If Brisbane return, Gibson will be a Bullet in season 2015/16.

cj bruton?

Well he said it wasn't Stiffy or CJ, there's no-one else left that would fall into that category, is there?

I for one would be very disappointed if it was, even if I DO admire the thinking behind it...

Not Gibbo !

Phil Smyth is a 6-time championship winner.....

You would think that as a journo he would actually break a story if he had one. He never does. More like a leader of the cheer squad than a journo.

Maybe Boti is referring to the Perth Wildcats as the six-time championship winner?

Strong word around is BA are happy to let the current NBL over extend and die a natural death.

Brisbane will be underwritten by the rest of the league....as will Adelaide moving forward.

Motum is contracted to Adelaide next season Anon #509532.

I'm not convinced losing Gibson would be such a bad thing either.

Goulding is from Tasmania.... not a real local... yeah he played his basketball before joining the NBL in Brisbane/QLD but he is from Tasmania... ditto gibson...

"Paul, I gather he is suggesting that Nick Marvin is ringing out of contract players to ask if they are keen to play for Brisbane."

That's kind of what I was hinting at. Anyway, I don't care who rings who, who puts in what or anything else, as long as the league gets back into Brisbane successfully and the league is able to get onto a more secure footing over the next couple of years.

There is no "apparent " conflict of interest if Marvin is involved. It IS a conflict of interest. Marvin can not be signing off on two team's player recruitments.

Imagine the scenario.

"Hi Gibbo / Bubbles / Brock/ Wortho its Nick here I wanted to talk to you about playing for Brisbane..... for 10k more would you like to play for Perth?"

Perception is reality and so the only way for it to be done with clarity is that Marvin can not be involved.

Big picture as Paul suggests is getting Brisbane back in

Perhaps someone independent?

My first guess was Smyth.

Not uncommon for potential coaches to test waters with potential players well in advance. Happens all the time.

Boti wants a bet each way. He wants the Brisbane team to fail so he can blame Marvin. He wants Marvin to get the Brisbane team across the line so he can point the finger at him for his apparent conflict of interest. Its getting beyond ridiculous.

And he has also pointed to another one of his opinion-filled blogs as proof that his opinion is right. Fantastic logic!

...the rest of that controlling body to comprise Paul Bendat (son of Wildcats owner Jack - that would be Nick's boss, Jack), Richard Clarke (NZ Breakers), Steve Dunn (Sydney part-owner) and Adrian Garrone (ex-Cairns, now "independent") ...

Go home Boti, you're drunk

Maybe I have my one eye wide open, but does anyone really care if say Bendat, Marvin or any other club owner/CEO has a part in Brisbane or any other new franchise? Isn't the bottom line that we have more teams, does it really matter where the funding comes from?

All the fans continually asking for news/progress on Brisbane, public announcements, etc - are they hoping to see Brisbane fail? Or do people just think that a solid announcement well in advance will give the project its best chance of success?

If it's going to be run by the NBL or someone already involved with another team (and then potentially sold), they can surely make some confident choices now such as locking in the name, a date for announcement of something like logo, uniform, etc and then pick 1-2 names to be involved in some fashion (ops, community, whatever) to serve as the temporary face. Once you've locked that in, you can formalise a search for a coach and maybe an initial player (unsigned in the NBL at this point).

I'd lock in "Bullets" and name a date in month or two when the logo will be revealed, a month beyond that for a uniform. Set up a single-page website where people can lodge their email address as a fan, sponsor, etc.

Train, I think they have historically had a specific rule against it. Came up when Groves, oops, Hemmerling, bought the 36ers.

I really hope the Tasmania bid goes ahead also, would be great to see a team there again.

Anon, you see what you want to see

Perception is often reality to the perceiver, I think that's the point.

Townsville are safe and Brisbane is 99% going to be in the league next season #nottrolling

Unfortunately we are very reliant on a TV deal to survive (draws in sponsors, fans, mass publicity, general connectedness for fans) and unfortunately the NBL is not a very attractive option for TV networks.

It's particularly not attractive for a TV Network to sign a deal where a city of 2 million people can be effectively ruled out from being a target market in the slot due to a lack of there being a local team.

