That's a number of HUGE wins not only against bottom teams but the Wildcats etc.

It is extremely frustrating when you see a team like the Bullets demolish everything in their path, when you know the only way it is possible is because the are breaking the cap (and it's not hard to imagine the cap is being broken by A LOT).

It becomes almost painful to watch the Bullets (and other cap breaking teams) play against the Sixers for example knowing that we are legitimately under the cap.

If the NBL isn't going to police the cap etc, why not look at having a similar system to the NBA, with the cap in place but you pay a luxury tax on anything you spend over it. Only problem with this is that someone with the financial backing from a person like Groves is that they would be able to afford to pay the tax while I imagine Mal, wouldn't have a few hundred thousand lying around.

Well its totally unfair. What about teams that struggle financially as it is. They do not have the revenue from sponsors etc to go over the cap. Then they are cellar dewellars which inturn will affect there future sponsors.

I personally think the NBL should be policing it as in the end the rich clubs will get richer while the poor clubs will struggle and inturn could see the demise of clubs.

Overall i want a balanced competition with competitve games not blow outs. Blow outs will not get the crowds to the games!

Burton should pull his head in or go back to the US!

For me, I dont think I would enjoy watching a team that was obviously over the cap by some distance. Even if they won, it would be like the 'asterix' season of the Spurs, and would have a hollow feel to it.

Winning on a level playing field or against the odds is what makes sport interesting for me. I would find winning with all the odds on your side and a stacked team quite boring.

DrB - that's another view worth considering - how some clubs (Hawks, Pigs, etc) may be impacted financially by low finishes and losses.

That's a good point DrB, how many teams have we lost over the years due to bankruptcy? I can see this becoming more and more common if something isn't done to get the NBL on a level playing field.

When the board is made up of Groves etc, I can't see this happening in a hurry.

As Isaac has mentioned to me, one thing that needs to be looked at is the Points system, for a player on a stacked team could have his points re-valued as they aren't a top tier player on the team.

It's sad to think that the cap was introduced due to teams not being able to compete due to the "haves" an d "have nots" (SE Melb Magic and Giants having to merge, Titans (v1.0), Newcastle Falcons v1.0, Geelong, Gold Coast etc.

Look at how balanced the league has generally been balanced while the cap was being policed, and look at how imbalanced it has become this year.

Next season however, I am sure that Adelaide will be looking at employing Brisbane's accountants :)

I couldn't believe it last night when the Commish said he thought Brisbane weren't over the cap.

Then relax the cap and allow other teams to follow the same style - makes for better talent and higher quality games.

Nutwork, the thinking goes that external employment/arrangements are OK according to the rules, just not so much in the spirit of the rules.

Exactly...

The Commish ain't gonna bite the hand that feeds him so of course Brisbane is under the cap.

I'd really like to see the numbers in relation to third party payments for players.

I know over here (eastern states) it's huge in rugby union where a player maybe paid the minimum by the club, but there is a fan and/or syndicate/company out there willing to chuck $150k at the player so they stay with that club.

The books say they are paid bugger all, but in reality they are paid $200k and no one would know bar their bank manager.

Isaac, in reality they are breaking the cap, maybe not technically. If the spirit of the cap is being ignored & not enforced why have one at all? (because of Newcastle, Gold Coast, Geelong, Hobart, North Melbourne, Victoria and all previous Brian Gorrjian teams)

Goorjian

Until the players get a little bit more loyalty about who they play for, who cares about the salary cap.

The majority of fans have walked away from the game because every year the players the hated and use to torment at games have now become their own.

You only have to go over Ken Coles recent speech to understand that when the players played with passion for their club (and not their wallet) the fans came. Not only to the game, but marketing NBL on free to air TV was even profitable to the TV stations.

The NBL salary cap doesn't take in outside payments, so what's to sop other clubs diong this? Why were Adelaide (etc) not doing it?

Obviously Adelaide was pretty much broke, but as for the other teams, I'd be questioning their desire to win an NBL title!

Abolish the cap. Then the NBL and the clubs don't have to justify to anyone.

Obviously an enforced cap is the best solution but that is clearly beyond the NBL's current resources.

Simple the other clubs do not have multi millionaries owning there club and willing to dish out money

Libertine is correct . It comes down to the clubs ability to network within the bsuiness community and supply players with a separate income source.

I guess the 36ers just havent found enough "sponsors" to help out.

