Tigers need to be careful with Mills

On Monday the Melbourne Tigers announced the signing of NBA backup guard Patty Mills. Formerly of St Mary's College and the Portland Trailblazers, Mills is the biggest name to hit the NBL since Andrew Gaze. Only problem is, he probably won’t even play for a whole season.

 As with all NBA players playing abroad (except Wilson Chandler in China), Mills' new contract contains an NBA Out. Meaning, should the NBA lockout end, Mills' Tigers contract will be voided and he will be free to return to Portland.
 
On the upside, Mills is sure to increase the ticket sales and viewership across the whole country. After all Mills is the second best Australian player there is, if you don’t count Kyrie Irving.

Unfortunately, Tigers veteran Daryl Corletto was collateral damage in the Mills singing. The Tigers were forced to drop the 29 year old two-guard in order to fit Mills under the NBL Salary Cap and Player Points system. According to sources close to the situation, Corletto will remain available to the team in the case of an early end to the NBA lockout.

If the lockout extends late into the year however, there’s no saying if Corletto may fancy game time somewhere else.

The biggest problem for the Tigers though? Mills’ eventual departure.

As dire as the situation U.S in the NBA is, it’s still highly likely that a some kind of shortened NBA season will go ahead.

So when January comes around, and Patty gets on the first plane to Oregon, where is that going to leave this Melbourne squad? If Patty is used as the full time starting point guard then import point Ayinde Ubaka will be forced to contribute major minutes at the two spot, not his natural point guard role.

When Patty eventually leaves, will Ubaka be able to fill his role? And will Corletto be ready to comeback and fill Ubaka’s.

That is the key problem for the Tigers, and if they don’t figure a way around it, they could risk blowing a series championship contending season.

The Tigers are now a virtual Finals lock. Even if Patty only contributes for half the season, the Tigers should still get to around 11 wins of the 14 pre-Christmas games played. Then again, Mills or no Mills, this team is a real Finals threat.

As exciting as Mill’s signing is, the Tigers must make sure not to lean on his play too much. If they do, they’ll jeopardise their finals chances and could risk losing out on what could otherwise be, a championship season.

Andre Drummond to join UConn

Andre Drummond was a premier talent for the 2013 NBA Draft. Now he’s a premier talent for the 2012 NBA Draft. Assuming the draft eligibility rules do not change with a new CBA, the recently turned 18 year old will be a top 3 choice come next June.

Originally headed for a prep school, the 6-10 local grown big man instead has decided to join the Connecticut Huskies in their 2011-12 NCAA title defence.

Joining championship returnee Jeremy Lamb, Drummond will be hoping to lead the Huskies to back-to-back national championships.

Drummond is a major talent. Possessing a ready made NBA body and a true inner flame, he could likely make an impact in the NBA right now.

His game play style has drawn comparisons to the Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire.

Drummond is a beast on the glass at both ends on the court as well a solid shot-blocker. He also posses a good passing eye and strong post defence as well as developing post game.

Drummond comes with the most hype we’ve seen in a Center since the Trailblazers’ Greg Oden, who has been derailed from an impressive NBA start by a string of injuries.

Along with the likes of Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, Duke’s Austin Rivers and North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and James McAdoo, Drummond leads the best NBA draft class since 2008.

Plans for NBA exhibtion in Melbourne

Multiple Australian sponsors are behind a plan to bring an NBA exhibition team to Melbourne.

Interested players include Oklahoma’s Kevin Durant, L.A.’s Pau Gasol, New Orleans’ Chris Paul and reigning MVP Derrick Rose.

If the plan goes ahead the team will be flown in to Melbourne for 3 games at Rod Laver Arena later in the year.

The team would likely square of against the Australian national team, who are warming up for their Olympic qualifier against New Zealand and perhaps other teams with young Australian talent.

A similar exhibition series was held in the Philippines capital of Manila last month, with a team of NBA stars squaring off against the local U21 national team and a team from the local professional competition.

NBA players in attendance included Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Derrick Fisher, Tyreke Evans and Javale McGee.

The 3 game series would be a very expensive ordeal however, with insurance costs for the “locked out” players easily in the millions of dollars.

If the move is successful, it will be a major coup for Basketball in the country, with it being the first time an NBA exhibition team has player here.

There is no official word from Basketball Australia on the plans thus far.

The Next Big Thing

Andrew Gaze, Leroy Loggins, Larry Sengstock.

These are the names synonymous with NBL greatness.

These days, household NBL names aren’t as easy to come by, despite a 50% rise in TV viewership and a 12% increase in attendance last season.
As the league heads into a new age, we consider the players that will be the new stars and the new legends, as well as the one man who will be 'The Next Big Thing'.
 
With the league’s last three MVPs either unsigned (Corey Williams) or inked overseas (Kirk Penney and Gary Ervin) it's time that a new NBL star emerges.
 

A steady stream of Aussie and Kiwi talent is progressing through youth leagues, American colleges and NBL rookie programs.

Unfortunately for us, the majority of the locally bred stars will find professional work overseas, owing to the higher salaries available in European and Asian leagues.

Young players like Jackson Aldridge, Anthony Drmic and Matt Dellavedova are unlikely to be playing in the NBL any time soon.

