NBL's salary cap!

[Lebanon]

Hi

I read on the NBL's official website that the salary cap for the 2009/2010 season was around 1 000 000 australian dollar = 900 000 USD = 670 000 Euros approximately!

I was really surprised because I think it is too low, so I would like to ask some questions if you don't mind:

- What is the level of the NBL compared to top european leagues (greek, italy, spain, turkey) and intermediate leagues (france, germany, poland, croatia...)?
- What is the average salary of an australian player?
- How many imports are allowed per team? What is the level of the imports in general ? What is the average salary of an import? I know for example that some players who did good numbers in the NBL came to Lebanon and failed to impress such as mark sanford, sean lampley and bakari hendrix! were they among the NBL's top imports?
- What is the average salary of a coach?
- Is the salary cap set for a full year (12 months) or season (8-9 months)?

Thanks for your feedbacks!

[RickyRicardo1989]

Hi

I read on the NBL's official website that the salary cap for the 2009/2010 season was around 1 000 000 australian dollar = 900 000 USD = 670 000 Euros approximately!

I was really surprised because I think it is too low, so I would like to ask some questions if you don't mind:

- What is the level of the NBL compared to top european leagues (greek, italy, spain, turkey) and intermediate leagues (france, germany, poland, croatia...)?
- What is the average salary of an australian player?
- How many imports are allowed per team? What is the level of the imports in general ? What is the average salary of an import? I know for example that some players who did good numbers in the NBL came to Lebanon and failed to impress such as mark sanford, sean lampley and bakari hendrix! were they among the NBL's top imports?
- What is the average salary of a coach?
- Is the salary cap set for a full year (12 months) or season (8-9 months)?

Thanks for your feedbacks!

Well, I'll try to answer this as best I can.
Whilst the NBL is regarded as quality basketball league around the world, it's still a fair way off reaching the standards of the NBA and the Euroleague.
Having said that, in regards to the league on its own, (discounting any competitions involving multiple teams from several countries, i.e. the Euroleague), it actually isn't doing too bad for itself.

Now this is only from what I've heard, but apparently, the NBL supposedly ranks in the top 10 basketball leagues around the world, somewhere in the 8th/9th position, which isn't too bad. But I'm not sure how reliable the source I read was.

The average salary will vary from player to player, much like it would from a Lebron James to a Jorge Garbajosa, i.e. a big difference depending on the quality of the player.
I'm not sure exactly of exact figures, but the top 2/3 players in a team, would probably be getting something like 125-150k a year. Australian dollars obviously, but I'm not entirely sure.

At the moment, only two imports are allowed on any one team. There are plans to increase it to about 3/4, but at the moment, the teams nor the NBL have the kind of money to do that, so it's still several years away.
There is however an initiative in that if an import is struck down with a season-ending injury, a team is allowed to acquire another import with the salary of the previous import going through some process I'm not sure of, but basically it's like extra cap space if a team is required to purchase another import on the back of injury to a previous one.
Again, I'm not sure on the exact salary of imports, but it'd vary depending on how good they are.
Sanford as you say, was a fantastic player for the Sydney Kings during his time here in Australia.
They were close to being the NBL's top imports.
Players like Dave Thomas, Chris Williams, Kavossy Franklin, Julius Hodge and a few others are right at the top of the tree in regards to quality imports.

The coaches salary isn't really publicised all that much, so I couldn't give you a definite number on that one, but let me look into it and I'll get back to you on that.
And I'm pretty sure the cap is just for the season, but again, let me look into it and I'll clarify later on.

Hopefully that helps.

[Lebanon]

Well, I'll try to answer this as best I can.
Whilst the NBL is regarded as quality basketball league around the world, it's still a fair way off reaching the standards of the NBA and the Euroleague.
Having said that, in regards to the league on its own, (discounting any competitions involving multiple teams from several countries, i.e. the Euroleague), it actually isn't doing too bad for itself.

Now this is only from what I've heard, but apparently, the NBL supposedly ranks in the top 10 basketball leagues around the world, somewhere in the 8th/9th position, which isn't too bad. But I'm not sure how reliable the source I read was.

The average salary will vary from player to player, much like it would from a Lebron James to a Jorge Garbajosa, i.e. a big difference depending on the quality of the player.
I'm not sure exactly of exact figures, but the top 2/3 players in a team, would probably be getting something like 125-150k a year. Australian dollars obviously, but I'm not entirely sure.

At the moment, only two imports are allowed on any one team. There are plans to increase it to about 3/4, but at the moment, the teams nor the NBL have the kind of money to do that, so it's still several years away.
There is however an initiative in that if an import is struck down with a season-ending injury, a team is allowed to acquire another import with the salary of the previous import going through some process I'm not sure of, but basically it's like extra cap space if a team is required to purchase another import on the back of injury to a previous one.
Again, I'm not sure on the exact salary of imports, but it'd vary depending on how good they are.
Sanford as you say, was a fantastic player for the Sydney Kings during his time here in Australia.
They were close to being the NBL's top imports.
Players like Dave Thomas, Chris Williams, Kavossy Franklin, Julius Hodge and a few others are right at the top of the tree in regards to quality imports.

