series is also a great idea although I believe they wear the costs for that series.

Expansion wise a second team in Melbourne and possibly a second team in NZ make more sense than bothering with the Gold Coast again or dare I say it Tasmania.

He's gotten the Bullets back and up running which was a big factor in the TV deal and puts the NBL back into the third biggest market in the country so huge props to that. Now hopefully they can just find a group to buy the team.

A lot of sponsors have now come on board and a few new wealthy owners have bought into teams like the Kings, 36ers and Hawks helping to strengthen their futures.

LK has done a fantastic job and realises you've got to spend money to make money which is now making the NBL an attractive option to many. Hopefully he stays with it beyond this season and with further growth the NBL looks to have a bright future ahead.

I forgot to add I really like what's he's done with NBL TV streaming every game live and I intend to sign up again this season.

Fine. No good reason. They've hardly "united Melbourne". They've given away endless free tickets and while some fans were likely gained by the name switch, plenty of others were turned off, others would never contemplate switching to them as it was "still just the tigers", many others saw it as yet another reason why the league is a joke and put them further off supporting any club as why bother if no club is around for very long? Even a club with that much history cant survive!

Added to all of that, nothing in the Kestleman era is remotely sustainable, and once Douchebag McMoneybags loses interest the league will probably officially fold.

Or that all the good venues in Melbourne are unavailable for a chunk of the season due to the tennis.

The NBL needed a white knight, similar to what the A-League needed about a decade or so ago.

So, it may be a little early to give him a grade but as I often sadly see Trump graded by his observers and the media after only 6 months, I will happily grade Kestelman so far as at least a B.

Trump btw is a F+, working his way to an F- very rapidly, LOL!

Sure, there are improvements to be had for the NBL, however, this third year is the big one, it will be the one that makes the NBL or breaks it...

B

Web site and its stats is something I used to use a lot and now can't, so that's a significant negative.

I don't use the social media tools so they have no value for me. Based on others' comments over time, it sounds like they're a significant positive.

Access to cheap and reasonable quality streamed coverage is a positive. There's room for improvement in the quality but I think it's as good as the old FTA (pre Foxtel) in most respects. Its convenience (I can watch it when I want to) is a plus but one that still needs some tweaking. I think this area will improve markedly over the next 3 years, if the league continues to do as well as last season.

Regarding refereeing quality, I don't think that's a big problem. In my estimation, AFL umpiring is as inconsistent as NBL refereeing. The use of video review has not improved that for AFL, just made it more obvious. Similarly for NBL. Given the success of AFL's business, I don't think NBL refereeing is pivotal in the long term success of that business.

I have doubts over the viability of the business model. It's not clear to me that clubs have improved their turnover and management models to make them viable as individual businesses. It looks at the moment that most of them are still running at losses, being propped up by investors (Kestleman and others). Either the clubs have to replicate the success of Perth's or Cairns' models in the medium term, or the league overall has to generate enough revenue to subsidise clubs as needed. If that doesn't look like happening after the next couple of years, the league won't survive long term. It will constantly rely on investors' goodwill and willingness to continue losing money. That's not a viable long term model.

So, this major question mark is why I don't give the grade higher than a B.