I assume that they'd rather more smaller teams than fewer monster teams. Seems like an interesting tactic.

Doing it all in one hit strikes me as free agent payday for that off-season. Without more imports and at least a few Euros back, we'd be hard pressed to fill 30-40 more jobs and maintain the talent level, but this would keep more players around, provide more spots for college returnees or those straight out of the AIS, etc.

Not sure how they've reconciled this with TV numbers of regional teams? Wonder what the NBA does with regard to that?

I tell you what, if they bring in four new rosters in one hit, the teams that manage to keep their squad together from the 14/15 season will simply destroy the ladder.

I might get a gig in the nbl?

just saying four as a number seems a bit weird?... so they will take four new teams even if only 3 bids actually look remotely viable?

They're aiming for four. That doesn't mean it'll be four regardless.

South Melbourne, Brisbane and Wellington seem likely.

"Project expansion consultant Graham Watson, a former test cricketer and a key figure in the establishment of the licences for the Western Sydney Wanderers (A-League) and the Greater Western Sydney Giants (AFL) has been brought in as a consultant to canvas opportunities in Australia and New Zealand."

Now that's a pretty serious range of end results.

Ben Allen may start

I seriously think 4 in one year is too big a leap. Maybe 2 one year then 2 the next.

Let's hope they can get four and manage the transition well to give them a chance to be competitive sooner rather than later.

Having a number (4) in mind seems foolish. Why bias the process from the start?
Surely franchises have to be able to meet certain criteria to be successful. Settling for "well, they're not up to scratch, but we only have 2 that are and need a couple more, so what the hell they're in" would hurt more than it helped.

This guy's involvement with the GWS Giants is possibly not the world's greatest selling point either. A team that, despite the league pumping squillions of dollars into, so far has attracted very little interest and has a record of 3-41. That's fine if your wealthy league is determined to see you succeed. Not so good if you're an NBL team though IMO.

^ Was involved in GWS, but also Wanderers, so both sides of the coin there.

I know nothing about A-League or the Wanderers. I take it they are successful on top of roaming around around around around?

Dan, maybe they are using that number as a bit of a carrot to see what's out there. And perhaps it's been said with knowledge of the situation of a few potential teams?

I expect throwing the net wide might mean no minimum venue size.

ummm.. I think we need to stop and think where in the world the four potential teams would play out of? Are the venues suitable for broadcasting - otherwise kiss the project goodbye. No one is going to buy a license if they can't get there product on TV.

Anonymous: Adelaide's crowds aren't down, they're up significantly. Melbourne has sold out several games at the Cage, and generally get far more than the Cage's capacity at their Hisense games. And they won't be playing at the Cage after this year.

Perth are looking at 13,000 for Friday night and haven't had fewer than 10,000 since 2012, NZ is playing half their games at Vector...

You don't know what "down" means, do you?

I would love for the NBL to go from an 8 to 12 to 16 team league.

But I cannot help but wonder how come it has been so hard to find new sustainable teams in the last decade but suddenly 8 teams within 3 seasons?

It kind of smacks of if we build it (a bigger league) they will come mentality.

I hope all the new teams can legitimately meet their financials because build a big league only to see one or 2 teams fold each year is more destructive to the NBL than increasing it by one team every 1-2 years.

I love this idea, it lets a Newcastle think that if they get their shit together then they may not be overlooked, which is far far better than nipping any chance they have in the arse because they aren't a Melbourne or Brisbane!

I really hope that Tasmania can finally unite and I couldn't give a stuff if its Davenport, Hobart or Launceston... I want the Tassie Devils back and the Tassie talent in the league (Goulding, Walker, Knight and Gibson) if im not mistaken prove that there is tremendous talent down there so anything I'm all for the NBL returning!

Is there any chance/point of having AIS Cannons in the NBL, with all our best juniors given a chance (probably too early) to compete with men. Unsure about imports but I'm guessing they would be role players that could help mentor players instead of stars wanting 20 shots a night. Is AIS arena suitable for TV presentation... Boomers/Opals played there last year.

Lastly I'd like Geelong to think they have a chance of coming back into the league, I know they are hamstrung with an undesirable court but if they can do something with Geelong Cats that can benefit both clubs for training etc. then hopefully the 4 clubs desired is a possibility.

I'm not saying I want THESE 4 clubs in this time (why not though) but I want them to be excited by this announcement and those with the ability step up and give those at NBL real excitement and if there is 5 or 6 genuine viable options then great

I would think that Brisbane, Melbourne II, and Wellington are likely to be three of the four to come in in two years. Given that talk of expansion is originating from Tassie, they'd have to be a favourite right now for the fourth spot, but that may require Launceston and Hobart to play nice, which doesn't sound like it's going to happen.

No idea who the next four could be. Newcastle is the only one that springs to mind as a particularly viable option.

Getting an NBL side back in Tassie would be great but there is lots of work to do. Hobart - the primary 'home' - has no suitable playing venue.

Chargers currently rent their court from Netball. At just over 1000 capacity, and no room for expansion.

Hopes are pinned on state govt support for a new venue following the March election. Anthony Stewart and Randy Livingstone are part of the working group spruiking it.

As mentioned getting all areas of the state to cooperate would be a miracle.

Yes 4 in one year is surely unheard of even in very financially safe sporting leagues. An AIS team primarily based in Canberra but also playing home games in places like Darwin, Albury, Newcastle etc would be ideal as a developmental team for players under 21.

This is great to see. Would love to see 12 teams competing. I personally think 16 sounds like way too many for our top tier league but happy to be proven wrong.

@SMA - Playing Venue in Hobart Derwent Entertainment Centre. Capacity just under 5000.

I would expect to commence you would target crowds of between 2 and 3 thousand and seating sold and arranged for best atmosphere.

