We know this won't end well.
A bidding war will only suit the big three clubs and even then the money can't possibly compete with Europe.

Ain't NS already dead, just doesn't know it yet... Went from two top 15 types (& 1 already drafted professional), too guys unlikely to get drafted at all. G league restructured to pay more for the non-college ones so what actual benefit is there for them to come out here now.

NS is just a flexible mechanism of the NBL to lure young talent away from the NCAA. I feel like the position's eligibility is pretty fluid. Young players bring scouts and media attention. Something important for our league. The LaMelo/RJ experiment didnt go as planned. RJ lacking and LaMelo being heavily critized for his play in the NBL. That being said, the NBL is receiving more coverage now in the US than ever before. The league has been around for decades and nothing has helped us get national TV deals so why not continue to try stuff like the NS? Brand awareness is huge for building legitimacy for these young prospects considering Australia.

The NS program will continue to adapt to help attract the young and up-and-coming basketball players looking for an alternative to College.

"The NS program will continue to adapt to help attract the young and up-and-coming basketball players looking for an alternative to College."

Translation: The NS program will continue to make things up as it goes along to pretend it was ever a success given only a total of 2 foreign players have chosen the NBL over college and one of them never played.

Yep exactly.

And maybe next year we get a couple more.

Why does it need to be set in stone? Whats the difference?

Something somewhere near a level of transparency would be nice. Also the "program" is little more than a way to get a new college grad in without using an import space now which is not even remotely the original purpose of the program.

The league shouldnt be giving development opportunities to foreign players - most (all?) of whom will never be anything approaching a "star" - at the expense of locals.

This is being used as a mechanism to get talent into the league. Why cap its potential? You need flexibility when you're trying to see what works. Why compromise that?

It obviously didnt swing the NBL championship.
Cats didnt have a next star and won it all. Sydney had arguably the best Next Star and still didnt win.

NS is to go after young US players who have a tonne of social media presence and have the ability to capture new fans. The league builds legitimacy. Young kids in Australia want to play in the Australian league against NBA lottery picks. In terms of local viewership, young Aussie kids are turning on the NBL/going to the games to watch these huge social media figures play for their home team.

Whats your plan to grow the league out of curiosity?

I think the Jessup signing is taking the piss a bit.
Any college senior could be eligible but Perth are fine with signing Mooney as a regular import.

Young kids in Australia have fewer opportunities for minutes because of this rule, so trying to spin it as being good for them is pretty rich.

The Hawks had the biggest name NS there will ever be and went broke. Tell me again how this is good for the league and its clubs?

Its short term buzz over any kind of sustainable benefit.

Again, this era has seen the fewest Australians in the league of any in history meanwhile bending over backwards and paying a a premium to develop American players for a few clicks.

It isnt sustainable and wont end well.

A few clicks? The NBL is going to produce a top 3 player. When has that ever happened?

You need to inspire the youth. You do that by getting the product on TV/online/places where they hang out. They do that and they pester their parents to take them out to play ball. They forgo playing the sports that dominate the mainstream here (AFL/NRL).

And as for the Hawks, it was a basket case before LaMelo got there. So thats a bullshit argument.

Again, what was your alternative plan?

" few clicks? The NBL is going to produce a top 3 player. When has that ever happened?"

Produced? Guy played 12 games. The NBL didn't produce him. Dante Exum went top 5 from playing nowhere for 6 months.

And that he'll be a top 3 draft pick is good but does that guarantee success?

"You need to inspire the youth. You do that by getting the product on TV/online/places where they hang out. They do that and they pester their parents to take them out to play ball. They forgo playing the sports that dominate the mainstream here (AFL/NRL)."

Being able to see good young Aussie players in the NBL would be inspiring, yes.

"And as for the Hawks, it was a basket case before LaMelo got there. So thats a bullshit argument."

But right up until they declared banckruptcy, the NBL and all of the LK sycophants were delcaring the LaMelo ball NS deal at the Hawks a success for the club. Quotes from inside the club saying they were never in a better position. Funny how the exposure and clicks didnt work out huh?

People keep saying the same about the league as a whole. And I'm sure they will right up until the point it falls down.

"Again, what was your alternative plan?"

Grow the league sustainably. That will be slower, sure, and not nearly as click worthy, but it'll last longer.

I agree he played very few games and using 'produced' was far-fetched. But the NBL was the league he played in before entering the draft. Thats all that matters.

Are there any lies in this statement:
'LaMelo Ball came from the NBL.'

That is all that matters. That alone gives agents the ammunition to potentially sway their potential top draft pick to play in the NBL.

In terms of any form of concrete rules and regulations governing the program, I agree that the Next Stars is a farce. But it is doing the job it needs to do. It is more of a PR tool than it is a basketball development tool.

Using LaMelo to answer that the Next Stars system works is flawed as he was always a top 10 pick and bumping up a few spots would have happened in draft camps due to his natural talent. Hampton was the real type NS was originally targeting, the late round/2nd round expectations and couldn't/wouldn't go to HS, so some Pro seasoning could build their profile and experience.

The real question is where are the next draft calibre players. Sure as heck not coming to the NBL when the G league now offers the cash to stay home for the couldn't/wouldn't go to HS types. No one will be coming over to scout, let alone "trend", the likes of Jessup, the SE Phoenix guy, Mooney etc

Next stars is not a development program. It aims to get American eyeballs watching the product. The US market is huge and potential revenue substantial if they can get even a small percentage of the American basketball market to watch. This is why LK pays and the "rules" expand to include anyone Americans might watch. LaMelo was spectacularly successful as a NS. The value of the exposure he generated in the US was huge. He basically got the games on ESPN. Americans aren't interested in talented but unknown locals so they are basically not eligible.

Unfortunately for the NBL the G League has Realised they were missing out.

LaMelo was used as a marketing campaign and the NS program being the vehicle to deliver it.

Call the program whatever you want Next Stars, Five Stars, No Stars... it doesn't matter. If you're trying to make sense of it then you will be continually frustrated. It is simply being used to take advantage of short term growth opportunities for the NBL.

As a development tool, the NS program sucks no doubt. But the NS position has been successful in producing decent role players/bench players. I don't mind that for the role.

This league needs revenue. The Australian market is already saturated with professional sports teams and opportunities for growth locally are limited. Next Stars are a cheap way of generating interest in a potentially lucrative market. The value of the exposure that came with LaMelo Ball was astronomical compared to what they paid him. They would be crazy not to take all the Next Stars they can get.

The idea that Americans are gonna start tuning into NBL games as anything other than a rare novelty is absurd. Also, given the Hawks went broke, paying LaMelo doesnt seem to be that cheap does it?

how many Americans are gonna be tuning in to watch Jessup? Millions obviously.

Create a league with Australian players for an Australian audience. It is harder, will take longer and wont get you the sexy headlines, but it'll be longer lasting.

Buzz over substance never lasts.

2 Million people streamed the Ball and Hampton match up.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2019/10/25/lamelo-ball-rj-hampton-draw-nearly-two-million-views-on-facebook/#5aa75b9b239e

What a mistake!

2 Million views of at least a few seconds. If you think many watched more than a few minutes you're falling for the buzz