Simple the other clubs do not have multi millionaries owning there club and willing to dish out money, in particular a guy who's business is call ABC Learning Centres.

Adelaide was over the cap in the late 90s it got it us two titles nobody was complaining then

Other clubs are doing this and doing it well. Sydney Kings and their money laundering syndicate are doing it, Brisbane is obviously doing it and I'd imagine other clubs are doing it.

Libertine is spot on, if it's within the rules (forget spirit, it's championships that count) then go for it. The club need to approach external agencies, businesses and corporations.

At the end of the day it's about lifting the trophy at the end of the season and if the only way to compete for marquee players is via third party payment then we have to get on board.

One thing I did notice when I was back in Adelaide is the lack of RSL's and places that are pokie machine heaven and generate huge amounts of cash for sporting clubs. These are the places that usually provide gifts to players. It's not a wage it's a gift. Look at Souths Junior's and League Club in the NRL, huge money making machines that filters money to the Rabbitohs. Each NRL club have their own clubs, the Raiders have 2 huge places here in Canberra, each maxed out with pokies generating additional income to be used by the club.

Are you looking at the wrong area? The Cap exists primarily to prevent clubs from sending themselves to the wall. Surely The player points allocation system exists to keep the comp even. Address the standard disparity through the points system.
However,get some guts NBL. Your out of set with other national pro comps. Audit & fine cap violations. After all, clubs that bust the cap have to have the bucks to pay the fine.

The cap keeps the clubs financial, the third party payments keep the players playing for that club.

If the club only has to pay a player $100k, and a third party ponies up with a $150k gift then it's only the $100k on the books and in the eyes of the NBL, but the bank manager knows he is getting $250k in his bank account.

Maybe the 36ers need to look at something like this to keep Maher. Club pays him the max, but he receiver a gift from a third party to ante up.

How are they cheating???? The rules allow for third party payments. If it's there to be used then use it.

They are cheating and the NBL allows it! In particul Burton, he is only trying to improve his CV. Since he has been incontrol, the NBL has had NZ,Singapore, Dragons and GC enter the comp. Burton will be looking for other prospects in the near future i would think as he has 'improved' the NBL.

However his non action on clubs cheating, could actually be very destructive for the future of NBL Clubs. I really do see clubs folding again, in particular Hawks, West Sydney and Singapore.

TR, it's not in the spirit of the game.

The solution is to ease the cap because some teams that could probably afford to bust the cap, aren't for fear of copping fines.

Then it's the fault of the clubs for not taking advantage of the leeway given by the Commish. What's he going to do, fine all the clubs???

I believe Sydney have been doing it for years, Brisbane has recently jumped on board and followed, I wouldn't be surprised if Melbourne hasn't done it. Rugby Union has been doing it for years, and League is likely go the same way. AFL doesn't need to do it due to the large numbers involved.

Clubs trying to finance the whole team under the cap is a thing of the past. Ok, they can finance a team, but they'll never be successful competing against teams that use the rules to their advantage. NBL clubs don't have the number coming through the doors to stand on their own two feet (like AFL clubs), so they need to expand their business sense, get financial assistance, (and I don't mean team sponsorship) wake up to themselves and follow the lead of successful clubs. Times have changed and it's time to catch up or be left behind.

Maybe this doesn't seem shocking to me as I've been seeing third party payments for years here in the Eastern states and they are pretty normal.

Hate to bust bubbles, but when did spirit last win a championship???

It's a business and clubs need to workout ways within the rules to maximum their incomes. Hence in the last few years the clubs doing this have been successful. Sydney, Melbourne and now Brisbane.

TR, Spirit (AKA the Adelaide 36ers) won a championship in 2002, looking at that team I don't think they were over the cap.

Fair enough Nutwork, I'll pay that one.

Either way the NBL needs to either clamp down (won't happen, Burston has no nuts and he's not going to rip into Eddy), or each club needs to do exactly what Brisbane and Sydney do to compete. Third party payments need to be made or you'll find our top notch players leaving clubs that can't/won't offer payments and even worse, leaving the NBL for greener pastures, especially the ones with an EU passport.

Bottom line, in todays professional sport, it all begins and ends with the coin. The player doesn't really care where the money comes from as long as it ends in their account. I couldn't give a rats if the 36ers paid Maher $100k and then a third party gave him a gift of another $100k to retain him in Adelaide (which I think is something they need to look at).

