Logue Down: JackJumpers for sale; Champion NBL coach Trevor Gleeson open to return
The Tasmania JackJumpers are up for sale - and prospective buyers will have to dig deep for the NBL’s newest team, whose value has skyrocketed. Check out the latest Logue Down.
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The NBL’s hottest team, the Tasmania JackJumpers, are up for sale and could command between $30-$40 million.
It’s understood NBL owner Larry Kestelman is under no rush to sell but is keen to see a significant share of the club remain in local hands.
Kestelman is yet to receive an official offer but several parties have registered their interest in buying the NBL’s newest franchise.
The value of the JackJumpers has skyrocketed compared to the private sale of the Perth Wildcats were sold for a reported $8.5 million in 2021.
Media mogul and Sports Entertainment Group CEO Craig Hutchison purchased a 100 per cent stake in the Wildcats.
Regardless, there is no doubting Tasmania will command decent dollars at sale.
The JackJumpers have enjoyed sustained success not seen on the Australian domestic sporting scene since the Melbourne Storm dominated in its first three seasons in the NRL, when the club made the finals twice and won the 1999 premiership.
The men from the Apple Isle made a grand final in their maiden season before reaching the semi-finals last season.
After four weeks in NBL24, the JackJumpers are in second position having twice defeated back-to-back champions the Sydney Kings.
GLEESON HINTS AT RETURN TO COACH IN NBL
Five-time championship-winning coach Trevor Gleeson says he is open to the “right offer”, as a host of NBL coaches come under pressure at the start of the season.
Gleeson said he was free to accept another coaching job, despite having a year remaining on his deal with the Toronto Raptors as an NBA assistant.
The respected mentor parted ways with the Raptors as part of coach Nick Nurse’s sacking after the 2022-23 NBA season but he is still being paid for the third year of his contract.
It means Gleeson can accept another coaching job – and the wage he earns from the new role will just come off the total Toronto is paying him.
This will open the door for struggling NBL teams such as Adelaide, Illawarra and Perth to make approaches if they choose to move in another direction from current coaches CJ Bruton, Jacob Jackomas and John Rillie.
Gleeson stressed a return to the NBA was his first priority but he would weigh up the most suitable option to continue his successful coaching career.
“If a great situation appeared, I’d listen,” said Gleeson, who helped Perth claim NBL championships in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.
“That might be the NBA, here, overseas in Asia. There are a lot of Australian coaches and players in Japan. I’ve got a lot of connections.
“I’ve said it before, but I definitely want to finish my career in the NBL.
“I’ll see what happens. I’m open to everything but that doesn’t mean I’m going to jump at something. It has to be right.
“It doesn’t make financial sense for me to take a job, just for taking a job, but if it is a good program, a good situation and longevity there, who knows?”
Gleeson was in the mix for the South East Melbourne Phoenix job before Mike Kelly was hired.
He also received interest from South Korea, Japan and Europe but in the end thought he would “take the summer off” to focus on family.
“I also had talked to four or five NBA teams and it just didn’t work out,” said Gleeson, who is doing a lot of corporate talking events and coaching clinics.
“I also got offered a job in Europe in May but I was going to be away for 10 months and I’ve already been away from my family for a long time.
“So I made a family decision to pass on that.”
PUSH FOR NBL TO TAKE OVER WNBL
There is a renewed push for the NBL – and owner Larry Kestelman – to take over the WNBL to give the pioneering league the platform it deserves.
Veteran commentator John Casey is the latest to make a case for Kestelman to rescue the women’s domestic competition from a marketing and promotions perspective.
“Not only has Larry done it with the NBL, he has also elevated the NBL1 competition around the country to a significant level,” Casey said on the Basketball Show this week.
“He has runs on the board and can do this type of scenario for the WNBL.
“I wonder why Basketball Australia isn’t engaging with him and trying to work out a plan.”
Basketball Australia owns and operates the WNBL but BA has previously had discussions with the NBL about a structure for the league.
No agreement has been struck but the strengthened relationship is already paying dividends because the NBL helped the WNBL secure a recent deal with Coca-Cola.
NBL legend Shane Heal, who previously coached the Sydney Flames, would love to see Kestelman take over the WNBL.
“It (the WNBL) is the best-kept secret in Australian sport in my mind and these women deserve more,” Heal said.
“You look at the success of the Matildas in the football when they made the top four, well our women (the Opals) have done that forever.
“Basketball Australia need to take a good, hard look at themselves.”
It comes as the Adelaide-based Casey expressed his “disappointment” at not receiving an invite to the WNBL media day and launch in Melbourne on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” he said. “I think that is reflective of Basketball Australia not getting the message out there enough.
“There is a perfect opportunity for Basketball Australia and the WNBL to feed off the success of the women’s World Cup last year.
“Netball is also going through enormous problems. I’m not wishing them any ill will but it’s an enormous opportunity for basketball to thrust themselves forward.”
NBA CHAOS SPARKS NBL INTEREST
Adelaide and Brisbane reached out to former championship-winning Melbourne United forward Jack White after he was waived by the OKC Thunder this week but it’s understood White is in the process of locking in another deal to remain in the NBA.
Murmurs have also surfaced that suggest United has made inquiries about White, who helped deliver the club a championship in 2021.
The Logue Down understands the Boomers forward has a potential NBA opportunity in the works.
White also wouldn’t want to play against United if he returned to the NBL, although circumstance could dictate a different scenario.
KINGS COACH’S PAY CUT
Sydney Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah has sacrificed $1 million to leave the NBA and coach in the NBL this season.
Abdelfattah was an assistant coach at the Houston Rockets last season, which commands significantly bigger dollars than he is paying paid to coach the Kings.
However, money isn’t the only motivation for the 34-year-old, who was the first Palestinian and first Muslim to be named coach of an NBA or NBA G-League franchise.
Abdelfattah is keen to develop his coaching even more in the NBL – a league which has proven itself to be a pathway to the NBA for players and coaches.
PRESSURE ON PERTH IMPORT
Calls for the Perth Wildcats to pull the trigger on import forward Kristian Doolittle have emerged following an “underwhelming” start to his NBL stint.
Doolittle is averaging just 3.6 points on a lowly 39 per cent from the field in his five games for the Wildcats, prompting calls for action.
“Doolittle has been very underwhelming so far,” veteran NBL and Boomers broadcaster John Casey said on the Basketball Show this week.
“He is finding it hard to get into the game.
“I wonder if Doolittle’s position on the team is under threat and they (Perth) are going to have to look elsewhere.”
Wildcats superstar Bryce Cotton is struggling this season.
Cotton had just 11 points on 2/15 shooting in the loss to Adelaide last Saturday.
He is shooting just 32.2 per cent this season and there is visible frustration from the three-time MVP.
Cotton shouldered responsibility for Perth’s poor form this week, which you would expect from such a champion, but we also need to look at the Wildcats’ coaching and getting the gun guard more involved.
Originally published as Logue Down: JackJumpers for sale; Champion NBL coach Trevor Gleeson open to return
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