Hoops

NBA responds to NBL Next Stars program

I think it's great for Aussies, this gives Australian natives more opportunities.

Instead of NBL teams looking for Americans, they can focus on grooming hometown talent.

Also if an Australian prospect wants to go to the NBA, then they have a better opportunity by going to the G League for a year to groom instead of wasting a year at college. Ie: Ben Simmons

Also defendants in the US must generally pay for their own legal expenses even if they win, unlike Australia, which creates opportunities for SLAPP lawsuits and lawsuits designed only to extract a settlement out of court to avoid legal expenses. Then there is the freedom for lawyers to advertise. There is a good reason why the US has a reputation for litigiousness.

We don’t need Next Stars. It’s good for local talent and good marketing if your last name is Ball but other than that I don’t think some college players on small minutes are going to be a game changer for the league.

Isaiah Todd, who Jeremy loeliger has previously mentioned the nbl has been in discussions with, has announced he will join the G league program too.

Along wth nba stash players, we shoulddd be Going afte big name Asian players.
Baba, Watanabe, remy Martin plus a few of years the up and coming koreans and Chinese. Aloft growth in middle east also.

You suck, NBA. Couldn't even let us have one year :(
Boooo!!!

and yet it's held up as emblematic of Americans as a whole.

Right now there's a fairly big gap in how good g league teams are in developing talent. The raptors use their team well and have developed Siakam, FVV and others through that program. In contrast, they sent Deandre Daniels to Australia...

G League is always going to be preferred by the NBA and it's clubs as it makes it easier to get to their games or even watch them on tv at a suitable time. If that program becomes successful enough it'll get far more eyeballs than the NBL ever could purely based in timezone.

Also, considering that Americans will rush to sue if the egg in their McMuffin is overcooked, I can see lawsuits developing.

If a kid is accepted and fails to get drafted, he'll sue alleging they defrauded him of a college education.

*exciting young local talent*

Yes, there appears a strong emphasis on development of elite players (both on and off the court) IN THE USA (and not in the NCAA) and reducing the tyranny of distance for NBA Scouts/Recruiters.

I don't know much about the G-League but I can envision the NBA growing this program into Development Hubs (perhaps based at a central location of each of the 6 Divisions) with games eventually being played between each hub instead of G-League teams and some exhibition games.

It also appears to provide another pathway for cut/retiring players to stay involved as active mentors.

I expect this will impact on NBL teams also attracting exciting young talent to stay in Australia.

They'll sit on the bench like Armstrong.

Their rationale for this is weak, they don't want to have to travel to scout those players?

They are playing in Sydney not Afghanistan.

I however don't see this as the end of the Next Stars, what about the not so highly touted Hs'ers? The four star prospects who don't want college may still want to come over to the NBL?

"Come on Cram do you really think the Hawks had enough money to be spending $0.5m on LaMelo."

When has lack of money stopped an NBL team spending lots of it anyway? Especially in the current LK model where unlimited spending is plan a, b, C and d.

I guess one advantage of the NBL over the G-League is that you can play in front of bigger crowds and bright lights. Whereas most of those G-League games look very "minor league" (which is fine, because that's what it is intended to be).

I guess the clever thing the NBA has done is make it not all about playing in the G-League, but more about player development.

Hey Cram, if you haven't noticed the fans don't attend the Hawks games well and this is a trend established over many years now.

In a related story, the Hawks seem to go into voluntary administration every few years too.

"Nbl should be taking nba stash players not nbaprospectsimo"

True, maybe the NBL can shift more focus onto the "Didi rule" to maintain overseas interest, as well as targeting the Aussie Next Stars, which they've already started doing.

"What does their ability to help the side win have to do with how sustainable it is?"

How sustainable it is is a function of how much revenue the program brings to the league. It sounded like it got a lot of eyeballs last year, which is a start to generating more advertising revenue.

Come on Cram do you really think the Hawks had enough money to be spending $0.5m on LaMelo.

Nbl should be taking nba stash players not nbaprospectsimo.

kharma

Is the league footing the whole bill? Is that confirmed? There is a distinct lack of transparency on this. Some insist they're getting 100k as per the first version of the program media kit. Others say the league pays 100k and teams are free to pay more. You're saying the league pays the whole amount. Can you point to anywhere where this is confirmed as I genuinely haven't seen it.

The team aren't spending it, the league is spending it. And fans have been avoiding Hawks games for years.

If they're spending too import money on a player who isn't ready to help the team win, fans will stay away. As Hawks fans did.

What does their ability to help the side win have to do with how sustainable it is?

I say the next stars program has attracted only 2 Americans that have chosen the NBL over the college system and one of their did not play.

It's clear that guys like Hampton and Ball we're being paid well in excess of their ability to help the side win games too so it was highly unsustainable.

The G League has changed a lot with nearly all teams having their own aligned teams. Very high quality play now.

I only read the OP before

Now that I've read the article itself...

[yearlong developmental program with G League oversight that will include professional coaching, top prospects and veteran players who will combine training and exhibition competitions against the likes of G League teams, foreign national teams and NBA academies throughout the world, sources said.

.....

The primary objective will be assimilation and growth into the NBA on several levels -- from playing to the teaching of life skills.]

This addresses my question

Definitely a major threat to Next Stars then.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted. If Larry Kestleman has forced a major reshaping of the way the NBA develops it's future stars, then that's a job well done. What say you, Larry critics?

Isn't the G League meant to be full of me-first players, resulting in a jungle ball style? And isn't there constant turnover with NBA- meaning less roster stability and less chance for coaches to develop a solid structure?

Or are those just cheap stereotypes?

If there's validity to those criticisms then the NBL has more going for it than just a better salary. It will prepare players better for the NBA- which, if they've got a good head on their shoulders and a wise agent advising them - is something they should be most interested in anyway.

Why should money be the main consideration when most of these guys go on to make tens of millions of dollars?

Also the G League isn't a real league.

Both Thon Maker and Ben simmons in the same team this weekend

Jordan Brand announced its star-filled roster for the Annual Jordan Brand Classic, taking place on April 13 in Brooklyn at Barclays Center.

No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Year Club Team Country
8 Leandro Allende F 6-5 180 1998 Notre Dame H.S. Puerto Rico
9 Dragan Bender F 6-9 196 1997 Split Croatia
4 Sergio Garcia G 6-3 181 1997 CTEIB Spain
10 Andrea Latorre F 6-6 234 1997 Stella Azzurra Italy
7 Oscar Lin G 6-3 187 1995 Neng-Ren H.S. Taiwan
5 Luc Loubaki G 6-3 185 1997 INSEP France
13 Thon Maker C 7-0 210 1997 Carlisle School Australia
11 Lovro Mazalin F 6-8 209 1997 Cibona Zagreb Croatia
12 Benjamin Simmons F 6-9 230 1996 Montverde Academy Australia