TR you dont look at the slightly larger picture. Not only is it an unjust system for the thousands of fans that support their clubs, but this money situation has ruined team spirit. Look at the NBA, Reggie Miller is one of the few greats to stick to one club, because they all chase money. If the cap is policed and everyone is paid accordingly then people will try to play for the club they Want to play for, not for the money since they wont be getting anymore anyway.
I think the cap needs to be increased due to the increase or talent that we have here, but this teams going over the cap is crap and they should be heavily fined, and that includes the 36ers if they decided to do it.
Watch the movie baskettball or sumthing like that, it explains what will happen to the worlds sporting enviroment completely!!!!!

Okay, maybe Burston should ask every player to play in Australia for the love...... some would continue, many wouldn't and would look elsewhere.

Yeah, I'll agree, money has ruined sport, but on the other hand, do you want to work for free??? I love my job, but there is no way I'm working for free.

These guys are professional sport people, they have a limited career span, so they need to build for the future in a shorter time period than Jo Citizen. If one club is offering me $100k and the next is offering me $200k (how ever I'm getting the money) then I'm looking after myself. Selfish, yeah and probably a little sad, but that my friend is the world we live in.

Lets say one company is willing to pay you $50k a year to do a certain job, a new company forms in exactly the same industry and they offer you $75k a year to do exactly the same job, the question is do you take it???? Does love for your job or company mean your willing to settle for $50k when $75k is being waved in front of you.

Is it a players fault some retarded GM offered him $100 mill over 7?? Would you knock that back???

Seriously, I see no problem for the clubs, hell it's not the clubs money it's third party money and if a club can see the benefits of third party money then go for it. In this case it's proven to be beneficial, ask the Sydney Kings and I suspect the Melbourne Tigers. Ask the Bullets in a few weeks. Morally I believe it wrong, but if it within the rules then it's within the rules.

Surely with Mal's contacts in the sporting/corporate world he should be able to come up with some potential third party corporations.

Let's face it, the NBL isn't going to police it, so if it's not being policed then they should take the advantage. A precedent has been set by Sydney and Brisbane (I believe Adelaide was punished for their breaches) so why shouldn't the rest of the league follow suit.

One thing that is certain to the NBL is each player's point value. Perhaps the salary cap should be abolished all together but keep the competition fair by having a points cap. I would introduce an additional point to each player of a club that wins the championship and that extra point is deducted at the end of the next season if any of those players are not again in a championship team. That would take care of problems like Brisbane this year because it is stacked with talent. What this system would do is add an additional 12 points to the team after winning the championship which means they more than likely have to let go of 1 or more of their players for the next season. They would be forced to exchange him for a lower point value player. Other less successful teams would then get the opportunity to pick up these players and add some valuable championship winning players to their roster. You would get a better rotation of players amongst various clubs.

The way of caluclating individual's points value should also change. Currently it does not reflect the capability of the player. If you are a player who averages 20 & 10 you have to have a higher point value than one who averages 10 & 5. None of this nonsence about reductions for loyalty to a particular club or whether you've been a Boomer on not. It should be strictly on performance basis.

Encouraging player rotation/movement reduces brand development and impacts marketing. Maher is a drawcard in Adelaide because of his ability AND history here. The loyalty deductions also help this and encourage clubs to develop players (e.g., Sydney have 8-10 point players in Worthington<, Kendall and Barlow all capped at 5).

Your suggestion about calculating points values is also flawed - what if that player is producing 10 and 5 in 15 MPG off the Brisbane bench?

They do adjust their calculation for statistical efficiency per minute played but it's far from perfect. It also disadvantages the weaker teams - take Liam Rush as an example: at the Pigs, he's a quality scorer, probably a nine point player. Had he played in Brisbane, he'd be coming off the bench and might get rated a six or seven.

The prior system that took votes from coaches/media/officials, removed the highs/lows and went from there accounted for these situations well.


TR, I don't believe that these third party companies are necessarily putting up cash directly, but maybe in place of sponsorship. e.g., $100k in outside employment, $100k less in sponsorship. And someone like Groves would have a strong advantage with the network of businesses that support ABC and are under his control. Wasn't he fighting a government investigation into the relationships and tender processes between his various organisations? There's enough of them!

BTW, Burton, not Burston. Or "The Commish" as he likes to be known.

Look, what is the point on cheating...

It means you don't win fairly so technically you don't actually win the championship. Why would anyone bother screwing up the league (more then it currently is)just to win a championship?

Do it fairly or don't do it at all.