Hoops

Quotes in todays paper

Has anyone read Boti's article in today's paper titled "Stars giving Sixers the cold shoulder". I think he has summed up beautifully what appears to be happening. I talked about the attraction for potential recruits to come to Adelaide in an earlier post. I feel that the doom and gloom being referred to in this thread is more realistic than people think. Whatever moves are made by the club right now need to be extremely carefully planned. They definitely need to go after an import as Australians are boycotting this team. Wouldn't it be shameful for South Australian Basketball if it could not field an NBL team in a capital city when there are several successful regional teams in Australia? This sort of reasoning does not sit well with me and should not be tolerated by any Basketball lover in this state.

This coming season is a unique situation for the Sixers. We don't know what the Controllers have in mind. Whether they want the business to succeed or not is still going to be a risk for any potential recruits. If indeed Adelaide becomes a more successful team this coming season which strengthens it for the future, it will be here later on for anyone interested in joining. For now, regardless of what the intentions are, it is risky.

That's exactly my point. There is no security in taking a 1 year contract under the current Sixer's situation. Everyone knows it might be the only year they get. What would happen if the Sixers collapsed in the next 12 months. All of a sudden there would be 12 players without a team all trying to get contracts elsewhere. With Hunter going down this year, we are lucky that there is a new team starting out in Melbourne and also the license going to Singapore. This means there are opportunities for now. Unless new teams start up next season, what opportunities will there be for the Adelaide 36ers unemployed? That's why if the opportunity is there now to move on, they will move on.

Tony Blair, you may not post under your real name but anyone who does not know you personally is none the wiser that you post under Tony Blair. Atleast people posting under nicknames can be distinguised by that nickname and if posters are honest, they will not "steal" a nickname to cause confusion. However, posting under "Anonymous" is less distinguishing because there are many with the same name. If you are posting facts, its fair enough that you don't want to be identified, but if you are posting rubbish, then I have no time for all these anonymous's.

Isaac, you say "And even had they put together a better offer, they wouldn't have matched Brisbane so it's a bit of a distraction in these discussions IMO." All we know for a fact is that Brisbane offered a 2-3 year contract. The fact that Adelaide could not match this without taking into consideration the salary side, leaves the security being offered by the club a lot to be desired. Why is it only offering 1 year contracts? Do they know the club won't exist in 1 year's time?

Apart from Maher and Farley who are signed on for next season, I am really excited about the other 2. WOW, I can't wait for next season. It can't come soon enough. I can see really positive steps being made to next season (haha, even if I am the only one laughing).

You've got to spend money to make money. If the Sixers are not spending up to the salary cap, then they are not on an even playing field with the other teams. To top this, since the problems with BASA and the government taking control, there is job insecurity. The one year contracts being offered is evidence of this. How attractive is this current situation to any potential recruits. Dusty left because of this, who now in their right mind would want to fill his shoes? I also get the impression from other Sixers that in the past their loyalty would have brought them back. They now would not think twice about deserting their team for a better offer (not just the money). As passionate as I have been in the past and ready to renew my season ticket before knowing what team we have, I now think differently. The club is now going to have to work hard to get my renewal this year.