Mac plus Horvath not showing up as signed on the free agents list = Mac a dragon i reckon

Horvath is already a Dragon on the 2nd year of a 2year deal.

MacKinnon is a Tiger

Is that opinion DICKO or have you heard something substantial?

Thats what i thought too Dicko , was just going off the nbl sites info.

3 10 point players in the same position, wonder how Al is going to keep them all happy?

i don't think we will get ebi back- it would be nice but he kinda indicated that a while ago before he went to puerto rico to play.
as for the tigers buying themselves a championship- i'm not commenting because that would make me a hipocrite.
plus the full roster isn't confirmed yet- it's just speculation.

Is there any kind of penalty tax system, like there is in the NBA, in the NBL? What I mean is where a team goes over the salary cap they must pay a penalty tax, yet they are still permitted to do so?

i just just see what kind of posts we're going to get from your question.
it's a good one, but most people have decided that the bullets are over-paid, get craploads of under the table payments and all kinds of crap.
everybody likes to bullets-bash because eddy groves was the owner until a few days ago.
this question is a can of worms.

There is no luxury tax because the league cannot enforce the salary cap itself.

Someone on OzHoops suggested allowing clubs to buy extra points (e.g., pay more to have a 70 point team) which I thought was interesting, but someone else suggested that there could be legal implications.

The NBL needs money to promote the game and if it were possible for the league to adequately police salaries, a luxury tax could be useful.

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Duh, people don't go after the Bullets because Eddy specifically owned them. They just get stroppy at the perceived lack of level playing field. Eddy is just a more known rich (former) owner than say, O'Brien or Blackwell, and Brisbane romped through to the title.

It's not signed, to my knowledge, but it's done. He wouldn't have announced his departure from Brisbane, you would think, unless he hadsomething in place.

The ONLY weak point in Tigerland at the moment is PG and, seriously, I reckon LV himself could pass the ball to that team.

C - Anstey
PF - Mackinnon
SF - Grizzard
SG - Barlow
PG - a relatively well trained monkey

With Thomas (or a replacement) and Hoare

That, by itself is a starting 5, and first 7, that will beat most teams in the league.

God forbid, if they get Hodge to replace Thomas.

The scary thing is this. We know that Cowan isn't afraid to spend money and we know from history that Cairns aren't afraid to spend money. NZ are reportedly pretty generous (or at least they have been in the past) and Townsville aren't tight.....By HOW MUCH must McPeake be screwing the salary cap to be putting this team together? This isn't a SMALL cap breach....this is laughable.

Mackinnon's asking price was reportedly $400k/season.

League Parity? ..... My arse.

Attention duh! - please see above comments. In all seriousness - what is your view on how Brisbane assembled their championship team in relation to the supposed cap?


You said - "but most people have decided that the bullets are over-paid, get craploads of under the table payments and all kinds of crap."

That's because it's all true, just like it has been, and will be true, again at the Tigers next season.

Within any business and therefore sporting structure , you have to be either very rich or very smart . If you have become very rich off your own bat then there is fair chance brains are not an issue . That is why we are seeing , especially now in australian sport as it gradually catches up to most worldly practices the business heavy hitters climbing into the sporting arena and showing how rules can be stretched , ethics manipulated and finances blended to achieve success . One could say sport is a rich mans playfield . The parellel is you must have a balance and IMO integrity for sustained success and respect . Or maybe that does not really matter anymore .

isn't endorsing an ability to buy extra points giving a green light to the very problematic behaviour itself?
if people complain that some teams can afford more than others, then how is allowing them to do so going to force the competition to be even?
how will clubs that can't afford to buy more points ever get out of the situation?
i think enforcing the 68 (or maybe modify it) points cap rule and fining those who don't comply is better, otherwise it's saying you should be doing such as such but you can buy your way out of it.
then we can see who will still win championships or still be up there at the top end of the scale regardless.

Yes, that's a problem with it - my thinking was that it would be the only way of currently drawing a luxury penalty from the biggest owners with a view to spending that on getting the league up and on its feet.

The other (flawed) idea that crossed my mind was pinning a tax on top-tier players, somehow. e.g., you sign more than one 10 point player, and you send $20k to the league for each subsequent top level signing.

They have to do something because I can only assume they cannot afford an advertising campaign to introduce the new season.

Geez , i went off the beaten track in that little rant ... i guess what i was trying get across is that sport is no longer and never will be a level playing field .

Every sporting organisation ( see AFL and subsequent scheduling this year ) is about maximising $$$ , mass appeal and future TV contracts . In the CEO's eyes what else matters these days . Life is that way and so is sport now .

So much for Sam's concentration on his business interest(pizza shop)and wanting to stay in Brisbane.

This made headlines when the sale of the Bullets was news. I say if thats the case he should pay back what he earned for being on the bench for most of last season because all that time the Bullets carried him.

Now they want his help all be it by new owners, but mainly the same staff, I would say its sad when you say one thing one minute and do something else another minute, or is it something you get to expect to see from sports people these days?

Is it the old story of money talks?

yeah that's right giraffe35-
he PLANNED to screw up his knee and get injured and miss the olympics.
every baller's dream....

Bah - let the Tigers waste 10 pts and 400k on Sam. He is way past his best and will get injured, probably at the Boomers pre-Bejing camp.

The real story here is CJ. I seem to recall the "exploring Europe" story he used to get away from Sydney. Expect him to sign with another NBL team.

I can't understand why the Bullets would let him go if he is still contracted. If the club needs him, say NO. Surely its their right to do so.

EC, its most likely a case if the new owners not being able to pay him the amount eddy was, so sam mac politely asks to be released with an agreement that all terms of release and of the contract to remain confidential, simple.

Mckinnon to Dragons and CJ to New Zealand.
Also expect Hodge to land as the Tigers Point Guard as well.

Not paying the amount he is contracted to is a breach of contract in itself. When the new owners bought the club, they would have been aware of outstanding player contracts and their obligations towards it. One would assume (hope) that it was all budgeted for when they decided to make the purchase. God help us if it becomes a trend that new purchasers of NBL clubs will run them on a bargain basement price. That in itself will become the demise of the NBL.

EC, the full amount wouldn't be on the written contract (just what was lodged with the NBL) so how is he going to hold anyone to the previous amount?

Also, why would they want to keep him around if his heart isn't going to be in it?

My thoughts exactly Isaac! They would've looked at it and said, well he's injured and may not play again and even if he does will still struggle with injury, let's stand strong and just pay his NBL contract. If he doesn't like it we will pay him a small amount (if anything) and release him from his final year. Realistically, with his injuries it's probably a very smart move. I remember at one stage they reported his injury as one very similar to Simon Dwights and that he may never play basketball again. Sure Sammy will have another crack just to get paid his final year's contract, but if he seriously can't play again, then why waste money and points on him. He definitely won't sign anywhere else anywhere near what he was on at Brisbane, it will be more out of spite! Maybe we'll see him sign at Gold Coast??? He's good mates with McGregor still I think...

Melbourne will spend loads for him, even to run off the bench if need be. His blockbuster earning isn't quite done yet, IMO.

The way I calculate it, the Blaze are on 59 points with two roster spots to fill including an import. Irrespective of being mates with McGregor, there's no way we'll be grabbing Sammy (At 8 points, Heal is looking less probable too).

What date was the third post in this thread, Isaac?

I think it was somewhere in mid-April.

April 22.

Ta

Just curious :-)