To tip off the 2011/12 NBL season, the Sydney Kings have just launched a new television commercial due to be hitting your screens this week. 

Time to buy those tickets for the first home game on 15 October. In addition, star big man Julian Khazzouh recently spoke to SydneyKingsTV about his off-season (including his various NBA trials) and what he looks forward to in 2011/12.

Social media in Australia has been absolutely abuzz online the past week with talk of the NBL 2011/12 season launch and in particular, with the arrival of Patty Mills to the Melbourne Tigers and the efforts to attract Andrew Bogut by numerous NBL clubs. Whilst the Perth Wildcats and Adelaide 36ers have since withdrawn themselves from the hunt to lure the 7'0" elite big man, the pitch has become a battle between the Sydney Kings and Gold Coast Blaze.

The biggest stumbling block in bringing "Bogues" to any NBL club is providing insurance coverage for his sizeable NBA contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Whilst there has been uncertainty as to what different insurance brokers can provide in this regard, the Kings and Blaze have done their darndest to woo Bogut with presentations commensurate with the big fella's size and immense talent.

Part of the Sydney Kings' approach included a video, providing a mere snapshot of the public sentiment in Sydney for the arrival of Bogut to the Harbour City. The video, featuring both ordinary fans and celebrities, offers a glimpse of the welcome the centre would receive in Sydney. Take a look at the effort the Kings organisation made, in just a small segment of their pitch:

Whilst some within the Blaze organisation have subtley hinted via twitter that Bogut's signing with the Gold Coast is already a fait accompli, the Sydney Kings continued their barrage of love for Bogut via social media, as both the team's fans and management pushed forward their praise.

I've put together a sample of the social media storm that has primarily unfolded via twitter, for your reading enjoyment.

View "The NBL courting of Andrew Bogut" on Storify 

Follow @ASternWarning on twitter to keep up with the latest news as it happens.

Once again, Chris Jackson of Get Banged On shares his thoughts on the current state of Australian basketball -- this time with reference to the influx of talent to the NBL, particularly from the NBA.

Patty Mills' signing with the Melbourne Tigers could turn out to be one of the most important moments in the history of the NBL.

Think about it, a born and bred Aussie (and also importantly, of Aboriginal heritage), with experience playing in the best and most famous basketball league in the world, coming home for a run around in front of fans in his home country. Instantly, the NBL has a new, exciting, highly-marketable face of the league to boost TV ratings and numbers at the box office.

The signing of Mills by the Tigers is a huge coup for basketball in Australia. But is it totally positive?

How can something that could possibly push the NBL to the proverbial “next level” be not completely positive?

The signing of Mills pushed the Tigers above the NBL points cap forcing them to move the loyal, club favorite, Daryl Corletto, to the inactive roster. In layman’s terms, he was kicked out.

Corletto, a 277-game veteran (all played with the Tigers), was shown that loyalty does not always mean as much as we thought. Corletto definitely isn’t the star that Mills will be in the NBL, but it doesn’t feel right that a guy that has been an integral part of the Tigers team was basically run out of town (and across the pond to the New Zealand Breakers).

The fact that the Melbourne Tigers made this move is not entirely troubling. What team wouldn’t do whatever they could to sign Patty Mills? The fact that other teams and players might also make sacrifices, and that they can even make those sacrifices, makes me feel a little uneasy.

Andrew Bogut has made his intentions fairly clear that he is interested in playing in the NBL in the wake of the NBA lockout. But he’ll come at quite a price. The insurance that a club will need to pay has been reported at somewhere around $500,000. With a price tag like that, even the big city glamour clubs of the NBL will struggle to find the cash.

So how will an NBL club sign him?

Finding extra sponsors is the answer that leaves me with the least uneasiness. But for most NBL clubs, the idea of finding a sponsor or two to pony up 500 large is a daunting task, especially when most clubs have a hard time of finding sponsors as it is.

It’s also been reported that Sydney Kings players have vowed to take a pay cut to find room under the salary cap for Bogut. That’s all well and good, but the pay cuts necessary to sign him and the money needed to pay the insurance will still put a massive strain on most NBL clubs.

