^ Excellent piece

I'm glad it linked to her blog. Players have been saying this for a while now. WNBL 2.0 definitely needs to reconsider what they're doing with DPs.

Thanks for posting this @LC.

Biggest concern I see is that she spent six years of slog as a DP waiting for a spot on a player roster.

One would think that after three years of virtually no progress, it's probably time to look at doing something else.

I wonder how much further on she would be in the AFLW system if she had moved across to it three years earlier than she did.

The simple fact is that Australia is a very small pond when it comes to elite Basketball opportunities. Even smaller when one considers how many players from o/s play in our elite leagues which reduces the number of available spots.

We all happily watch our elite level sports, NBL, WNBL, AFL, AFLW, NRL, NRLW, Tennis, International Cricket etc. But many forget that for every player we see plying their trade in those competitions, there are dozens, perhaps even hundreds, who nearly got there but didn't.

Should also add ... her assertion that if nothing changes the WNBL will lose players really doesn't matter that much in the overall scheme of things.

Many of us have moved on from the idea that we want to primarily watch Australian players in the elite leagues of international sports like Basketball.

NBL has basically become an Entertainment sport now. Much of its attraction is watching international players showing us their great skills. Of course, we love seeing the home grown players do well. But many of those home grown players really grew up by leaving Australia to develop and then returning - Mitch Creek immediately comes to mind - to dominate at the elite level here.

WNBL will not evolve into an Entertainment sport unless it follows the same path as the NBL has. That will mean fewer opportunities for local players as more international players are recruited to come play here.

And like the NBL, if you are paying megabucks to international players to play for your franchise, who do you think is going to be spending the most time on the bench during the games? Hint: Not the locally developed players.

Do we need DPs at all with NBL1 now in place?

12 Contracted players, 0 DPs?

Of course you need DPs. Teams usually only have 10 contracted players, and the 11 and 12th bench spots at home games are filled with DPs. They also need more than 10 - 12 players at training sessions to cover for injuries and to make certain drills work.

I disagree that after 3 years you give it away. Some players start their DP journey at 16....are you suggesting by 19 it's "time to call it a day?" I think that's a very negative perspective.

Something else Karma seemed to miss is that she was pointing out the exploitative nature of it. Name another industry where you do the same amount of training and commitments (weights, coaching clinics, school visits, team training, individual sessions, scout sessions, team meetings, flights sometimes, travel) as the rest of your colleagues, and particularly until recently, basically weren't paid at all for it? Volunteer positions, that is it. Some will argue, well no one forced you to do it, but if you have aspirations and don't want to go to college/don't have the opportunity to go, there are little other pathways to choose from.

I would love to know the % of DPs over the past 20 years who have managed to graduate into the 10. Even more interesting would be to see how many actually make it past a player 9 or 10 an become a legit player. The numbers would have to be very low. It isn't hard to see that the pathway is a fallacy, which is what she is pointing out.

For various reasons it isn't an environment aspiring players can actually flourish in, and that's the real issue with it.

Big difference between DP and TP.

Congratulations to Saraid on her article. I would suggest her perspective is very valid.
However, the obvious is still missing. Where does or will the money come from to pay the athletes.

Unfortunately if the game doesn't generate the cash flow, they can’t pay anything.

Blunt fact, limited tickets, limited sponsorship, no TV deal that generates revenue for the clubs leading to the insufficient revenue = volunteer players.

"Should also add ... her assertion that if nothing changes the WNBL will lose players really doesn't matter that much in the overall scheme of things.

Many of us have moved on from the idea that we want to primarily watch Australian players in the elite leagues of international sports like Basketball."

i think this is really short sighted. If the NBL/NBL aren't places to watch primarily local players, whats the point? The only real advantages it has over other leagues in the world are that and proximity. With league pass a good deal these days (and WNBA pass a steal) why bother to watch an inferior league if you take away the local angle? Why relegate the local leagues to second rate G League.

Eventually it wont just be end of bench guys that leave for more opportunity it will be younger and better players.

First thing that needs to happen is BA need to sell at least a controlling Stake in the WNBL. There was a news article some time ago about Larry Kesstleman wanting to purchase it but BA would only sell 49%. BA needs to let go and then give the clubs some incentive to develop players e.g. they could make a payment to a club if one of their development players managed to get a full contract, be it with them or another club. The first move has to be BA removing itself from control.