Crosscourt: Latest news and whispers out of the NBL 2023-24 season with Matt Logue and Michael Randall
The end of the G League Ignite could open doors for more NBA prospects in Australia, according to ESPN analyst and Next Stars general manager of recruitment Liam Santamaria.
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The NBA’s decision to scrap the G League Ignite after this season will only propel the NBL’s respected Next Stars program further into the “hearts and minds” of potential NBA draft prospects.
That’s the opinion of Next Stars general manager of recruitment Liam Santamaria, who believes, without the NBA’s development program, the NBL will be an even more more desirable destination for emerging talent.
The Ignite was created in 2020 to give prospects an alternative and paid path to the NBA — and was a direct competitor to the NBL’s innovative Next Stars.
The avenue copped a hit when the NCAA college system changed its policy to allow players to be compensated for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL).
Santamaria said the decision to scrap the G League Ignite didn’t come as a “surprise” after NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s comments at NBA All-Star weekend hinted at its downfall.
“I’m not sure what the future of Team Ignite will be because before I felt there was a hole in the marketplace we were filling. Now my focus is turning to earlier development of those players,” Silver said at the time.
Santamaria can see a future where more potential NBA players choose Australia as their route to the top.
“There are always going to be athletes who want to take different pathways to achieve their dreams,” Santamaria said.
“For some of them, college just isn’t going to be the best fit, and a pro pathway is going to be the better option.
“That opportunity isn’t going to be there at Ignite moving forward and it does put the NBL Next Stars program further into the hearts and minds of draft prospects that will be looking to take that pro pathway to get to the NBA.”
Four NBL Next Stars have emerged this season on NBA radars ahead of the June 27 draft.
Perth Wildcats’ French big man Alex Sarr was ranked at No.2 in the Athletic’s recent mock and has been widely tipped to go in the top three.
Cairns’ Swedish wing Bobi Klintman came in at No.17, while young Illawarra guard AJ Johnson and Melbourne United giant Ariel Hukporti were No.40 and No.54 respectively.
KING KUOL? SYDNEY CLOSES IN ON UNIQUE TAIPANS’ STAR
Crosscourt understands the Kings look set to pull off another massive coup with coveted out-of-contract Cairns Taipans star Bul Kuol favouring a move to join coach Brian Goorjian and million-dollar man Xavier Cooks at the club on a multi-year deal.
With the grand final still dominating the NBL landscape, no deals with other club’s off-contract players can be officially signed until after the league office opens free agency next month.
But Kings brass have been busy keying in on emulating the defensive identity that brought it back-to-back NBL titles, targeting Kuol, who is set to form a dynamic pairing with Cooks — similar to what the gun big man enjoyed with import Justin Simon in NBL23 — that would pose a nightmare for opposing offences.
Kuol, a tough 201cm wing, has long been coveted by the Kings and had plenty of suitors when he came out of contract at the end of NBL23. Ultimately, he chose to re-up with the Taipans on a one-year deal.
His goal then was to make a leap and hopefully step up to the NBA. The latter hasn’t eventuated yet but the decision to sign a short-term deal has led to what is set to be a big pay rise and long-term security.
The Sudan-born Canberran possesses a unique skill package among local talent as he is one of the very best three-point shooters in the league, combining that with elite length, athleticism, fitness and high defensive IQ.
The third-year pro averaged 12.1 points last campaign, slightly up on his career average, while his 40.8 per cent clip on 5.3 three-point attempts was the most accurate mark among the NBL’s 15 most prolific shooters from deep.
Cooks’ million dollar-plus-a-season deal is the richest in NBL history in terms of dollar value.
Andrew Bogut, in 2018-19, signed a two-year deal with Sydney, understood to be worth approximately $1 million per season — with the added bonus of a lucrative post-career ownership stake in the Kings that heavily inflated the value of his contract.
Goorjian has been handed an open chequebook to re-ignite the Kings’ fortunes following a failed NBL24 campaign.
