I am intrigued. Cairns have had major financial issues in trying to achieve the NBL's requirements, and yet they are barely mentioned in this press release! Not even a "Cairns were able to meet the financial requirements imposed by the league" statement.

Good to have them in, and I welcome a Sydney team and hope Brisbane can get one up and running by the following season. Also strange that there was no mention of a potential 2nd Melbourne team the following season either.

I think it is fantastic...Sydney in will be great...I hope not under the name of Kings, but no big deal to me either way...

Looking forward to this next season already...the off season will be interesting again...

LC, I agree. They have to get past this "Cairns struggling to stay involved" thing in the off-season and I'm interested to know if Cairns were able to get additional funding towards the end or if the league relaxed any rules. Can't have it repeat again next time.

Maybe they had plans for ten teams next season, thinking Brisbane and another Melbourne team could get them there without Cairns. And maybe there's something wrong with one of those bids?

and nothing about a TV deal. i've heard rumours but until they are confirmed...

I have a strange feeling that the NBL may have relaxed the rules to allow Cairns to remain in. I have no proof or evidence to justify this train of thought...but if Cairns folded, it would have provided more fodder for the NBL's detractors.

I just wish the NBL would come clean...from the outside looking in, it appears there are too many cloak and possibly even a few daggers for my liking. So much for being open and up front!

As for the TV deal, there are that many rumours circulating I can't keep track! I am torn behind wanting the NBL on One HD and the NBL making some money from Foxtel on pay TV.

get the NBL on both!! just like the NBA is on ONE and ESPN, its better for the viewers in the long run!

Although Boti Nagy (this morning's paper) indicates the other 7 clubs that went with the league, last season, would not be happy if Cairns were dumped.

(I'd guess Fox want exclusive and may have bid a little higher than ten.)

OneHD for tv deal is the way to go. I have watched more NBA since it has been on OndHD than ever before (previously none). OneHD gives you more exposure because it's free to air. Be interesting to see how High Stakes Hoops goes on OneHD.

Simply not willing to pay for tv at the moment and never have in the past. Happy for the NBL to be on Foxtel though.

Betty, same here. Would prefer OneHD, but not going to cry if they stick with Fox, even if I don't have it and won't get it.

Camel's point is worth highlighting. The other teams were not happy with the idea of Cairns being pushed out given that they were one of the teams which committed keeping the NBL going.

Why not both?, IF fox wants' exclusive coverage then show every game LIVE, if not, allow One to have a 'game of the week' or a 'double header’ every Sunday afternoon or something similar.

Great to read that Sydney will be included. I am also glad that the South Dragons wont be again part of it. It goes to show, they werent up for anything but money and glory. The NBL has shown over the last year it has the ability to stand on its own two legs unlike days recently gone by.

One of the issues with One HD is that they basically do no content production, and to my knowledge, no OB. ANZ championship for example is paid for by Netball, including all production costs, and shown by TEN and then ONE HD (if I am wrong on this I apologise but this is understoof generally to be the ANZ championship scenario).

So content sharing in the Fox/One HD dreamworld would require a deal where Fox released vision to One HD - very unlikely to happen given the direct competition scenario - and even then it would not be live because the OB is not covered.

As Paul has highlighted a few times, One HD are also a massive enormous huge great giant risk because their viewership is miniscule - despite being FTA. Can the NBL afford to have their product shown where the capacity for the ratings is potentially hundreds, not thousands of people...?

A bit off-topic, but has anyone watched 'MVP' yet? Carfino was singing last night - not pretty.

Cairns are in probably in because Sydney could not meet the requirements either, so if you wanted Sydney in Cairns would be OK.

I'm happy they are both in . Especially Sydney as it will revive the NSW rivalry. However, with retirements of players and the introduction of another 10 Roster positions, it will create a weakening of the talent pool and potentially the comp will become unbalanced again,

If you can get a deal with games shown on ONE and a game of the week on Ten, that starts to become attractive because you can get an audience that makes league sponsorship worth more dollars.

Without Ten, you are passing up on Fox cash and potentially get little extra in viewers or sponsorship dollars.

Given that Netball pay significant coin - I imagine HO would know a figure, I had read somewhere around $500K - for games on One and Ten and get crowds similar to the NBL, I think BA is better to continue their partnership with Fox with the expanded coverage and cash injection they are supposedly offering.

