Could a trade window completely transform the NBL?

I'm all for a trade window in the NBL.

I think the main issue the NBL has is Australian labour laws, that's where it becomes a bit murky and that's why it hasn't been done. The other one is Jacob Holmes and the ABPA — they're not too fond of it.

I think there'd have to be some sort of thresholds on players' salaries that can be traded. For example, if someone got traded that's on, let's just make this up, $100,000 from Cairns, you get traded to Sydney, that money with housing and cost of living is not going to get you far. You’d have to commute four hours to get to training in Sydney. I think there's got to be some sort of baselines or thresholds and then maybe you give a guy like that a bonus to come over, a cost of living allowance. Who knows, just spit balling.

If it was to proceed, the best way would be with trade windows. Perhaps you cap each team a maximum of two players per season, or two trades per season. I think there's something there that you could do. No one in Australian sport is doing it. The AFL trade period, it's not a trade period because players can say, I want to go here. That's not a trade period.

The NRL is a whole different story with their free agency and the way they run that, which I think is hilarious in itself and strange. (that a player can sign with another club the following season, whilst still playing with their previous club).

This is coming from a club owner, so, it looks like I'm kind of conflicted, but you can't just have players asking out from contracts at times or saying I don't fit in well here, I want out of my contract to go somewhere else (which happens more than you think). It’s a fine line and if this is allowed to go on, then the club should then be allowed to dictate, fine, we're going to put you to a place where we can get good value back.

We're not going to just release you to become a free agent, which is how it happens now. We did it with DJ. There are numerous teams that have done it at times.

There are situations, for example when Mitch Norton and Todd Blanchfield were in Perth, where they're contracted but the club said 'you're not in our plans or rotation but the previous regime signed you to a three-year deal and we don't really see you fitting in'. They'd be happy to release them from their contract and move on. But with a trade window, maybe they could do a trade and get a young player back that's just a role player and doesn't need minutes. There's a lot of things that can go on.

I think that the blind spot for the ABPA is that you can't have it both ways. You can't go and say 'this player is unhappy'. Well, he's got a two-year deal. Well, the club should release him because he's not happy. Well, no, he's got a two-year contract. And then on the flip side that same ABPA will push back that you shouldn't be allowed to just cut a guy if they are under contract.

So, at the moment, there's no real balance there. I think the trade thing would definitely bring a balance along with bringing something that's not seen in Australian sport. Do it in a period, maybe have a period in the offseason after of during free agency.

A perfect second period I'd look to would be the FIBA break where you have almost two weeks. It also works as it then gives players enough games to qualify for the finals.

I'm also all for the release of salaries in the NBL — I just think that it's good for transparency.

I know this is another one that Jacob Holmes and the ABPA don't like because they've got a lot of players, who historically, were potentially overpaid and didn't want the public to know they were overpaid.

But that's part of the business. I think it's good and I think it creates a very natural news cycle.

We can have fans debate like, 'oh man, they're paying that guy that much, that's terrible' or 'wow, that guy's playing on that much, that's super undervalued, we should look at him'.

Those conversations that happen naturally that aren't forced by the NBL or media partners, where sometimes it can be overly forced. I think that that's what the NBL just doesn't have in the offseason at the moment, I think that'd be super important, I love having that debate and knowing. A news cycle that doesn’t need clickbaited planted articles to create debate. This will happen naturally.

Then I think it just creates transparency for people, and clubs, that think that some clubs are maybe paying under the table. This way if salaries are public, and for example we know publicly that Player X is worth $500,000 and we offer him $550,000 and he's laughing out of the room, we're like, 'hang on a second, what's going on here?'

I think it creates a lot more transparency and honesty and fans can feel like they know what guys are getting paid.

Look, there's going to be players out there that aren't happy with it, there's going to be those people out there, but the more the NBL is trying to grow, in my opinion, it needs to do things that other sports aren't doing. We can't just follow every other sport.

I think if we do some things and grab attention like 'oh, this Rogue league does trades mid-season, wow'. You're looking at what the NBA does, and you look at what was the most news trending item from the last 12 months in the NBA? It was not a game. A playoff, A final. It was Luka Doncic getting traded.

That was the number one spoken about Basketball the past few years that happened naturally and it did not involve a thing that was on the court. It just naturally kept going.

I'm not saying you get those levels in the NBL, but I imagine if there was a blockbuster trade between last season. Perth figure out Bryce doesn't want to stay there, they make a play for KD. Insanity ensues.

Just one final thing I'll say on that, you've got people that are out there saying, 'oh, what's to stop a Sydney or a Melbourne just stacking up before the finals and making trades and

topping up their roster?' We can already do that without trades. If you do that and you acquire guys on a big salary, guess what? Your club has a MASSIVE salary cap implication.

They have that go over, you're going to pay it back to the league. It's going to cost you double, triple of what that athlete's actually worth. There are rules in place for that already.

NBA Champion Andrew Bogut is a columnist and contributor for Basketball.com.au. He is part owner and assistant coach of the Sydney Kings.

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