Hmmm - in one sense, we're going back to the 1990s model. The main difference (other than rules) would be that the players are fully professional and the standard is lower. I base the last on the fact that almost no Boomers play NBL these days and there are fewer top shelf imports playing (partly as there are fewer teams).
To lift the profile of the league back to where it was in those days probably will need investment in promotion as well as changes to the product. The changes to the product are probably pretty easy and cheap to make (better officiating, jump balls, 48 minute games, whatever).
However, I'm not sure how the clubs will share the costs of promotion, when we have a mixture of poor clubs and rich clubs? Maybe some sort of profit sharing arrangement that says you get more of the profits, when they come, if you stump up more of the capital to set up, promote and run the "new" NBL? I'm hopeful they'll come up with a solutino that sees the necessary investment made. If that's done, then I see the NBL becoming much stronger over the next 5-10 years.
What I'm fearful of is that some of the changes may involve salary caps and points caps and we may find ourselves back where we were 15 years ago. Rich clubs perennially winning, while community clubs get sick of losing and start folding when they try to outspend the rich guys.
One of the problems is, once NBL gets popular and trendy again, the nouveau riche, selfish dickheads will start circling, wanting to be part of the action because it's trendy and without caring for the club or the sport. Then, when their business goes bust (Eddie, Tim etc.), the club dies with it.
So, it's one thing for the people involved now to have the clubs' and NBL's interests front of mind, but so did the people running the league in the 1980s and 1990s. They need to think about protecting the league from history repeating itself.