Back on topic, great to see the Kings back, and just as good to see the Taipans survive.

I would like it on fox because living in whyalla, a least i can get austar but we will not and do not get one hd ever, so regional areas will suffer but i guess that is not really ever a concern.

Yep seen a few episode of MVP and Steve is pretty bad, just loose all the slang and deliver the content straight up. As for the bball, really glad Cairns and staying in but they must be solid as has been mentioned you can't repeat this every year.

Its great that Cairns have succeeded in making the 2010/11 season. I am not entirely surprised by this because it sounds like they are a club that has the strictest standards in what they expect from their players in terms of time spent promoting the club. Very little off time is being given to the players this off season and they will spend most of the off season working for the club in promotions and exposure to the public. Its also great that Sydney are going to be back in the league. It did make the league look a little second rate not having a team in the largest Australian city. Hopefully Brisbane will follow in the not too distant future as there are a lot of passionate fans there that would welcome it.

I am now looking forward to next season. The surprise element is exciting with additional team(s) and Adelaide with a new coach. I can also speak highly of the ownership team and the effort they go to to keep fans informed and involved.

Great to see Sydney back from a commercial side and Cairns to see a underdog story live for another day. All bodes well for the future direction of the League.

Davo, what a stupid comment. Although this has been touched on before, you are ill informed if you are to suggest that the Dragons were only out for money and glory. The lost plenty of money as all would know and Mark Cowan is well regarded in the Basketball community and by many fans. The League was in a poor state and I doubt that many would disagree with that.

Who would invest money? What about millions? No takers? Well Cowan did and aggressively marketed not only the dragons but the league in turn.

Interesting quote from The Sydney Morning Herald today:
"The South Dragons, who won the 2008-09 competition before pulling out of the re-launched NBL last year, have also been boosted by Thursday's announcement as they contemplate returning to the league."

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...0318-qh3n.html

It is unfair to be critical of Cowan when he has done so much. As someone who saw how passionate he was and how much time, money, passion and effort he put into Basketball and the Dragons it will be a shame if he is to be tarnished, when it is clear he still wants to contribute to the League. The League would be in a fair better position if there were more people like Cowan who were prepared to invest the time and money he did.

I would love to see the dragons back again...Melbourne is a city that must have 2 teams IMO...

What will be interesting is how they will go without going outside the cap...

Judging from this season past, about the same as everyone else!

The Australian has finally confirmed that Bob Turner is a key person involved with the reborn Kings .Could be interesting if he is the coach.

Paul, nicely put...
I think the cap is working well...there will be some who are trying to break it, but it's not going as well as it had done in the past...

Bob Turner wont be the coach...IMO that is...They will chase someone high profile as always..BT will stick to front office stuff, getting big sponsors to recoup some $$..

I am beyond ecstatic about a return of basketball to Sydney.

I've been a season tix holder many times over the years, but not for 4 or 5 yrs. The year out at Acer Arena (aka The SuperDome) just killed me. Homebush is a deadpan. The shuttle train to Lidcombe is terrible, and there is no enterainment value at Homebush Bay either pre or post game. Driving to a sporting event in Sydney is also retarded.

I just read an article on ninemsn (http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1028896) which suggests the Sydney team will base out of the old State Sports Centre.....you have to be kidding. Not only is that stadium at Homebush Bay, it is a dive. In addition to attending some Kings games, and KMart classic games yrs ago, I more recently went to one or two razorbacks game as a corporate guest - the set up was terrible, and stadium very unimpressive, and looks absolutely terrible on TV.

The New Sydney team needs a great court - ala the set up the Blaze have. Think NBA gloss/branding......not ala Melbourne Tigers or Breakers which just looks like very amateur on TV. I really hope the new NBL takes a good look at how the games (the NBL proposition) looks to the TV viewer - to all the potential punters. It's one thing I think the FA have done well with A-league in having consistent signage, branding etc.

Anyway.....great - I mean awesome - to have a Sydney team back in the NBL. Please please please lets not be having games at Homebush Bay. You dont get corporate support in HB either. The only option in this city in the good old Entertainment Centre - but hopefully without the $7 beers which were on offer during the last year of the Kings.....absol rip off.