Excluding the international imports (Who usually don’t stay for long enough to make an impact) only the local talent in the league remains.

To find “The Next Big Thing”, we need only look to the top of the list, Kings centre Julian Khazzouh. Second best in the league’s MVP voting last year, the 25 year old post presence was a standout talent all season long. With career highs in FG%, FT%, assists, points and a league-best 10 rebounds a game, Khazzouh’s 2011 campaign was a well rounded star performance.

When it comes down to it, basketball greatness is judged on two things. Championships and talent. With their recent import additions of Kevin Ratzsch and Jarai Grant, and their crop of young talent around Khazzouh, including Rookie of the Year Ben Madgen, the Kings are primed to make the playoff jump this season and are sure to make some post-season noise into the future. Khazzouh has shown us in his last few seasons the true star talent that he is. With the combination of his considerable skill, and that of the team around him, he and the Kings should be winning in the league for many years to come.

All things considered, there should be no doubt that Julian Khazzouh is, and will continue to be, a superstar in this league as well as the true “Next Big Thing”.

Gary Ervin signs in Ukraine

NBL MVP Gary Ervin will be taking his talents to Ukraine for season 2011-12.

The 27 year old guard from Brooklyn, New York announced yesterday that he has signed to play with BC Kyiv.

Although terms of the deal have not been released, it’s likely his new salary will be a significant improvement on what was offered in Wollongong, owning to the teams recent financial struggles.

Ervin’s new team finished the season in 4^th place in the Ukrainian SuperLeague and were swept 3-0 by eventual league runners ups BC Budivelnik in the semi-finals.
The league is celebrating its 20^th season in 2012 with Ervin sure to make a big impact on the local stage.

Ervin’s departure leaves a big roster hole to fill for the Wollongong Hawks, with both international roster slots now open.
The Hawks will no doubt aim to secure an explosive scorer to fill Ervin’s scoring shoes.

Aside from the loss of Ervin, the team maintains the same roster that lead them to a 5^th placed 15-13 record in season 2010-11.

Atlanta Hawks sold to new owner

The NBA’s Atlanta Hawks have been sold.

Michael Gearon Jr. and Bruce Levenson, heads of the Hawks’ ownership group have agreed to sell the team to Los Angeles based business man Alex Meruelo.

Also included in the transaction will be Phillips Arena, the teams’ 11 year home.

Despite recent team success, the local support for the team was below standard with attendance numbers at 15,648 per game, 22^nd lowest in the league last season.

Meruelo is the founder of a Southern California pizza franchise, with over 50 stores located in the L.A. area.

The new owner has already committed himself to the team’s success, saying

“I'm a person who doesn't give up. I want to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta."

The deal is yet to be approved by the league, but should be pushed through in the next 36 hours.

There is no news yet on how the sale may affect the teams’ WNBA affiliate, the Atlanta Dream.

Coming off a 2^nd round playoff defeat last season, the Hawks are once again looking to make a deep playoff run. With the current lockout in place there is no telling how successful their offseason will be, but they will likely have limited financial flexibility, having the leagues 6^th highest team salary.

Breakers lose Penny, Wilkinson to return

The NBL champion New Zealand Breakers have re-signed center Gary Wilkinson.

The US import bigman was a 1^st team All NBL player last year and a key cog in the Breakers title run.

Terms of the contract are not yet official but it is reported to be a two year deal.

The Breakers will however be without 1^st team All NBL guard Kirk Penney after the New Zealand native this week signed a deal to play for Fuenlabrada in Spain’s prestigious Liga ACB.  Widely recognised to be the second best league in the world, Penney will have his work cut out for him in both Spanish national league and Euroleague play next year.

The Breakers still have an import and a local roster sport remaining with import Kevin Braswell not expected to return.

In other Breakers news, the teams’ front office is looking into the possibility of hosting some games in Auckland’s 12,000 seat Vector Arena. Increased season ticket sales and local interest has lead the team’s business staff into considering moving 2 or 3 home games to the arena next season.

The move would be a positive one for both the team and the league. Allowing more locals in the area to see the championship team whilst boosting revenue as well as improving the spectacle of the game.

Still no progress in NBA labour talks

The NBA commissioner, some league owners and Players Association heads met in New York today to hold a 3 hour collective bargaining meeting.

The first of its kind since the lockout began a month ago; the session had all high profile representatives in attendance including Players Association head Billy Hunter, President Derek Fisher and NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Although the talks were relatively cordial no real progress has been made to resolve the dispute.

According to Commissioner Stern, the league and owners feel that the players are not negotiating in good faith, being unwilling to concede loses on their current 57% basketball related income (BRI) split.

The players have again rejected the league’s latest offer despite not presenting an offer of their own since late June.

Despite the little progress being made, both sides have agreed in principle to meet at least 2 or 3 more times this month.

Most analysts agree their will be little movement by the players or owners until November 15, the first scheduled pay day for the players.

It’s expected that once the players begin to lose money from the lockout they may soften their current stance.

The season is scheduled to start on November 1^st, though if the current talks are any indicator it could be much longer before we get any more NBA action.

   

See here for a breakdown of the CBA Sticking points