For the Next Stars I agree completely, however I'd like more transparency in any case - especially if teams elect not to take on a Next Star. There have been multiple rumours about that this season with Ball in particular with multiple teams apparently turning him down (according to anon posters here, at least).

On the flip side, I'm sure some Next Stars would heavily prefer certain teams over others for any number of reasons - location/playing time guarantees/import selection/etc - so I don't know how you'd tackle that.

I like the returning college player idea also, but also not sure how it would work in practice. If Cairns have a budget of $60k for a player and Melbourne are willing to pay $100k for that same player, what happens then? I can see guys being forced overseas to earn what they are actually worth, versus the artificial limits imposed through this system.

I would like to see set 100k contracts for this purpose.

Both next stars and Australian rookies (not including returning college players) can register to go into the draft and then teams pick in reverse order for the right to sign.

There's not enough money in it to force Aussie rookies to play for a certain team. Would be different if these guys were earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then I think they wouldn't mind being forced to move interstate if required to play.

if they have followers they'll get a gig regardless of if they can play!

Before Taipans-Hawks last round there was an article published by the Cairns Post/News Corp about how Cairns were close to signing LaMelo. It's behind a paywall so I couldn't read the finer details - it may shed further light on the process of Next Stars and how clubs bid for players?

Mike Kelly in an interview on local tv said they had some talks with his people but didn't hear back. He also said the Taipans were aware Illawarra were in talks with Ball as well. The Taipans asked questions such as what Ball was wanting (amount of court time, etc.) and the impression I got from the article is that Illawarra asked less questions and were keen to have him, no matter what.

So how do the restraint of trade provisions in the Trade Practices Act (TPA) come into this sort of discussion? My limited understanding is that these sorts of drafts can be acceptable under that Act if there's a legitimate interest in need of protection; the restraint is reasonable (to protect that interest); and the restraint is not against the public interest.

Maintaining evenness of the competition and viability of the league could be viewed as legitimate interests for this sort of draft. They're cited in online comments about the AFL draft and restraints of trade.

It would probably depend then on whether the interests of the players would be adequately catered for in the draft arrangements. e.g., limit draft contracts to 1 or 2 years, after which players can change teams freely.

What about limiting the amounts you can pay a NS player to say $350k (and the NBL still contributes the $100k).

That means teams are only $250k out of pocket for the NS player - which gives more competition for teams to compete for the NS player and its not just the team with the fattest cheque-book.

I know we may lose some NS coming here with the limit; but $350k AUD is still a decent wad of cash versus earning zilch in college

And frankly my view on it is that if teams have to pay more than $350k anyway for a NS player, then were better not having them in our league because I don't think thats sustainable frankly.

Looking at the 2021 NBA Draft prospects, sadly most of them have already committed to Colleges.

Jalen Green intends to choose a college soon.

So I can't see many at all that would come to the NBL

The one downside of league undergoing such a dynamic transformation is that the rules keep moving from what is originally announced.
So I don;t know how much these guy are getting paid, or how much the league is paying. The original number was $100k.

I guess the reality quickly became apparent, that if you want a Lamelo or Hampton, that's not going to work.
If you're looking at an NBA payday next season all but guaranteed, turning pro one year early for $100k is not that attractive.

And no, a draft is unlikely to work as such.
Some limitations are acceptable as part of the agreement (or "contract") with teams. A team agreeing to participate in a certain processes, or abide by certain "rules" is generally not restraint of trade.
But the problem comes in when you try to force an individual player to comply. The courts long ago ruled the NRL draft illegal.
The AFL Draft is their Achilles heal. Nobody has challenged it, yet.
IF the players agreed as part of their contract with the NBL, to be placed at their discretion, then that would be fine. However can you really see any top players agreeing to that?

Isn't it only going to be a thing for 1-2 more season?
Once the NBA changes the age limit for the draft I can’t see it being around.

"Before he came to the NBL no one wanted to know him in America because of his dad.
Now after playing as a NBL next star he has improved his game and was picked up by an NBA team, and now playing and scoring on that very team.
It very much looks like the NBL and the next star program helped him achieve his dreams what he does from here is up to him.
Nice work Brian Bowen "

Wasn't he considered a likely bubble first rounder before coming to the NBL and ended up going undrafted after? Well done Next Stars.

Next Stars was never going to be anything other than niche. Thinking that there was going to be 18 year old phenoms from the US knocking down the doors of NBL teams is pure fantasy.

Of the 5 guys that have been through the program, only 2 fit the original description of who the program was intended for - kids choosing to skip their one year of college to play pro. One was a guy who played college but got booted, another a guy who wasn't eligible for college as he'd already played pro, and one who's already been drafted, after the retro actively changed the rules.

Only Armstrong and Hampton fit that original description and one isn't close to good enough to play. What a success!

The league might be able to attract some more guys over the coming years that fall foul of the NCAA rules and lose eligibility, but that will never be anything other than ad-hoc.

I don't see how turning the NBL into G-League south helps it get better