Rick - I just had a quick look at the Australian Bureau of Statistics data on participation in organised sports. Latest publication was SPORT AND RECREATION: A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW, AUSTRALIA, released 20 December 2012 (catalogue # 4156.0). I didn't have time to check more thoroughly for better data.

AFL has 16 teams each with more than 40 playing personnel, off the back of 212,700 boys aged 5-14 playing football.

A 16 team NBL would be looking for 10-12 local players (excluding imports) per team, off the back of 131,300 boys aged 5-14 playing basketball plus the New Zealand participating population.

That suggests there's the participation base for a top tier league as good as AFL is relative to the other Aussie Rules leagues. I know there are a lot of other variables at play but at least it's a (long term) vision that has a touch of credibility about it.

I think the key difference between achieving a 16 team NBL today and the 16 team NBLs of the past is that today we're looking at fully professional teams (players, coaches, administrators). In the past, they were a mixture of fully professional and semi professional. That makes the task a lot harder.

I believe it will only happen with a TV deal that delivers substantial revenue to the NBL and probably to participating clubs. That's what's driven expansion for other professional sports over the last 20 years.

Fastest way to grow a player and talent base is to open up the billets for it.

You can't grow players when they can't play.

The contracted A-League versus the old NSL is causing the same headache for the FFA. You have to grow your talent base with opportunities.

@Rick There is a lot of resistance to return to the DEC. Even Stewart is pushing hard for a dedicated basketball venue. At one stage talk about one in the old city hall.

Libs have offered a carrot, see below, but Hobart already has Kingston (another old Devils haunt), Moonah and Clarence all multi court venues that don't appear to suit.


http://www.themercury.com.au/sport/local-sport/state-liberals-shoot-for-basketball-vote-with-vow-to-back-new-sports-stadium/story-fnj92b0f-1226782559108

Is the plan for a 16 team one tier comp - or for two tiers of 8 teams with relegation etc? Haven't seen any detail on this.

I don't think talk of dilution is a furphy - I think it's a discussion worth having. But on the other hand, Nathan is also correct: "You can't grow players when they can't play."

Dilution aside, the sheer number of teams isn't an issue. Each would pull from local investment, sponsorship and fans. But I keep thinking about TV and that the teams getting audiences are not these smaller, regional spots.

Maybe they've looked at secondary channels, worked out what it would cost to run the games themselves on TV (and draw a bigger share of ads) just to make it happen and provide value to sponsors and a product to more fans.

If they want to have lots of teams in boutique stadiums they should (and probably are) work with state and local governments on similar stadiums to the State Basketball Centre in Knox that have a 3000-3500 showcourt plus deliver new facilities to the community.

Agree 100% with PeterJohn, this model will only work with a TV deal providing the money to make the comp viable (rather than all the clubs just having to look after themselves). You would imagine the discussions theyve been having with TV stations would be shaping this model though.

Would be good to see some of the assistant coaches given a chance to run as head coach too. Seems wasted having coaching talent like Mick Downer, Darryl MacDonald and Mike Kelly sitting on the bench.

I don't think talent dilution is a problem. Most teams go too deep into their rotations as it is in a short season with only 20 odd 40 minute games as it is. As long as the teams go 7 or 8 deep with legit talent youll be fine.

Good point Mick but at the moment half the teams are already struggling to be 7 or 8 deep. Cairns, NZ Adelaide and Perth are probably the exceptions.

ADL - Ervin, Gibson, Frye, Johnson, Schenscher, Petrie, Cadee, Creek
9th and 10th: Anthony and Teys

MEL - Farrakhan, Goulding, Worthington, Ballinger, Morrison, Walker, Tomlinson, Greer
9th and 10th: Odigie and MacMillan

NZ - Johnson, Corletto, Abercrombie, Vukona, Pledger, Wilkinson, Bruton, Webster
9th and 10th: TeRangi and Development Player

Sydney - Young, Madgen, Harvey, Garlepp, Ogilvy, Hill, Carmouche, Ellis
9th, 10th and 11th: White, Allen and Gleeson

Wollongong - Martin, Clarke, Coenraad, Forman, Davidson, Tiggs, Gruber, Demos
9th and 10th: Harris-Tunks and Cooks

Townsville - Markovic, Pace, Blanchfield, Conklin, Hinder, Norton, Crawford, Holmes
9th, 10th and 11th: Kenny, Djeric and Vanderjact

Cairns - Wilson, Gliddon, Weigh, Loughton, Tragardh, McCamey, Burston, Steindl
9th and 10th: Young and Bruce

Perth - Ennis, Martin, Redhage, Knight, Beal, Wagstaff, Hire, Jervis
9th and 10th: U'u and Burdon

I think all the teams go 8 deep with 9th and below getting limited minutes.

I guess it comes down to interpretation of 'deep'. A lot of those players listed at 7 and 8 would struggle to start and play consistently if one of their star players went down with a long-term injury (eg. Greer, Ballinger, Hill, Harvey, Demos, Hinder, Norton). (note: probably being a bit harsh on Greer given he's only just come back).

All of those have started at some point recently. Guys like Creek, Anthony, Wagstaff, Gruber, Tiggs, etc should be starting in a bigger league and it would be just as entertaining.

NNBL is new NBL or NBL pty. Ltd. the non BA owned league.

@ Curtly. Mate that is the best idea ever to have AIS playing out of experimental stadiums such as Darwin, Geelong, Newcastle etc. as we know they will be the leagues whipping boys but also everyone's 2nd favourite team and if they are coached to play free flowing run and gun offence then the enthusiasm of 21 year olds will be infectious and fun to watch and hopefully a university will be their major sponsor and other advertisers would be aimed at that demographic.