A Brisbane team back into the NBL is more lucrative to a TV network. Add a second Victorian team, and more Victorians will pay attention, and it sets up for better rating games such as a Victorian derby.

If the NBL needs to fund Brisbane and partly fund Adelaide, and maybe Townsville (hopefully they can return to their previous stadium for a better deal), then we need other owners to be strong. Perth, NZ, Melbourne are in good financial positions and run well, Cairns and Sydney are running sufficiently by themselves and Wollongong are okay for the time being. If Cowan can bring a financially strong Victorian team, and we introduce another well run team out of Wellington by say, the Wellington Saints owners, then that's 11 teams. 3-4 of those teams utilise the marquee rule to help put money into ensuring Brissy and Adelaide survive, and it helps the league a lot.

If the NBL are going to make sure every game is produced for NBL.tv, then it makes sense for local games to be broadcasted into local areas for TV networks. There's probably more flexibility for this when there is 7mate, 7two etc.


The league should also look into more games, including midweek games and less trainings - hopefully that will bring in more money financially and hopefully the midweek games rate better.

I think we all need to step back and think about this - is INCEPTION the reality?

Whoa - mind blown.

7/8 teams bleed cash and the reality is that the income streams at present do not support a $1,000,000 plus salary cap

Drop the salary cap to $700,000 plus a marquee rule and you have 8/8 clubs financially viable and those that want to recruit big name players are free to spend as much as they want doing that.

Some players will be lost but other will take their place. So be it. Some players will go try their hand in Europe where the will find out they don't get paid, can be expected to travel for hours by bus on game day, stay in meagre accommodation and have limited access to support staff including medical.

Things change from season to season

Hawks are spending close to the cap this season

Taipans have had a major backer go into administration so that income stream is now in need of replacement.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-03/cairns-based-skytrans-regional-airline-closes-operations/5998362

Why would the NBL need to partly fund Adelaide? If they're in financial trouble, why not consider a move to the community model? You have a lot of passionate fans to make it work.

Skytrans aren't a major backer anymore since the start of this season, so no worries for Cairns.

The salary cap should be $650K plus two 'marquee' spots, one for a local and one for an import. That way any team can be competitive in the $800K-900K range and the bigger teams can spend more to lure/keep stars that will attract/keep fans.

Teams have to show spending on marquees fits with revenue. You want to spend more? Improve your off-court operations ala Perth and NZ.

Of course, that requires an independent league HQ, something that must happen soon to avoid some situations that are unavoidable in the current model.

I like the idea of a local marquee and an import marquee, but it's not really equitable for the smaller teams (ie any team other than Perth).

Exactly Paul

Currently teams are able to spend despite themselves. They almost need to do this in order to tell their fan base that they are legit in trying to win. The NBA gives fantastic examples of the most expensive roster not being competitive. The same applies in the NBL

Look how much grief people gave the 36ers when they wrongly assumed this current roster was "budget" or "cheap"

It would work because there really isn't a lot of difference between talent levels of players available to the NBL. A lower paying team can get a similar talent for $120K to what a big city team can get for $300K.

Josh Childress is probably an exception to that rule, but he is quite a unique situation with his amnesty, experience in Euroleague and willingness to explore the world.

The biggest expense in an NBL business is player salaries...yes they put the game on but if 2/3 teams are struggling year of year something needs to change.

Yes we might loose some of the playing depth but we might have to face reality or have no league at all if the rumours about Adelaide, Townsville & the gong are to be believed.

Most rich dudes don't like tearing up $1mil bucks every year...they are rich dudes cause they don't give it away!

The thing is, if you make player spending more sustainable you are more likely to get expansion teams, and then the wage levels will stay at a similar level, with new players taking the increased number of smaller contracts.

If we reduce down to the $700k mark, it makes some sense, particularly if we have expansion of another 2-3 teams. Instead of players being pushed out, they can be spread out among the teams, and younger cheapies can fill out the rest of the new roster spots.

its a tough call, the salary cap was more than 650k over a decade ago.

Make the average player wage too low and it becomes a choice to play, far more than it is now.

I think adjustments to the salary cap have to be considered, but while retaining flexibility so that the big teams can spend up on drawcards.

I've said before also that the league should consider reducing the minimum salary, but maybe have it so that a player in a lower bracket (say $20-40k) has reduced training and appearance expectations. Either save that money or put it towards name players.

