Hoops

Frank to continue with Breakers

I enjoy his commentary, always respected him as a player, especially when he would come off the bench for Woolongong (I think they had Ballinger at the time) so having him around Is great... But I don't want any team going above 70 points...

I do however think we just need more teams, it's literally the only thing we can do for players like Trueman (who I think is an upgrade on Vanderjagt in Townsville) but something needs to be done. Maybe call it the Trueman rule (didn't he spend a year in Perth basically doing the same role as he has currently at Breakers) give him a break

@Isaac,

I wouldn't want the NBL having to administrate and attempt to keep transparent a system quite that complex.

You're probably not going to get much success convincing clubs to buy into naked revenue sharing, so allowing clubs to "buy" points might be the best bet.

Okay, I'm just going to throw some off-the-cuff ideas about, so everyone be gentle if you think they're stupid, this is just a back-of-envelope idea. The important thing is to make it attractive to both clubs looking for that extra little bit of effectiveness without being potentially ruinous, and to clubs which we would consider have nots; make the rewards to them from the system sufficiently juicy to accept the imbalance.

With a nominal salary cap of $1,000,000 and 70 player points, we get about $14.3k per point. You could allow a team to purchase a point, which comes with the attendant $14.3k salary extension. Tax gets paid to a distribution fund which goes to either clubs that are designated as poor, or the bottom four, or else those clubs below 90% of the cap. Now this could be employed to either stop the axing of players because of one point here or there not fitting into the point jigsaw puzzle, or maybe to sign an additional player. If done as a mid-season sort of injury signing, the tax would be paid into next year's fund.

Make the first 3 points cost a 1 for 1 tax, the next 3 a 2 for 1 tax, and the next 4 at an exorbitant 3 for 1 tax, and prohibit any further than that (10pts, since that is what the player points taps out at).

Ergo, if you want an extra 1pt player, or you want to retain a player who has had their points changed and the points just won't quite work out, you pay $14,300 tax, get 70+1 points and the $14.3k salary exemption.

If you want to sign a college returnee on the 3pt standard, you have to pay $42,900 tax to distribute to other clubs. Include using the extra salary to pay the player and it costs the taxed club about $86k all up, and nets the bottom four clubs an additional $10k each to attract that extra notch of quality on their import.

If you want to sign a Greg Hire type 6-pt player over the cap, you face $128k tax, the weak clubs are abruptly much closer to the normal salary cap. Taxed club is paying $128k tax+$85k salary, gets a boost, but a Greg Hire type player here or there is not going to break the league.

If you want to go whole hog, sign something like a naturalised import, a la Redhage, outside of the cap, a 10 point player, you pay $42k + $84k + $171k = $300k tax. You pay $300k to the league, all the weak clubs chew up half the distance between their spend and the cap, you can pay up $143k to the player for a total cost of $443k, whatever benefit you gain from signing a potential crowd pleaser should be offset by the league-wide benefits of weak clubs having an extra $75k to throw at their import signings and you have a balance between benefit cost to club and league.

The have clubs could handle those sorts of costs, the have-nots could use the tax returns to increase the overall competitiveness of the league and we'd have a few more showtime type players running around.

Again, this was just a couple minutes of my lunch break spent with a calculator, so if everyone thinks the idea is stupid, no sweat, but it's good to have ideas floating around.

Baileys travelled to many times to be a development player hence the reason he didn't go to Melbourne last week. They want to see if they can use Frank first before Bailey

Baileys travelled to many times to be a development player hence the reason he didn't go to Melbourne last week. They want to see if they can use Frank first before Bailey

It's sort of a catch22 with regards to going over any cap... I like that any excess is then passed on to the lower placed teams, though...

Unfortunately, as the rules stand, a player who comes in as an injury replacement for a player can only be used while that player is out injured and I think it's only the one time. It's an INCREDIBLY stupid rule and one I hope to see abolished for 2013/14 onwards...

That rule aside, this will be the third time that the Breakers have cut signed players to make way for someone else in recent history... They used that excuse to cut Leon Henry, then Trueman, now they want to cut the promoted DP in Bailey (he's a full member of the squad, had to be promoted when they cut Trueman, pretty sure he's only 1pt) and get special consideration? No thanks, no mid-season at least...

Although if the Kings and Breakers went to the NBL together and asked for rules to be changed, that might allow Sanders to come back, I'd be ok with that ;)

"Are the bottom teams likely to be able to leverage capital to make use of any extra cap points?"

You could tie the points in with the salary cap. If going over the points cap means you must exceed the salary cap then you pay % on league tax like the NBA. That money then goes with the points to the bottom two teams.

If you don't exceed the salary cap but the points cap, then just the points goes to the bottom two teams. If they can't afford to use those extra points (money wise) then they don't.

Frank brought some great energy and personality on the weekend, was good for the league, hope he can stay.

natwhereyouat - i was looking 4 the like button!

Those that can spend can also help the teams that can't for the following season.

That's something the NBA would do & that's how this league should be thinking!!

I don't mind Frank back in the leaugue. He's kept himself fit & his hair has improved somewhat!

@nat,

Are the bottom teams likely to be able to leverage capital to make use of any extra cap points?

The only way Frank can continue is if Pledger doesn't come back, AFAIK.

Here's where I believe that the point system needs to be tweaked.

So if the Breakers can afford to sign Frank FT, cool do it. How many points over the 70pt cap you go over, goes to one of the bottom 2 teams next season.

EG: If Breakers go over by 2 points, those 2 points go to the Crocs (if they come last for EG) next season.

Max points a last team can receive is 4 points, anything more and the rest go to the 2nd last team.

Cheeky Isaac.

Anyone reckon there needs to be better protection for the bench players e.g. Trueman, Bailey

I.e. to stop players just coming in and rendering these guys unemployed virtually.

last swan song??

I was surprised he was down as a 4 point player even though he has been out of the league for 9 years.

Is tonite's 6ers game on the radio and if so wat channel?