With the release of the NBL salary cap figures and player salaries via a number of News Corp articles, it has become very clear that there are many nuances within the economics of the NBL, so our host Dan Boyce, reached out to Sydney Kings CEO Chris Pongrass to help explain how the cap works, soft cap vs hard cap numbers, the myriad of player exemptions and how NBL teams utilise them to benefit from NBL salary cap rules.
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Pongrass joined the Kings in 2019 after six years with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, a number of roles there including the Director of Basketball Operations. His time with the Grizzlies included two 50-win regular seasons, four consecutive NBA playoffs runs, including a trip to the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, being heavily involved in drafting Jaren Jackson, Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and re-signing stars like Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
His first three seasons with the Kings saw him help to guide Sydney to one of the best regular seasons in NBL history, only to see Covid end their title run prematurely. Navigate through a year of adjustment, replacing Will Weaver with Adam Forde, juggling imports and finishing 5th and missing the playoffs. Before putting together the roster which saw the Kings defeat Tasmania in last season’s NBL championship win.
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Podcast topics include;
- Playing in Japan and the newly formed EASL league (2:00)
Why Japan is after the best frontcourt players in the world (3:30) - Why he wants to return to Australia and play in the NBL next season (5:00)
- How imports in Asia view the NBL right now (6:30)
- How Jacob ended up playing in Adelaide for the 2018 season (8:00)
- His experiences being coached by Joey Wright (11:00)
- The ups and downs of the Adelaide 36ers 2018-19 season (13:00)
- Being aware of your ‘stock’ as an import and making the right contract decisions (23:00)
- Playing in Europe (27:00)
- An import’s role in Europe and making the adjustment there (28:00)
- Winning a championship in Puerto Rico (30:00)
- The biggest learning moments and highlights from his career so far (34:00)
