Hoops

Kestleman sat in on press conference Sunday

With the appointment of Matt Campbell at the Hawks it would indicate in the short term at least the club is safe. 40th year anniversary in 2019 for the Hawks in the NBL, what an effort.

A huge thank you to LK for putting his dollars and balls on the line
FYI yo yo Illawarra is not going anywhere and your other guesses are based on something u read. In the 1930s the Chinese believed that every thing in writing was true. Seems yo yo needs to believe the same on this day

Thanks to Melbourne for propping up our sponsors instead of their own. That lets dribble on as long as we can after every question got air time for the 6ers brand.

Joey has got more publicity for saying nothing plus it makes people dig further to find out what it is all about.

Just hope NBL TV last this week

Koberulz, agreeing with you but adding to your point that a strong figurehead was also needed during that time and we didn't have that, I think Larry and Jeremy are doing a stirling job of showing leadership too.

As for Joey, if you're a sponsor and your brand is associated with him then his responses to questions and how swiftly they are dealt with isn't going to impress anyone. You think about a V8 Supercar driver and how he has his hat/helmet and overalls displaying all sponsors and the driver gets his message out there and the sponsors are happy with the response and time they got on tv... Joey is the opposite.

I always thought Adelaide were the Manly Sea Eagles of the NBL, unless you're a fan of that team then you hate them... Brisbane and Illawarra have had issues in past two seasons. Melbourne and Perth seem to want to fight them. Sydney with Jerome/chill history, NZ not so much and Cairns seem to have some really awful matches against them. Maybe every team has this but I notice it more with 36ers and love to see fans and players upset

Well said #105 the nbl was f..ked before LK came along. It’s been back to back great seasons. The man deserves a lot credit.

Who can forget Marvin and the Cats vetoing everything. LK way better.

While we're talking about ownership, do we think the NBL could follow the NBA's model of the team owners essentially being equal part owners of the league?

I'll accept a few years of a compromised league to end up with a stronger 12 team league in which LK only owns that, the league, and there are 12 separate ownership groups.

There's nothing wrong with being grateful about everything LK has done for the NBL while also being opposed to clear conflicts of interest.

There is 1 job Joey is paid for and hopefully he achieves that Saturday night. The risk of suspension for speaking your mind given it would be the final game in a 35 game battle with winner takes all. I’m on Joeys side here.

The Q ‘are you going to complain about the officiating’. What other answer could he give that 1. Is the truth and 2. Didn’t result in a fine?

The strength of this league going forward should boil down too, is Mayberry or Townsend on the floor on Saturday. The elbow into Sobey, call the foul on Sobey, elbow to Drmic, missed call we’re all Mayberry misses. In his area, in-line with where he was looking. Compare that with his multiple screw ups in game 3, he isn’t performing well enough to still be there on Saturday.

He is supposed to have nothing to do with the United ownership now. That would I would have thought now involvement at any level.
Equally as the owner of the NBl he more than entitled to attend any press conference, however precedence appears not to be there.
He flips and flops with all his ideas about the NBL and let's hope he gives it all back to the NBL next week.
Rather have no NBL than Kestelman in charge. He can write of the failed Brisbane experiment, and the NBL experiment too. He "tried"

While we're talking about ownership, do we think the NBL could follow the NBA's model of the team owners essentially being equal part owners of the league?

Would Larry allow that?

I can guarantee it would make the idea of owning an NBL team a lot more attractive

Agree, LoveBroker.

People like reading into things, it must get them off.

Joey's being a bitch either way. If he respects himself he should be introspective. I'd be embarrassed behaving like that as a grown man

Can't an owner of a league attend a press conference discussing his league without accusations of intimidation?

This is one of the most important events of the NBL calender after all, is it so strange he is there?

Joey is trying to outdo Gleeson.

I'm sure that's his plan, wants to drive up the price first, timing and patience is key from a business perspective.

You can;t have the owner of the league owning a club in the league, it's a conflict of interest, to pretend otherwise is a joke. Oh and we go on about aussies ball tampering this is worse if you ask me. If LK has any integrity he will sell Melbourne United and have no share or vested interest in the club.

I suspect this stunt has entered the territory of "I've carried it on too far and i can't stop now", so it will just continue forever.

Joey may not act the way others do but you have to admit he gets the most out of the least than any other coach and they have made this season more exciting than it would be in their absence. And these antics are clearly drawing huge attention which is so big fo rite league. Pop is still respected and been doing this stuff for years, he doesn't suffer fools and yet so many players would love to play for him and he has a low attrition rate for those that have, and there would be many in admiration of him. Always love an anarchist.

I hope LK leaves this alone and addresses it after game 5. Coaching is a tough gig and he does not need the distraction, or is that part of the plan, intimidation.

Quoting to check out Wayne Bennett, you are kidding he’s 20 years past it, only ever won premierships with loaded sides. You want to see how professionals work in with the media go and watch Clarkson hawks coach or Melbourne’s nrl coach who’s name escapes me. Now there professional to the fans and their respective sports.

