The Logue Down: All the news, insights and whispers from across the NBL and the NBA
The calls are growing louder and now the NBL has responded to talk the league needs to bring back the West Sydney Razorbacks and restore the heated rivalry with the Sydney Kings.
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SYDNEY TEAM ON HOLD
NBL boss Jeremy Loeliger has put a red line through the introduction of a second Sydney NBL team in the foreseeable future.
The Harbour City hasn’t had two NBL teams since the West Sydney Razorbacks folded in 2009.
The maiden success of the South East Melbourne Phoenix this season has prompted calls for the return of a second Sydney team.
Loeliger says the NBL sees merit in two sides but there are no plans at present.
“If we were going to do anything with a second Sydney team, it would have to be in partnership with the Kings,” Loeliger said.
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“I think we both would need to be comfortable with the fact that it would be a positive move for both the league and the club.
“That is certainly what happened here in Melbourne with the Phoenix. All parties around the table were satisfied that a second team would be in the best interests of the sport.
“Once we get to that point in any city we would explore it but we certainly don’t want to take anyone out at the knees.
“So I don’t think a second Sydney team is an immediate objective but it is something that we will continue to monitor over time.”
However, Loeliger did confirm that the NBL are keen to include more teams.
“We are pushing very hard to keep the conversation around Tasmania going,” he said.
NO LOVE LOST
The Sydney Kings versus Melbourne United rivalry is back in a big way.
This was on display in spades during United’s close win over the Kings on Melbourne Cup eve.
Tensions reached boiling point on the court when Sydney coach Will Weaver was ejected but I’m told they were equally tense off the court.
A lot of the animosity centres on United’s decision not to renew Casper Ware’s deal when they had the chance.
Ware has been classy and kept the details private but he was disappointed when Melbourne offered him a reduced offer.
The below-par contract given his ability left him with no choice but to explore the market and Sydney swooped.
Let’s just say, this hasn’t been forgotten.
INGLES AND DELLY IN OZ
Could we see Australian NBA stars such as Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova playing in Australia soon?
NBL CEO Jeremy Loeliger certainly hopes so, although he is leaving the final decision up to the players.
Ingles recently signed a one-year extension with the Utah Jazz, which will see him contracted until the end of the 2020-21 NBA season.
Dellavedova is a free agent at the end of this season.
“I’d love to see our NBA players return to the NBL but when that happens is entirely up to them and we are not going to put pressure on them,” Loeliger said.
“I think it is unlikely that those conversations will be particularly detailed until they form the view that they are done in the NBA.
“For the time being we want these guys flourish in the NBA for as long as they can.
“It is doing so much benefit for basketball in Australia while they are there.”
WATCHING WIZARDS
Former Illawarra Hawks coach Rob Beveridge is keeping busy after leaving the NBL head coaching ranks.
Beveridge has been hired by NBA franchise the Washington Wizards as an Australian-based scout.
The former NBL championship-winning coach is conducting clinics across country areas and is keeping his eye open for talent.
CELTICS CALL-UP
It’s not just Australian players dominating the NBA, a strong contingent of Aussie trainers are making their mark in the world’s best league.
Respected performance coordinator Phil Coles recently received a call-up from 17-time NBA champions the Boston Celtics to head up their physical team as Executive Director of Performance.
Coles has an impressive resume, including stints with Harry Kewell at Liverpool and Football Australia, Wayne Bennett at the Newcastle Knights and most recently the San Antonio Spurs under five-time NBA championship-winning coach Gregg Popovich.
RODWELL’S HONOUR
He is often forgotten when Australians in the NBA are discussed but Carl Rodwell received a fitting reward recently.
Australia’s first NBA draftee with the Atlanta Hawks in 1969 was inducted into the NSW Basketball Hall of Fame in Bathurst.
The 75-year-old originally from Cowra now lives in Denver and couldn’t make the awards but he sent through an insightful video to pass on his gratitude.
Asked about what the NBA draft was like in ’69, he replied: “Well there was no big ticker tape parade.
“They sent you a telegram that was sent the school. The coach called me in and I went to a regional tryout in Los Angeles.
“When you are a youngster and you are making history you don’t really realise, so I jumped at the chance to go to America.”
Rodwell’s nephew Chan Sinnadurai collected the NSW Hall of Fame award on his behalf.
TARDY BREAKER
Which star New Zealand Breakers player is raising eyebrows within the team for being late to training or not turning up at all?
ILLAWARRA JIBE
South Coast-born Sydney Kings chairman and owner Paul Smith has lit the fuse for Sunday’s Kings versus Illawarra derby by labelling the Hawks “our children”.
“I feel sorry for them,” Paul said with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
“I call them the Tasmania of the Hoops capital. They just sit down the bottom there somewhere.”
Jokes aside, Smith is passionate about restoring the Kings versus Hawks rivalry.
“We really believe in the importance of the Illawarra and Sydney match-up,” he said.
“The Hawks have an enormous heritage and we really want to see that grow and we need them to be successful.”
KINGS RESCUE BRUCE
Shaun Bruce’s rise from the NBL scrapheap to the league-leading Sydney Kings this season has been one of the stories of the season.
Bruce has starred for the Kings coming off the bench with his reliable range and selfless passing game.
This time last year, though, the Horsham-born guard couldn’t crack a consistent gig in the big time barring a seven-game stint with the Adelaide 36ers as an injury replacement.
Thankfully, the Kings were the only club that came calling for Bruce’s services and he is rewarding them with stellar form this season.
The popular guard is also enjoying the banter at Sydney with chairman and owner Paul Smith.
Bruce forced a charge foul against Perth last Sunday, prompting Smith to yell out from courtside: “You get my car this week”.
Smith was referring to his Ferrari, which he was happy for Shaun to drive while he took home the guard’s black Holden Cruze.
“Test drive report: a used (and abused) black Holden Cruze lacks the acceleration to pull the skin off a custard’,” Smith cheekily tweeted this week.