Chris Pongrass (Sydney Kings CEO) on the nuances of the NBL salary cap

With the release of the NBL salary cap figures and player salaries via a number of News Corp articles, it has become very clear that there are many nuances within the economics of the NBL, so our host Dan Boyce reached out to Sydney Kings CEO Chris Pongrass to help explain how the cap works, soft cap vs hard cap numbers, the myriad of player exemptions and how NBL teams utilise them to benefit from NBL salary cap rules. Topics include... Thoughts on how the Kings roster has come together so far (1:30) Jaylen Adams' chances of returning to the Sydney Kings (3:30) The nuances of the NBL salary cap and how teams navigate it (7:00) The inaccuracies of News Corp's article on player salaries and how the salary cap works (10:00) How do the Sydney Kings prioritise salary cap exemptions when signing players (14:00) How the Marquee Player rule works (18:00) What parts of a player's salary go towards the NBL cap (22:00) How the Next Stars Program works within the cap and why building your team around them is a risky move (23:00) Special Restricted Players and why Asian players are so valuable to NBL teams right now (27:00) How the NBL is a better option for players than China's CBA… in some scenarios (33:00) The Reconciliation Action Plan exemption and how it works (37:00) The NBL's soft cap, how it works and how the 'luxury tax' is distributed amongst teams (40:00) Thoughts on player salaries and team salaries being released to the public and the pros and cons of it (43:00) What Chris learned from his six years with the Memphis Grizzlies and how he uses those learnings with the Kings today (47:00) What the Kings 2022 championship meant to Chris and the Sydney Kings (58:00) Visit dunk.com.au for your next set of basketball uniforms. Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball Head to Aussie Hoopla to check out previous podcasts featuring; Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Leroy Loggins, David Andersen, Andrew Vlahov, Phil Smyth, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Damian Martin Current NBL Stars - Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Jack White, Dejan Vasiljevic, Thomas Abercrombie, Daniel Johnson, Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron, Anthony Drmic, Brad Newley, Kai Sotto, Luke Travers Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Barry Barnes, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze, Ken Cole, Will Weaver, Bruce Palmer NBA Stars Past & Present - Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti, Ryan Broekhoff, Doug Overton The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Darnell Mee, Isaac Burton, Adonis Jordan, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Steve Woodberry, Doug Overton, Kevin Lisch And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Mal Speed, Paul Maley, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chris Pongrass, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob Turner, Danny Mills All that and much more. Follow @AussieHoopla on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or email us at [email protected]