As far as the owner of the league sitting in on a press conference it’s his business he can as he’s the one throwing the $$$ to keep the league going. Media is required or you got nothing.

Joey has a suspended 2 game ban so why would he risk saying anything at all.

LK should not be present unless he will be present at every press conference including NBL United and he is willing to fine and offer bans to others who have also bagged out the refs and there are plenty. This is the issue, along with the farce of game 3 with Wesley and Prather. There is a huge loss of trust towards the MBL.

I has certainly taken the fire out of any player vs player exchange, which certainly gave 36er opponents plenty to get motivated up by iat the end of the last two seasons.

If anything he's "taking the heat" that often gets his player trip up into saying something stupid. "one in All in" certainly would mean "if Joey's saying noting, then so am I."

Should have answered the question about the fans properly. Apart from that, couldn’t care less what he says.

"I am not sure what Joey is doing actively kills media coverage - in fact, quite the opposite. It is getting people talking, like right now. We are talking more now about 2 sentences Joey repeats than every single thing he has ever said before. "


If we were the media, you might have a point.

"I Have also heard that LK doesn't own MU and that the entity still sits with McPeake /Minear and co."

Please explain. So how do LK and Slepoy fit in then?

Maybe funny for 1.5 games (mostly to get that Neroli exchange which was amusing), but then he should get back to things.

I don't think it's traumatising for a journalist to go without a quote from one coach when there are countless other things to include. Neroli showed exactly how you deal with it - come prepared, make light of it, and make it something worth sharing for entertainment. He's probably gone one conference too far with it, but whatever.

Beyond that, it's hardly going to make him feel less targeted - might just move the perceived instigation from refs to league ownership, rival fans, etc.

Joey is a legend. He is not interested in talking to the media he means business.

Adelaide will be NBA champions mark my words. I am also going to throw it out the Majok for surprise MVP.

He certainly has gone from Mr Cool to moron pretty quickly.

Im an Adelaide fan, and ill be there Saturday, but Joey is just making it so much easier to make the 36ers hated outside of Adelaide. Thats Perth's mantle but jesus his ignorance is giving that a shake.

Let's just get a few things straight.

1. LK has been great for the NBL.

(I was a Tigers member for 13 years pre United, I volunteered for the club, travelled interstate to watch them, etc. Unlike most other Tigers people, I've maintained some good graces and kept following the sport).

2. United hasn't been favoured by the refs in this series any more than Adelaide has. Most neutral fans are saying this.

3. Joey Wright is fast headed towards all league wanker territory.

4. Vickerman is all class.

5. There's no reason to think (3) or (4) will necessarily change pending on the result on Saturday, but given Wright's antics it would sure be great watching him if they lose.

Don't panic guys, how many years has Joey got left on his contract? Only 4 more years of "I'm not sure" "We'll do our best".

Very unfortunate & extremely unprofessional behaviour for someone in a leadership position. He felt someone is making his life hard & wants to strongly express his displeasure by making other professionals have a hard time too. The emotional intelligence of a moron.

If Joey is going to keep acting like an infant then it's understandable to me that daddy needs to stay close at hand.
Seriously, this is a quality league and it's trying to get some traction in a competitive environment for sport. Having the head of the potential champions actively killing media coverage is bullshit.

Good read though, comprehensive and not as biased as it could have been

'David Stern' and 'Adam Silver' by the way, Yo Yo

I understand that journalism has evolved and that the job description of local papers is to 'fight' for their teams, but the way this was written is disappointing.

"... for pointing out that the league and Melbourne United are owned by the same man -- Larry Kestelman -- last week.

That is fact".

What a joke. How about if Joey originally said something like, "The refereeing is something I will talk to the NBL about. The NBL and Melbourne United obviously have Larry Kestelman as top brass in both organisations, but hopefully there will be no conflict of interest."

Instead he chose the passive aggressive approach like a child and media/fans appear to be on his side. Crazy

Adelaide need to have a word with Joey. He isn’t doing himself or the club which he one day won’t even be apart of any favours. I’m a long time adelaide fan, and this shit is starting to piss me off. If you don’t like the way the league is run go elsewhere or fall in line, or feel free to give back the pay check. Be professional you are representing adelaide the state by just your own agenda.

Worth looking at it from both sides IMO. Joey likely feels like he was hard done by. LK meanwhile has put in millions, would be aware of the NBL-Melbourne concerns, presumably does his best to keep things remotely fair while pumping money into United, and doesn't love the idea of a coach suggesting he's acting improperly.

I doubt very much that the referees are under instruction from the league to favour any one team. Ref favouritism has appeared to favour the home team each game and even despite that, each game has been a decent contest.

Ideally LK would sit in on the conference and then have a polite/friendly word after, say that the refs have a tough job but are an on-going focus for the league, blah blah blah.