inb4 Cram reminds us that LK sucks.

What the actual fuck are you on about?

Is Bogut a "Genius" too becuase he's good at Basketball?

I think maybe you should invest in a Dictionary, because I don't think it means what you think it means.

Besides, in ascribing any of this to "Genius" you completely miss the point.

As the saying goes, "Good Ideas are Cheap."

What LK has done, I would say is broadly threefold:
1) He has understood what it takes to have a successful NBL (and I'll give you a hint, its not a 500 member community club in buttfuck NSW.)
2) He has put his money where his mouth is. Bigtime, we're talking 10's of millions. And credit where its due, I think a lot of the money is basically a donation.
3) He has convinced others to do the same.

All of those media outlet for NBL have only come about because LK put the money into developing and producing the product, offering the networks a finished product at a bargain price.

Now detractors may say that he can afford it, and I suppose that's true, but it's still been a massive and sustained investment.

And unlike others who have backed individual teams, he hasn't pissed off after a couple of years.
Also, whilst he effectively controls the league, he hasn't been a dick about it.

People slag off his efforts in Taswegia, and obviously he is trying to milk the State Government for whatever he can, but it will still be a massive investment of HIS money.

There's stupid and then there's real stupid with D2.0
League needed cash injection, as in all leagues big markets outspend little ones. Tv deal needed to be done, exposure globally has happened with Bogut returning to warriors in cameo and next stars signings. Damn, we got nba back on fta. Wasn't a one man job but he had a major part to play. Have to say I'm very happy with state of things, people went out and did things instead of bitching the sky is falling.

Also what is D2.0 talking about? Did he even read my original post?

"Also what is D2.0 talking about? Did he even read my original post?"

Yes, sadly, I did, and as I explained you're wrong.
There's no "Genius" involved.

It's not even especially "clever".

I'm sure that over the years many smart people have had great ideas about how to improve the NBL. What they always lacked was the money and clout to make it happen.

Nick Marvin is a smart guy, and he did a fantastic job with the Wildcats. And to his credit, I would say that he was very in-tune with the Perth Community and what was needed here.
But that doesn't disguise that he was hired by Dr Jack to do the job, with the backing of Dr Jack's money and considerable clout.

Frankly, if it comes down to it, I don't think JL is as sharp or as "in-tune", but that doesn't really matter. He's doing the job asked, with LK's considerable wealth behind him.

Self-sustainability for the whole league is perhaps still a pipe-dream, but as long as we have deep pockets prepared to back individual teams, I think the league itself can be made sustainable, and that's what he doing.

"I loved his initial messaging about not doing this for money, and growing the game blah blah

All 3 points above show otherwise"

Show otherwise? Because those things are likely to give him a profit that will in any way negate his spending?

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I think anyone who watches the NBL owes Larry a debt of gratitude, whether or not they agree with everything he does. Without Larry, there is no NBL. Period. If you have watched and enjoyed any games since 2015, then he's why.

And I am not sure what you think Larry is getting from this exactly. People seem to talk like he's somehow getting something from it that outweighs his enormous investment. The NBL is clearly a product he genuinely cares about so he is giving to it. He doesn't have to do that. We didn't have to have a billionaire fall out of the sky and save our league. And that is what he has done whether you've come to terms with it or not.

Is the league sustainable yet? No. If Kestleman leaves the guts of the whole thing falls through. But there is no evidence of him wanting to leave any time soon. And it seems every season there is some new idea or venture he's trying out to help make the league enjoyable and sustainable. What else do you really want from the guy?

The bunker is becoming less of an issue for me now. It's not as though other sports out there don't do similar. Everyone wants the league to be sustainable yet no one wants them to cut costs. You kind of can't have it both ways. Visually the bunker doesn't look as bad as it did. And I don't think the commentators sound any different. It's not ideal but it hasn't become a deal breaker for me.

The bunker isn't about cost cutting as I understand, it's a requirement of the ESPN deal.

Has anyone said that it actually costs less?

It's a bizarre thing to implement in that 1) loses commentators carrying atmosphere, 2) commentators make wrong assumptions that the viewer makes because the cameras don't catch everything, 3) We have John Casey not commentating relegated to sideline reporter and that is absolutely bullsh*t.

I know ESPN and to an extent Fox Sports for boomers games, putting the commentators in a hub and not at the game, but it is super obvious and taints things a little.

Out of interest, what is the difference between a courtside reporter and commentators that are courtside? Any reason why we can't have two "courtside reporters" in Casey/Maher in Adelaide for instance, who happens to "courtside report" as if they are "commentators" the entire game?

ha. my HTML skills suck

*Insert my standard response here*

Thanks for dropping by Larry.

My money says Cram isn't LK ;)

Everyone, 2014: "Basketball need a Frank Lowy type."
Everyone, 2019: "It's horrible having one person behind everything."

That's right however the majority on here don't seem to remember what happened in the NBL outside of maybe three seasons ago.

^ yep. Most Aussie basketball fans are insufferable assholes with tall poppy syndrome who think they deserve the world from players and leagues but give nothing in return. A bunch of load mouth Clinton Gardiner types. We're lucky to even have a league. But we now have a league that is basically thriving and people want to complain about where commentators are?