Sydney Kings General Manager Jeff Van Groningen joined the Aussie Hoopla podcast to explain the process behind signing the first player under the NBL Next Stars initiative.
The Next Stars program is controlled by the NBL, not its teams, and will contract overseas players for development in Australia prior to entering the NBA draft.
Key elements of the program are;
- The NBL contracts these players independently from NBL teams, they are not a part of a team’s 11 man roster or their salary cap.
- In order to be considered a Next Star the player must be a legitimate draft prospect in the coming season.
- The NBL is directly aiming to market the league to the world as a legitimate alternative to the college pathway for draft prospects.
- As they are contracted by the NBL, the league itself chooses who does and does not qualify, not the teams.
- Teams can suggest prospects to the league to review. They must meet the criteria to be signed to the NBL Next Star program
- Once a Next Star is selected every Next Star is offered to all the teams.
- The teams can then pitch to the player what they can and will provide to them in order to further their development towards the NBL.
- The player ultimately decides which teams offer they take.
Although Sydney have been able to gain depth in a position they clearly needed talent, there are a number of issues with the current model which will only become apparent once the season is complete and the program can complete a review.
Is this an unfair advantage for some teams who can offer more?
When looking at ways to implement the Next Stars program it appears a few options were considered before the final system was decided.
The NBL select a pool of players and then the teams ‘draft’ from the selection. The issue with this option was logistically this would mean signing 8 players and committing them before knowing what situation they would be put into. It’s a risky option as if a player ends up in situations which lower their prospects without it being their choice, it could backfire and impact the legitimacy of the whole program. This option was ultimately scrapped.
The NBL selects a pool of players and simply allocates them to each team. Imagine as a coach you have your players all set and the NBL says, “here is your NBL Next Star, make him into a NBA prospect”. If they are a centre and the team has just signed a star import onto a 3 year contract who will play big minutes every week at the five spot. The prospect is not going to make the first team and the coach might not even appreciate the Next Star being forced on them. So this option was also ultimately scrapped.
The NBL or the teams themselves identify legitimate draft prospects and then allow the teams to offer to the players. The player themselves are put into a position of ultimate power but also teams can pass on players which won’t add to their system. Teams can gain an advantage by being the one to initiate the relationship with the NBL but the player and the team ultimately both get a relationship they have chosen.
When it is lined up against the other options that were considered, it appears to be the most appropriate. It gives the Next Stars program the same feel as when colleges offer prospects scholarships. It makes sure the player and teams only take on prospects they can work with and hopefully ones which add to the overall team at the same time.
Potentially in future this same program could entice home grown NBA prospects. However teams have to get on board and start adding this to the work they do when scouting players. They need to be looking at these prospects and taking them to the NBL.
There will be an advantage for teams who get involved and work on securing prospects for the program. The Next Stars program has been built from the success Adelaide saw with Terence Ferguson which resulted in not only Ferguson being drafted to the NBA but added NBA exposure for players like Nathan Sobey, Matt Hodgson and Mitch Creek who all received NBA summer league experiences, Creek eventually being offered an NBA contract.
“We elected to go with the program, others can elect to go with the program” – Jeff Van Groningen – Sydney Kings General Manager.
Will it hurt developing Australian talent?
Whilst the design of the program will surely help develop those in the Next Stars program with a heavier schedule of practice, weights training and higher level of competition than what a NCAA program could offer, current development players within the league could be lost. Nathan Sobey, Greg Hire and Kyle Adnam all started their careers as development players in the NBL who are already restricted from being able (teams can suit up only one of their development players per game) unless there is a team injury.
When a player is injured or there are three minutes left in a blow out game, does an NBL coach decide to put their development player into the game? or their Next Stars player?
How much will this increase the players NBA prospects?
The final question will only be answered with time. Sydney Kings have confirmed their offer to Brian Bowen did not include any guarantee of minutes. He will have to come and work for minutes just like everyone else.
As per the recent Terrence Ferguson experiment, a lack of minutes didn’t stop him from being a first round NBA pick, with scouts uninterested in his minutes and statistics, yet more focused on how well he trained, how he took direction and how he handled being in a professional environment.
It is very possible we might not see some Next Stars on the court any more than some of the development players. This might not be a bad thing for their prospects though as how they handle not being the Star could be what takes them over the line.
As Jeff Van Groningen mentioned in the podcast, Next Stars players will be looking to develop themselves purely for the NBA. This is very different to the traditional college route, where a player needs to divide time between basketball development and study and be the face of the schools athletic program, getting the ball most times down the court and expected to produce big numbers. The Next Stars program focuses on how a player gels into an organisation, something that could make all the difference for an NBA team.
Getting the program right will take work and may need tweaks in the years to come but its just the beginning.
What can NBL teams do to take advantage?
Simple really – actively seek out Next Stars. This is what the Kings did and they have added depth in a vital position, for free.
Search for Australian and other overseas prospects who could want to take on spots in the NBL before entering the NBA Draft – get creative.
Make a real effort to help get them truly draft ready. This doesn’t mean giving them minutes, give them a true taste of what it is to be a professional basketball player.
This is not about one team getting a leg up over another, although it certainly can help. It is about the NBL we all love. All the teams need to support it and get behind it.
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Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
