╭∩╮( ͡° ل͟ ͡° )╭∩╮ to players that leave early. Show the league more respect.

In ball's case it has helped his chances, even with early departure. On mock draft at number 3, but still a chance to go number 1. In Hampton's case, currently on mock draft at 17. Even if you don't feel mock draft is valid, his stock has certain fallen.

Have to wonder if Hampton's plummet hurts the prospect of getting next stars in the future. At least be thorough about which team you going to.. even if they haven't been as successful lately NZ have a win now mentality and were never gonna be patient with his development.

March Madness is a long way away. College players are going to be boosting their stock significantly over the next couple of months, and everyone will have plenty of time to forget about Ball and Hampton.

A league with stadiums that leak, have to earn the players respect more so.

NBA Game Cancelled Due to Moisture on Court - Wood Floor ...
Mar 8, 2017 - This is the second game cancelled this season due to moisture on the court. A Philadelphia 76ers game suffered the same fate in December.

The league got lots of clicks but the factors are both team suffered due to the sideshow that was Hampton & particularly Ball.

The Hawks sucked and Ball didn't help they'd have been better placed trying to recruit better players and coaching staff.

I always got the sense that Hampton/Ball never really liked Aus/NZ and were desperate to get back home (and not just for preparation for the draft). e.g. homesick.
I think that may have factored in.

Reality, agree, both teams suffered. In particular, I feel that the money both clubs allocated towards both (above what the NBL paid) could have been better used elsewhere/spread across the roster.

I always say, imagine if NZB had the couple hundred thousand extra they were paying Hampton to bolster their roster. Could have looked at someone like Tai Webster/Isaac Fotu etc.

The Next Stars program does nothing to make the NBL a more respected league if it is treated like a prep league that one and done guys won't respect.

Hampton was OK. But I'm not convinced that Rusbatch would have done any worse if he got the minutes Hampton did.

Ball played great individually; but it remains to be seen whether or not his individual performance genuinely made the team better and to what extent. I think the team won a few games when Ball was out?

I agree that both did well considering their ages (their potential, especially Ball's, is incredible).

My assessment was only really focused on considering their overall impact/value vis-a-vis how much clubs were forking out on them.

I think value against salary is an important measuring stick in this league (Especially that none have bottomless pits of coin and a dollar spent here is a dollar you can't spend here and vice versa).

Ball was a distraction which in the end hurt the Hawks...Ball boosted home attendances for a few weeks but once people started watching the actual GAME it was clear it was terrible basketball with Ball/Brooks dribbling the air out of it...really not winning basketball or what local fans had been used to over a number of years (TEAM basketball!)

Hampton whilst he contributed that money time could have been better spend and you'll note they played better once he went down injured as the actul team improved.


They are both kids coming from an individual type environment (AAU/High School) so its not there fault but the NBL went all bush league a worried about getting clicks/highlights rather than these teams actually winning games which became secondary to the show!

In the end you need to win games and provide a good standard of play to watch or fans turn off as gimmicks don;t work...anyone remember the old A League gimmicks? didn't work for them!

I'm extremely conflicted about the Next Stars program. I understand why it exists and it's about growing the NBL outside of Australia as LK realises it can't get much bigger than it currently is here so trying to bring outside interest and dollars into the NBL which is having a positive effect with ex-NBA players buying into NBL teams.

However on court I struggle to see how it's really helping teams. Clearly it hurt the Hawks having to play Ball so much it turned into the LaMelo Show with him dominating the ball and shooting way too much. The Brooks injury seriously hurt too but it was just a one man team after that. In fact they started playing better as soon as Ball stopped playing.

I can't see much of any positives to Hampton's time with NZB you barely even notices him which was probably ideal really. Louzada has been shooting too much in Sydney but they've got the veteran group with title aspirations to put the clamps on him and Terry Armstrong has only got time in a couple of games all season for SEM.

"How has it failed you? "

I actually would say that from the point of view of a marketing program, the NBL will see it as a success.

I've been quite vocal in saying I believe the program has been flawed from the begining though in that it has only convinced 1 player (Hampton) to skip college to go pro. The rest were inelgible for college in some way or in Didi's case, already drafted.

The original statement of the program suggested the players would be getting $100k which sememed reasonable too. Anybody still beleive this?

The lack of transparency in players being assigned to teams and eligibility rules seemingly changing on a whim only adds to this program being flawed.

The fact that teams have been left worse off by playing these players, only to have them not see the season out goes to show the lack of international respect the league has, which is ironically, what program is so thirsty for.

But no doubt, from a clicks and buzz point of view, it has been successful. Worth it? (I'll ask this now, and ask it again if/when the Hawks next financial struggle comes up).

Yeah, I really don't know what to think.

It stinks when both your high-profile stars are gone early with "injuries".
If these kids are being guaranteed minutes, but can then shoot through when it suits them, then I worry the instability is not worth it.

Exum is an argument against the March Madness line of thinking. Got on a radar early and then didn't reappear. For some of these guys, private team workouts will matter too. I don't think they will forget about Ball.

With Exum there's a case to be made that he's an example of why teams would like to see players more, and against competition they can assess. I think, even with taking his injuries into account he hasn't lived up to the #5 hype.

Just to be clear, I think Exum still has a good future ahead of him, but he has certainly not met the potential that was expected from him at that draft position.

Hampton was a class act. Breakers loved having him.

Massive win for all involved.

The reason for the Breakers' lack of success wasn't Hampton's minutes. Losing Delany for the first part of the season, then Rob Loe, then Hopson, then the intermittent stuff cost the Breakers in the first half. Truly believe we were a playoff team with better health.

I don't think Hampton would've gone home this early if not for the hip injury. The key thing for me is the off-court piece and how he interacted during games, he was always on the bench, in timeouts, celebrating with his team. That stood out.

It seems as though Matt Walsh is in discussions with another prospect. The way Walsh is touting it, Jalen Green could be in his sights here (which is odd - I thought Green already ruled out Australia).

Mixed feelings about the Next Stars.

The Hawks actually did something like this years ago when they signed Doug Overton. Doug had been signed (by Detroit?) and they wanted him to play a year in a pro comp. He was great and he went back to have a decent career in the NBA. But, the thing is, he did stick it out the whole year. And he was older, having done college.

The Next Star kids are great athletes but they are just kids. Playing against men. I started playing men's comps as an 18 year old and getting bruised and beat up by guys in their 20s and 30s. Having said that, the NBL is a "gentler" comp than the NBA. Only 28 games (plus finals), 40 minute games and only 1 or 2 a week. So, in that way, it's a good intro, gives them a year to harden up.

ALso, other players that have done similar things in the past (Ferguson, Bowen) stayed the whole season. This year Lamelo and RJ have both decided (or had the decision made) to pull out early. In the future, if teams will be happy to have a "star" player for half the season, then it could continue. It is then up to the clubs as to how they deal with that.