The coaches salary isn't really publicised all that much, so I couldn't give you a definite number on that one, but let me look into it and I'll get back to you on that.
And I'm pretty sure the cap is just for the season, but again, let me look into it and I'll clarify later on.

Hopefully that helps.

Thanks for your help!

I am impressed how the league can be that strong and competitive while the salary cap is that low. is it that easy to convince high level professionnal players to stay in the league and play for relatively low salaries while they can get much higher offers outside?

In the The french Pro A which isn't really a top european league , the average budget of a team is around 4 million euros ( 2 700 000 australian dollars!

[RickyRicardo1989]

Thanks for your help!

I am impressed how the league can be that strong and competitive while the salary cap is that low. is it that easy to convince high level professionnal players to stay in the league and play for relatively low salaries while they can get much higher offers outside?

In the The french Pro A which isn't really a top european league , the average budget of a team is around 4 million euros ( 2 700 000 australian dollars!

I think here in the NBL, it's not so much a question of players earning huge salaries, but rather the team bonding and the team chemistry that makes players love to play here.
Imports such as Dontaye Draper, Kavossy Franklin, Isiah Victor, Mark Sanford etc. have all said that whilst they aren't making as much money as they could overseas, they like playing in the NBL, due to the fact that all the players on a level playing field or thereabouts in regards to their salaries, and the comradeship that exists between players around the NBL is something that they all appreciate.

Here's a link outlining the points system that Australia uses to put their sides together.
You have to form a team that has a points total of 70 or below, but most teams generally end up getting some high-quality players on board.

http://www.nbl.com.au/index.php?id=15&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=15670&tx_ttnews[backPid]=4&cHash=b1643ecaff

[Lebanon]

I think here in the NBL, it's not so much a question of players earning huge salaries, but rather the team bonding and the team chemistry that makes players love to play here.
Imports such as Dontaye Draper, Kavossy Franklin, Isiah Victor, Mark Sanford etc. have all said that whilst they aren't making as much money as they could overseas, they like playing in the NBL, due to the fact that all the players on a level playing field or thereabouts in regards to their salaries, and the comradeship that exists between players around the NBL is something that they all appreciate.

Here's a link outlining the points system that Australia uses to put their sides together.
You have to form a team that has a points total of 70 or below, but most teams generally end up getting some high-quality players on board.

http://www.nbl.com.au/index.php?id=15&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=15670&tx_ttnews[backPid]=4&cHash=b1643ecaff

I readabout this points system. In fact I like the NBL's system so much, this is why I am curious to inquire about it !

I think it could be a model for our amateur Lebanese league especially with the financial problems 90% of the teams are facing.

[RickyRicardo1989]

I readabout this points system. In fact I like the NBL's system so much, this is why I am curious to inquire about it !

I think it could be a model of our amateur Lebanese league especially with the financial problems 90% of the teams are facing.

It definitely has its advantages in that it allows teams to stay financially healthy most of the time, as well as providing the up and coming players with the chance to play regular professional basketball.
Problem is though, obviously because of the points system, there's only so many high-profile recruits you can acquire for any one season.

[Lebanon]

Do you know whether the salary cap covers all 12 months of the year or just 7-9 months? How many months does the NBL season last?

[RickyRicardo1989]

Do you know whether the salary cap covers all 12 months of the year or just 7-9 months? How many months does the NBL season last?

http://www.nbl.com.au/index.php?id=142

Have a look at that site for a bit more info regarding the salary cap, that might clear up some things.
Honestly I'm not too sure, but the cap I'm thinking would cover all 12 months of the year as players remain involved with the club during the off-season as well.

The NBL goes for 5 months.
That includes play-offs as well.

[brudd]

compared to those leagues this is intramurals

this league now is not respected.. when a player like Julis Hodge is respected here and cant hit the rim from 16 feet.. you know you are in a bad league.. europe basketball is hard, very complex.. this league has people like richard at adelaide making decisions shows you this is a joke..

[RickyRicardo1989]

this league now is not respected.. when a player like Julis Hodge is respected here and cant hit the rim from 16 feet.. you know you are in a bad league.. europe basketball is hard, very complex.. this league has people like richard at adelaide making decisions shows you this is a joke..

The NBL is actually a high-quality league and is respected around the world.
That's exactly why players such as Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis and Grant Hill have all expressed mild desires to come and test the waters out here as they near the end of their careers.
They wouldn't be doing so if there was nothing for them to gain here.

And in regards to Julius Hodge not being able to hit the rim from 16 feet, well some players are like that. Some players aren't the greatest scorers, but they make up for it in other areas.

Of course European basketball is hard. The Euroleague is most likely second behind the NBA in terms of the physicality and the skill level.
That's not to say that the NBL doesn't have much of the same because they do, it's just that the NBL isn't as universally recognised as the other two.

And who is this Richard person at Adelaide that you speak of?

Surprisingly, the NBL has actually helped turn young American imports on the cusp of the NBA/D-League into full-blooded stars now playing for teams all over the world.
Dontaye Draper, Kevin Lisch, Larry Abney etc. all fall into that category.