The bitterness and twisted logic of some people knows no bounds. If you want to know how to run a successful NBL club, who better than Marvin?

As for "conflict of interest," who gives a rats arse?
If the interests are indeed in conflict, the only interests we're talking about is Perth & Brisbane! So why are all the other fans getting their panties in a bunch?

The rather obvious point is that if ANYBODY has the money, resources, or contacts to put together a successful & stable Brisbane team, they are welcome to do so (and have had plenty of time.) If the NBL are going to bankroll this, they're naturally not going to hand a blank cheque to some numpty just because he's perceived to be "independent."

People are also rather naive. Even if say Marvin himself is making phone calls, the control issue would be no different if they hired a coach or CEO to do their bidding. As the Golden Rule says; he who has the gold makes the rules.
Regardless of who the front men may be, the Brisbane Bullets will be controlled by whoever holds the purse strings.

"its a tough call, the salary cap was more than 650k over a decade ago.

Make the average player wage too low and it becomes a choice to play, far more than it is now."

But the salary cap won't be $650K. That's what a team can spend on eight players, which isn't all that dissimilar to now.

The only reason the wildcats survive today and make a profit is because of Bendants generosity.

"The only reason the wildcats survive today and make a profit is because of Bendants generosity."

There is no question that Bendat's indulgence was behind their survival during the Challenge Stadium era. Nobody has ever denied that, but it's ancient history now.
The Wildcats THRIVE because they have been exceptional at engaging with the public and as a result can sell 13,000 seats to most games, not to mention merchandise.

Is Marvin the world's greatest expert on basketball teams? Presumably not. But he has seen and knows what it takes to run a successful franchise.

I'm not suggesting that he would work magic for a Brisbane Team. It may well be that his first order of business is to find them their own benefactor.
At the very least he knows that without a substantial ticketing base they will need financial assistance.

Don't get me wrong, whilst I would love to see the return of the Bullets for nostalgic reasons, I don't like the idea that it has to be done by the NBL. Furthermore, if maintaining a franchise in Brisbane becomes part of the new TV deal, it could become a massive drain on the NBL for years to come.

All I'm saying is that IF they are going down that path, then Marvin has a lot on insight to give.

The other thing to remember is the Wildcats, not so long ago, were a major sporting brand in Perth. What Marvin and staff have done very well, with Bendat's money, is recapture that position in the city and perhaps even take it to another level.

"Clearly he didn't when they were bleeding Jacks money and sorry its not ancient history. If the current venue wasn't available where would they be with Marvins business acumen."

You just keep on circling back to the same old chestnut.

Melbourne have access to some of the biggest and best venues in the country, yet still play at the Netball centre. The majority of teams could have the potential to sell more seats but they can't.
Whinge as much as you want, but the fact is that Marvin has done an excellent job of building the brand and fan support of the Cats.

Plus as I said, maybe his first bit of advice to Brisbane will be "Until you can sell 8~9,000 tickets per game you need a benefactor or sponsor with deep pockets."

Maybe Marvin could apply Bendat money again in Brisbane and repeat the formula? Oh wait...

Even though he didn't provide a huge amount of info, little updates like the interview before todays game from the new chairman are exactly what I want to see.

Brisbane Crocs coming up then !

Conklin and few could fill a spot or two..

"United seldom play at the netball centre any more. Not sure where you have been for the last few seasons Dazz."

Yeah I know they have moved most(?) games to Hisense. Problem is they're still only getting ~3,500 to their games.

I don't know what the break-even point is for a franchise. I suppose it depends on the rental costs and how much they're spending on overheads. Not every team has to spend to Perth levels.

I'm surprised that with the upcoming Commonwealth Games, that there hasn't been more talk of another GC team.

Melbourne have only got 3500 to midweek games, most of their weekend games have been in the 5000s.

Thats not matching the Sixers yet and a much bigger population and basketball community. Should be better than that. Why ?

"Thats not matching the Sixers yet and a much bigger population and basketball community. Should be better than that. Why ?"

Because there are basically no Melbourne United fans. It's a club without history that also has poor brand recognition. The people who come through the doors are casuals interested in seeing a game of professional hoops.