Sydney Kings prounced dead

[pro_punter]

Heard an interview with ex Sydney Captain Jason Smith, still owed money along with other players and support staff etc. Said he is battling big time to support his family and pay the bills etc. Its shocking.

 

[kane249]

I heard a stat on SEN, something like 29 defunct NBL teams in 30 years?

Defunct NBL teams

Adelaide City Eagles (1982) Originally known as the Forrestville Eagles for the 1981 season. Became the Adelaide 36ers for the 1983 season and took several players from the West Adelaide Bearcats in 1984 when that club left the NBL to allow for a single, full-strength Adelaide team to compete.

Bankstown Bruins (1979- 1985) Became the West Sydney Westars for the seasons, 1986 - 1987. Currently play in the ABA.

Canberra Cannons (1979 - 2003) Celebrated their 20th Anniversary in 1998 as one of only four foundation clubs left in the league. Unfortunately the club only last a few more years becoming the Hunter Pirates for the 2003/04 season moving from Canberra to Newcastle.

City of Sydney Astronauts (1979-1981) Became the Sydney Supersonics for the seasons, 1982 - 1987.

Coburg Giants (1980-1986) Became the North Melbourne Giants for the seasons, 1987 - 1998.

Devonport Warriors (1983-1984)

Eastside Spectres (1987-1991) Originally known as the Nunawading Spectres, from 1979 - 1986. Merged with the Southern Melbourne Saints to form the South East Melbourne Magic for the seasons, 1992 - 1998.

Frankston Bears (1983-1984)

Geelong cats (1982-1996) Became the Geelong Supercats for the seasons, 1988 - 1996. Currently play in the ABA.

etc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_National_Basketball_League_(Australia)_teams

 

[Jeffers]

Goodybe NBL. This is shocking news.

 

[grimlock]

Heard an interview with ex Sydney Captain Jason Smith, still owed money along with other players and support staff etc. Said he is battling big time to support his family and pay the bills etc. Its shocking.

Hasn't he signed with the South Dragons?

 

[pro_punter]

Hasn't he signed with the South Dragons?

Failed the medical

 

[MagpieScouser]

thanks for the memories of hatred towards the kings and player such as tim morrisey,leon trimmingham ,dwayne mclain and ken mclarry

 

[Bandar]

It seems a strange twist of fate that the most successful coach in the NBL hasn't got any of his old clubs to go back to.

 

[catters05]

I think the NBA may need to come in and revamp it to rescue basketball in australia.

 

[peternorth]

I think the NBA may need to come in and revamp it to rescue basketball in australia.

nothing in it for the nba but

 

[Inferno]

If Fox Sports don't telecast then thats gonna be it. Sad that it is ending this way I guess... who would have guessed the league would be reduced to this 15 years ago? Ever since channel 10 stopped the telecasting the league has gone backwards at an alarmingly quick rate, then the Sydney centric era which has now obviously backfired VERY badly, the Razorbacks are only just scraping by these days and look like they won't make the finals this season. Bloody hell if only the people in charge could do their jobs properly, both the league and the owners.

R.I.P NBL

I have been a Kings fan for along time and worked there when the office was at the SuperDome as an assistant to Bobby Turner. Things were bad then and we never knew if we would be paid. Turner bought the franchise of Wrubleski for too much and were in debt straight away. They has the best facilities in Australia at the SuperDome but no one was willing to come and watch the games. The move back to the entertainment centre was seen to be the saviour of the club but despite the on court success the crowd was still small.

WTF were they thinking granting a new license to the PIGS. Did they not remember that the Kings were formed in the first place cause the city couldnt support 2 teams?

I came with an idea to Booby Turner during the SuperDome days when they couldnt afford the rent. My idea was that the Kings and the Pigs share the SuperDome and play double headers and share the gate. Kings season members would have one side and Pigs members the other side. There was plenty of room. At the time the Pigs were playing 1 km away at the old State Sports centre. The idea would be to half the costs of the Superdome and give more value to the punter who could see 2 games. Alas, Kings and Pigs Admin couldnt see eye to eye (they in fact hated each other)

Then they moved to the entertainment centre.

I think once the Kings finally cracked the big one then everyone lost interest. The big 3, Matty Neilson, Williams and Heal took off. Other codes were gaining momentum (especially AFL and A League) and basketball fans watched the NBA.

The NBL with its constant shuffling of players and imports each year has become a joke and the loss to Europe means we see second rate players. The only way to save it IMO is to have the season in the European off season so our players can play.

In Melbourne there were some double-headers with the Tigers and Titans in the early 00's and they failed pretty badly. Most people didn't want to pay extra to be able to see a team they didn't support.

 

[arkie]

Well the NBL should shut its doors. There is no support. I don't go to games, I only watch NBL on Fox Sports. I watch a lot more NBA through League Pass and get to see nearly every Celtics game. The talent isn't the same, the venues are garbage, crowds are poor.

It would have been nice to see most Australian cities play in arenas like Acer Arena in Sydney and Rod Laver in Melbourne and fill them and have the NBA like atmosphere. How good is the Acer Arena anyway? We should get something like that in Melbourne

The good old days of the NBL are gone!

 

[Philhawk]

Just tragic news.

Back in the day, I was a massive North Melbourne Giants fan when I lived in Melbourne, only to see my beloved club merge/die and become a completely new entity.

Once I moved to Sydney, I tried to get onto the Kings and attended matches now and then, but unfortunately the passion I had for the sport (through the Giants), had gone.

Alot of my close mates were die-hard Kings fans - so much so that they were just in tears when they heard the dreadful news.

Can't see where the competition can go from here ...

All I can say is **** you Tim Johnston and your bloody company.

 

[sjsdu]

Very bad news for the league. Very, very bad. Word is, the former owner owes a lot of back pay to players and employees.
My personal feeling is that the Kings will come back. As I understand it, the license still exists and needs an owner who can show enough financial stability to pay salaries, etc.

Someone in an earlier post opined the NBA should step in. Sadly, the NBA doesn't see its future in Oz. We have 20M people and Asia has over a Billion.

The AFL is flush with cash although I cannot see how the AFL would benefit from the NBL flourishing. If anything, it would probably add to the AFL's insecurity.

The league can prosper. Sometime before I came to Oz, the hoops culture that I hear existed died off. Why? Basketball is the second most popular sport worldwide, so what is needed here?

Does anyone think that the access to NBA has hurt the NBL? Is it possible that people get that 'hoops fix' from watching the NBA? I hope not. I have been here since 2000 and have gotten more interested in the NBL as the years have gone by.

 

[peternorth]

Does anyone think that the access to NBA has hurt the NBL? Is it possible that people get that 'hoops fix' from watching the NBA? I hope not. I have been here since 2000 and have gotten more interested in the NBL as the years have gone by.

yes. no free to air nba has hurt. back when kids were idolising and pretending to be MJ etc and had at least 1 hour of nba each week.

taking the nbl off FTA has also hurt

 

[justthedukes]

There has been alot of things that were set to revive basketball in australia, in particular, bogut being drafted number 1, I thought that was going to be the turning point, but it did nothing?

 

[kane249]

There has been alot of things that were set to revive basketball in australia, in particular, bogut being drafted number 1, I thought that was going to be the turning point, but it did nothing?

Considering theres no free to air coverage of any of his games in the US, ie very few people are going to see him play, i don't see how him getting drafted was going to revive the sport.

 

[krisholio14]

I haven't watched NBL since the Supercats went back to the VBA. I won't ever watch it unless they come back either.

 

[Rocca Flys High]

As long as the Melbounre Teams stay, it's all good. Oh well to Sydney and Brisbane.