Hoops

Bogut ruled out of Olympic qualifiers

team of stars Vs star team ;)
NZ's team will be made up largely of Breakers players who have a lot of on court chemistry with each other. Be nice to get Marks back in a black singlet but Pledger has been developing well.

I think you are badly underestimatng this NZ team. We need to be very close to full strengthnd even then it is no done deal. If we go in undermanned and loose then the pre qualifying tournament is even more tough.

NBA players that want to play for their homelands,
during lockout, will have to pay their own insurance.

Average Okka, you make some very valid points. Yes perhaps my insinuation that those that have it should suck it up and give back is flawed and maybe even stupid.
My reference to BA spending is in the cost of setting up junior national championships, the talent identification camp in january at the AIS, the scholarships offered to players and the cost involved in the whole basketball program ie coaching, gym sessions, rehab and maintaining health and the numerous tours that the AIS go on internationally each year.
Then you add in the cost of senior and junior national team training camps & tours and the $$$ certainly add up.
Absolutely work ethic and drive make a player, but you are trying to say that if all of our Boomers shot in their back yard every night for hours and hours that they would be the success that they are today!? Please, you know as well as I do that without the opportunities presented to these players no where near as many would succeed and basketball would be the ass end of sport in this country.
In relation to the players at the AIS that are never heard of again, surely not all of this responsability lies with BA. Not everyone that attends the AIS has the WORK ETHIC or DRIVE to be a success. I do believe however that perhaps BA & the AIS need a training/development system in place to re-intergrate those that are unsuccessful into careers after leaving the program and only having known the basketball life.

So bogut was cut from teams, ooh argh, but he did benefit from the AIS program, and if he had not then more than likely he would not have played for Utah and so on. He needed that exposure that only the AIS can offer.
In threads relating to the lockout people have stated that its a business, and I agree. Well the AIS basketball program is a BUSINESS, and its sole objective is to produce basketball players of an international calibre that will represent their country, which through success at interbational level continues to attract the corporate and government dollars that keep the program going.
The by product of this program is their employees as such learn the skills that make them employable around the globe.
Now basketball australia would not begrudge anyone from being able to make a living, and absoluely college in the US has also helped develop some of ur best players, but how many of our senior men's team have not played at the AIS? (and by this i mean players who represent at a major tournament, not mickey mouse shit)
And this is only an assumption, but those that have not more than likely hold dual passports and have been lucky enough to play in Europe as a local.

Face Palm!

Yeah, that taxpayer funded stint at the AIS that culminated in a World Championship MVP and a World Championship had nothing to do with Australia....

good call I Spy

i pose this question to everyone. does basketball australia spend millions of dollars assisting basketball players around this country with the absolute best facilities available so they can play NBA?
While i am sure they hope these players reach their full potential, I am also sure it is because they hope these players will REPRESENT their country and maintain our proud existence as a basketball leader.
I'm sure we all understand just what these guys are potentially risking by commiting to play for their countries, but had these countries not pumped the millions of dollars they do into basketball programmes then they wouldn't be earning those contracts.
Now our woman are leading by example in a sense by commiting to play locally next year in the lead up to the London olympics, and while the scale of their pay certainly doesn't compare, they would be earning considerably less by doing so.
WHY? Because they love to play for their country.

Now if a guys earning 60M, why doesn't he swallow his pride, pay the 1M it probably costs to insure himself for the series and thank those that have made him the player he is today.

Average OKKA,
I think your interpreting it in the wrong light.

Im not criticising Bogut at all. No one is actually.

I am criticising the NBA for their failure to establish relations with FIBA, and their inability to incorporate Int'l Basketball into the scheme of things (They need to refer to the World Soccer model--They show that international soccer and club soccer can co-exist)

If the lockout was still on in Sep, Bogut asked
would BA cover his $60M contract?
and he would play in Australia against NZ
What if in olympic qualifiers his back was to break
insurance companies are not that eager to make a mistake

All im saying is that when all these internationals like Bogut retire..sure they have millions of dollars, but they've missed out on rare opportunities to represent their country.

He averaged 11 points per game as an NBA rookie. Made it to the NBA all-rookie Second team.
I think you'll find he was easily NBA quality.

The reason he left was because he wanted to win games--He is a natural winner. He didn't care about the fame and prestige of playing NBA.

Barcelona loses 10-15 games all year, and wins 65 or so. Their record from last season was 64-12.

Memphis lost 60 or so games when JCN was there and he has even said that he felt like there was a carelessness towards that..He felt as though the players and staff in the team didn't show the same concern that a euro team would..i.e. There isn't as much emphasis on winning in the USA as there is in Europe

Im over the NBA anyway..don't care too much about the lockout.

Just a league dominated by money, fame and over-inflated egos.

I love the Euroleague much more, but unfortunately coverage is severely limited i.e. There is none.

Now I see why a Juan Carols Navarro left the NBA to return to FC Barcelona..

This is why im getting sick of the NBA.

God Bless Oscar Schmidt for wanting to represent his country, regardless of whether it was a qualifying series or an Olympic games.

He made the ultimate sacrifice (turning down the NBA) to continue to represent his country.

The NBA shouldn't dominate World Basketball like it does. It is just one league in a world of many.

I don't understand your question. Could you ask it agen?

( I have no idea on soccer. I can only guess.
It might be that their contracts are insured 'cause there is no lockout and FFA only have to pay a little bit of a top up.)

I thought to myself , if I took on insuring Bogut's $60M contract @ 5% = $3M.
But if he got injured , then I'd go broke.
When there's no lockout , he's insured and BA only have to pay a little bit to cover 3 games.
I believe , also, if I were a young player just starting out in the NBA , that I wouldn't risk playing uninsured.

I would assume that since Pat Mils is an NBA Free Agent at this point, there is no insurance required, as he has no contract in place.

There was a qualifying offer sent to him, but from reports was not signed in time, so he will definitely be on the look out for a team this summer while the Lockout is in action.

With all the big money in Europe, you can be guaranteed they'll be able to cover insurance costs, to get the NBA players to those Euro leagues. So getting Patty to the NBL may be easier than once thought.

I have seen very little on the NYE game..other than woohoo we won. My question is, was it a well planned, well organised revised team that payed good ball and is a genuine team. Or was a it a freak night, Willie actually played, team "gelled" and the opponents had an off night.

As i will be going to the game in Perth..and will be the lonley 36ers voice in the crowd again..should i go with my hopes up for another win, or do i expect another "off night"?

Does this also mean that Mills may be unavailable?

Anyone have an idea of the cost of insurance. It would obviously be based on the ammount of the players contract and the number of games.

If there was no lockout it would appear that the insurance must be covered at least partly by the NBA otherwise it would need to be paid everyime.

Get Bogut to move his Aussie home to Newcastle and Nathan Tinkler will pay it.