It’s been a little while since we’ve had a good recap on the events of the National Basketball League here at A Stern Warning, so let’s check in on a few recent news items in Today’s Warnings:
– Taipans: Former Sydney King and 2003 Rookie of the Year, Gary Boodnikoff is back with the Cairns Taipans for the 2009-10 season, where he’ll line up alongside a very similar player in Phill “all the L’s” Jones. Boods has averaged 10.1ppg whilst shooting 37% from deep during his career to date.
– JohnRillie.com: NBL super-blogger (and gun for hire) John Rillie has the scoop on the Townsville Crocodiles’ new uniform. They’ve definitely gone for a new look with the black strip — very sleek and very different. JR, when can we expect another episode of the very entertaining OT Podcast?
– AdelaideNow: Boti Nagy is always worth a read and here he hints that the Adelaide 36ers might be rocking with Rod Grizzard or Cortez Groves next season. Amongst other news, he also has this quip about “out in the cold” Darnell Mee who has not seen any favour from the Cairns Taipans. “Darnell Mee, 38, is out in the cold, let loose by Cairns despite being naturalised. You can change your nationality but unfortunately you can’t change your birthdate.”
– NBL: Despite the NBL’s salary cap rising from $810,000 to $1,000,000 this season, the Taipans’ brass has warned players that salaries will actually be lower than in the past. Addressing that elephant in the closet is never an easy thing, but money has been a big issue across the world in the last year or so and Cairns President, Denis Donaghy has made it clear to Snakes players that this will continue to be an issue — smart financial management is what is needed in Aussie basketball after all of the problems we have seen in recent years. “We don’t have the ability to spend $1 million.
“And I should say it’s not just our club, the majority of clubs are spending around the $800,000-$850,000 mark.
“A few of them are spending $1 million. But we’re not and Wollongong’s not and Perth’s not and Adelaide’s not, said Donaghy.”