Some fans have questioned the wage spend of clubs but, with the current soft cap, there is no ceiling on how much players can be paid.
This year’s cap was set by the NBL at a tick over $1.8 million, meaning Cooks’ deal will likely be more than half of next season’s figure.
If owners choose to spend over that figure, they pay a luxury tax, which filters back to more frugal teams who don’t exceed the cap.
Sydney has a host of positions to fill, with Jaylen Adams and Denzel Valentine unlikely to return and Angus Glover, while contracted, is weighing up his future.
MAGNAY WARNING AS PUSH FOR PARIS RAMPS UP
The Australian Boomers lack big man depth and it’s prompted two-time Olympian Chris Anstey to declare that in-form Tasmania JackJumper Will Magnay must be on the plane to the Paris Games.
Anstey believes the Boomers are “small” in the centre department compared to their international rivals and 6’10 Magnay would significantly help alongside NBA stars Jock Landale and Duop Reath.
“Will needs to be on that aeroplane to Paris,” Anstey said on his Hasbeen Hoops podcast.
“We’ve not physical and Reath is a four man internationally with the way that he shoots the ball.
“We need a rim protector and a hard roll guy who can finish at the basket.”
Magnay has been brilliant in the JackJumpers’ championship charge – averaging 11.3 points on 70 percent shooting from the field and 7.3 rebounds - and he’ll only get better according to coach Scott Roth.
He says the Brisbane-born big was hampered by knee and foot injuries to start NBL24 and he is just starting to rediscover his finest form.
“Will, in my opinion, is still not back yet,” Roth said.
“He has still got a way to go to be officially back. He has played around 25 games and most of it was monitored early in the season.
“So, he has a lot of growth in him and he is going through the process of making sure his body is feeling good.
“For now, he has done a really good job of proving that when he is fit and up and about that he is only going to get better and better.”
Roth hopes Magnay and fellow JackJumper Jack McVeigh receive a chance to at least make the Boomers training squad for Paris to “prove their value.”
Australian officials will announce the preliminary squad for this year’s Games on Wednesday, with coach Brian Goorjian tipped to name a host of NBL players.
Roth urged the Boomers to focus on building a connected team for Paris.
“Brian needs to get a team that he is comfortable coaching,” he said.
“The good problem he has is there are a lot of good Australian players in the NBL, the NBA or overseas.
“It’s going to be a tough decision of who is left on or off, but ultimately Brian needs a team that has chemistry and believes in each other to have the best chance of winning.
PAYTON AND THE HAMMER — A GLOVE STORY
There are two famous 1996 moments in Australian basketball — two-time NBL champion Tony Ronaldson’s four-point play that sunk Croatia and gave the Boomers a chance at bronze, and 2003 NBL title-winner Shane Heal’s ongoing battle with Team USA, superstar Charles Barkley and 1996 NBA defensive player of the year Gary Payton.
The shenanigans began during an exhibition Olympic warm up when the Hammer — who lit up the Americans with 28 points on eight treys — copped one from Barkley and it was on.
From there, Team USA’s chief agitator was, of course, infamous trash-talking king Payton.
“I do, I do,” Payton, in Australia for his Block Party at Magic’s Sports Bar on Manly Beach, said, when Crosscourt asked if he remembered the antics with Heal.
“That’s the way basketball goes. He was talking a lot of smack, I was talking a lot of smack, he wanted to compete against me because I was that type of player and I’m glad he did.
“It made the competition. Don’t back down, come with it, and I wasn’t backing down, too, so we understood, we battled, we went at each other.”
Turns out Payton has a long memory and future encounters featured similar jaw, with both delivering their fair share of verbal doozies in meetings at the Olympics and in the NBA, when Heal landed a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Originally published as Crosscourt: Latest news and whispers out of the NBL 2023-24 season with Matt Logue and Michael Randall
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