Print this out so you have some Kings memorabilia.
The Sydney Kings have had to turn their license back into the NBL. Unless a "White Knight" rides into town quickly the NBL will lose two, Brisbane Bullets being the other, of its storied franchises by the time June 30th rolls around.
I'm not going to keep harping on about the pros and cons of all of these happens because I feel the product of our game will only strengthen with the lose of these two teams.
Having thirteen teams means that there is a lot of opportunity for guys to find work as a professional basketballer in this country. Approximately 120 Australians get to say they are pro ballers.
If or when we go back to eleven teams this means some guys will miss out on jobs. It is always disappointing to see someone lose their job but by downsizing to eleven teams should only strengthen our oncourt product.
Having been fortunate enough to have played in the "good ole days" of the nineties, I feel today's roster are weaker than yester year.
I just take a look at the 1998 Adelaide 36ers championship team I was part of and think about how that team would go in today's league.? Absolutely blitz it is my reply.
Name a team in today's competition that is as deep as this one. Darnell Mee and Brett Maher in the backcourt. Joining them you have Kevin Brooks, Martin Cattilini and Paul Rees up front.
Off the bench you had Mark Davis, Scott Ninnis, Rupert Sapwell, rookie Dean Brogan and myself.
You would have a problem keeping that team together due to the points system, but I just cannot see that team losing too many games in today's competition.
We legitimately went nine deep. (I was the second most inexperienced on that squad and I was in my 4th year while Dean Brogan was just using us as a warmup to AFL.)
In today's league I feel most teams only go about 8 deep and that is being generous to some.
So, although the NBL is getting this doom and gloom picture painted for it by main stream media, I believe that the level of play will improve due to the strenghtening of rosters.
The NBL needs to do a quick revision of its policies regarding players points, etc before we lose some of these players to overseas leagues.
An example I use here is Greg Vanderjagt. Under the current system Vanderjagt is going to struggle to find a roster spot in the NBL because most teams have filled their spots. By losing Vanderjagt from the NBL only hurt our overall product.
With the axing of these two teams, potentially 8 to 10 solid NBL players will not have jobs. This is why the NBL needs to come up with a revised system so these players are not lost.
It is these guys that make your competition strong. The "superstars" will always find a roster spot and young guys with "potential" are always kept around.
Losing the likes of your Vanderjagt's and Mike Hill's have a negative impact on the league.
Hopefully the NBL can implement some new rules that will allow these players to find roster spots. If they can, you may just be pleasantly surprised with the end result.
All NBL News From The Last Day:
Kings lose license.
Will sponsors stay on board?
Wrublewski rejected.
BJ Carter has his say about the Kings situation.
Kings owner suing the NBL?
Gold Coast CEO chimes in.
Goorjian says, "it is no time to panic."
There has been an Andre Moore sighting. Good stuff.
Posts
4 comments:
You're playing the PR game bravely John, but you're only kidding yourself.
Sydney is the heart of corporate Australia. It's the proving ground for the advertising dollar. So much of the nation's media is run out of Sydney that if you can't attract attention there, you lack a truly national presence.
You talk about `the long run'. Truth is, there likely won't be one. Who will sponsor a competition without a Sydney presence? (And don't give me `what about the Razorbacks?' Most Sydneysiders don't know who they are.)
Your obvious delight at the Kings' situation likely comes from being a former Pig ie losing GFs to the Kings, attention etc.
Truth is, the league is on its knees. The A-League is about to wipe it out.
Kings fan.
If you think that the league is going to be better off without the Kings (and fingers crossed the Bullets somehow survive) then you are delusional.
There are no positives to come out of Sydney losing its license. The only positive is that Johnston is gone, and the NBL could have done that over a year ago but was too incompetent!
If anything, the league will lose more talent because of this. Less teams here means more players going O/S. How is that a good thing for the NBL? Or for Aussie bball as a whole unless O/S comps are once again shown on free to air TV? It's not good.
Also, today's rosters are not worse than yesteryears'. The Kings team that just got tossed would've served your '98 sixers without breaking a sweat. Not to mention the Tigers team that beat the Kings.
The NBL has shot itself in the foot by kicking out Sydney. The league's propularity will only dwindle further unless they take a break to re-tool. And lets hope they get a decent, independent board one of these days.
- Brickie
Now that the damage has been done, I hope the NBL don't bring back the Kings license.
An all-new, unified Sydney team is called for here. That would involve killing off the Pigs too (and possibly even the Hawks) but it may be the only way to have a strong Sydney presence and a strong 10- to 11-team league at the same time.
I feel you guys that are saying the corporate dollar will take a hit.
But if you think any team in the league now (with the possible exception of the Tiges) could have run with the Sixers team JR's talkin bout, you are either too young to remember them or a one eyed Sydney-sider.
League is in trouble, yes. Kings staying in the comp ever going to help the situation? Hell no.
And BTW, a lot of Sydney people couldn't name one Kings playa. This is not a measure of the Rbacks as much as of the league as a whole.
Post a Comment