Hoops

Breakers likely to use Abercrombie as marquee

The Breakers will be eying the future when making moves like this. Retaining quality players like Abercrombie to compliment their future targeted players ie: Fotu/Loe/T.Webster/Penney and decent imports like Cedric Jackson.

Create a marquee team rather than just chase a marquee player.

Some great points being brought up though with possible ways for teams to "cheat" this luxury tax though. It seemed really rushed from the NBL before and I'd hoped that they had thought it out before, but looking at the simple ways around it already, it makes me fear that they really didn't think it through and I hope they didn't leave a bunch of loopholes in it otherwise it will be more comical than the transferring of loyalty points from the last time they tried that!

There are no players not playing in the NBL because of the points cap. Either they're not good enough or they're asking for too much money.

Do you think the points cap put Brock Motum off signing with an NBL team this season or will stop Bairstow from signing if he doesn't make an NBA roster? They'd both be rated 3pts, why not come and play? Because the money isn't there, because the exposure to the NBA isn't there.

The points cap and appeal process need tweaks and some better transparency, but it's not what is keeping our best players out of our league...

Yeah, i don't think the points system shuts players out as everyone seems to think it does.

Australian basketball has depth, but nowhere near as much as what everything thinks.

The guys who aren't in the league at the moment generally speaking aren't NBL standard period.

Leon Henry a classic example. Got left out because of points (needed to save some somewhere). But looking back, Henry simply wasn't/isn't up to the standard of other contracted SFs in the league.

Funny thing is im sure theres players out there who blame the points cap yet teams probably offer them deals and they turn it down because the money isn't what they were hoping. So in that case, the misguided expectations of what the own player thinks he is worth may be the factor keeping him from the league. Ironic.

Isaac, if there's no association with salary, then it might be about time to agree with the NBLPA and pull the pin on points.

Only issue i have is whether its necessary.

If you can get Abercrombie at say $230k, using the marquee rule to now pay him $300k seems unnecessary.

And even if you can't get him for $230k teams have to start asking themselves what he is worth..otherwise teams will want a player so bad that they will find themselves paying above market rates. (When letting them walk maybe the best option).

I suppose in a nut shell my concern is that teams will find themselves using the marquee rule only to retain existing players.

And now it only gives someone like Abercrombie more leverage to bargain for that extra $. Now he can turn around and say "Use the marquee rule on me..i need X amount top up to stay". Puts GMs in an even tougher spot to curb overspending.

Don't mind the marquee player rule as long as it is dollar for dollar tax over the salary cap.

The cap/players points does need some refining.

Maybe the player's points could be used as a salary indicator? The salary "cap" is part of the overall big picture. The cap means a team has a set number of points for 8 or 9 players, with one player outside the cap.

The marquee player idea is a good as it allows a team to build around a certain player, or allows a team to hold players. A "tax" used to help struggling clubs long term.

At the end of the day, fans want stable clubs they can support so the NBL wants a surety clubs are financially OK.