What happens then, when the NBA lockout ends and Bogut and possibly Patty pack up shop and head back to the States? With reports that the lockout negotiations are becoming increasingly more positive, will the sponsors want to take a chance of throwing some dollars around for a five game stint? Or the possibility that they won’t pull on a jersey at all if the lockout does end before the NBL season begins? The amount of questions that still need to be answered could hinder negotiations.

Do I think that these issues will make these signings/possible signings a total negative for the NBL? No. The hype that it will create for basketball in Australia could be immeasurable. The media coverage for the league could reach a new high point and (hopefully) takings for tickets and attendance around the league will break records. But I do have my reservations.

I want the NBL to flourish as a major sporting league in Australia. I hope the league can again reach the popularity it saw during the 90’s. I just worry that in a league with many financial problems in it’s past, the strain put on its teams won’t be too great.

I hope Patty succeeds and reaches greater heights as the face of basketball in his home country and I hope that Andrew Bogut can add another star to the exciting NBL roster. I just hope that the price isn’t too high.

[Patty Mills image - The Age]

[Andrew Bogut image - Perth Now]

Also by Chris Jackson: Death By the Three Point Line (Australian Boomers)

After helping the Australian Boomers dispense with a Game 3 victory over the New Zealand Tall Blacks 92-68 in Sydney, contributing 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals, Patty Mills stopped for a quick interview.

You must be happy with wrapping up the series like this?

It was a good series. We were together for a number of weeks before the series and it just gave us a good quality time together. We got some great games in. We had some international powerhouses, so we were as prepared as we were going to be going into this series. 

There was no doubt in our mind that we could get this job done, and get it done very well. And that's what we did. There's obviously a lot of goals that we want to achieve and there's a long way before we can achieve those goals. But we've gotten off to a good start.

Were you happy with your game? Is there anything you want to change?

Yeah, the different teams I play on, I have different roles. There are different demands that I have. I think it's something with this team that I still have to get a better grasp of. I'm getting there, I'm still not there yet. But the demands that Brett Brown has put on me, is being a leader. And Matty Nielsen has done a great job of captaining the guys. And the guys really like him and respect him as a captain. And that's really what you need in that position. That's something that I want to grab a hold of, so that when Matty does finish, I can step in there and take over. I'm learning from a great, great teacher. So when the time comes, hopefully I'll be ready to do it.

Are you excited about the Tigers and playing in Australia again?

Yeah man, it's an exciting time for me at the moment. Getting the opportunity to come back to Australia and live in the country for however long it may be and just play, you know? You've got the footy going on at the moment, the Melbourne Cup on in November -- all these things are on at this time of year. It's great and it's going to be Summer so it's exciting. So I'm really looking forward to it, and kickstarting my career too.

It'll be great to spend some time with your family...

Yeah, we had a lot of family from parts that have travelled to watch me in games in this series and they'd never been to see me live before, so it was a good opportunity just to show them that.

Do you keep in contact with many of your Portland Trail Blazers teammates?

Yeah, definitely. There are a couple that said that they're going to come out visit me over Christmas and New Years, so it'll be good to show them around!

As the tip-off of the 2011-12 National Basketball League season continues to near, we continue our preview series on the nine teams of the league. With our preview of the Sydney Kings already in the bag, we turn to one of the most successful teams in NBL history, the Perth Wildcats. And who better to provide this preview than Perth resident and life-long Wildcats observer, Haggard of Can't Buy A Basket.

Perth Wildcats

2010-11 Regular Season: 16-12 (fourth)

Where are they coming from?

The Wildcats entered the 2010-11 NBL season with their heads held high displaying the 2009-10 NBL Championship trophy proudly on their mantle. Success runs deep in the veins of the Wildcats organisation -- after 25 consecutive playoff appearances and five championships the Wildcats have earned the right to consider themselves the most successful NBL franchise of all time.

After a few away losses early in the season the Wildcats began to string some wins together before suffering injuries. The ‘hair up there’ Matty Knight went down twice with a calf injury, ‘wriggler in chief’ Jesse Wagstaff succumbed to a serious ankle injury which allowed future Los Angeles Lakers draftee Ater Majok and the ‘beast’ by name but not by game Andre Brown to walk through the revolving door onto the team before Shawn Redhage’s freak injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The frustrated wildcats made the playoffs but were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, the New Zealand Breakers.

Who are the stars?

Although Redhage is a six time team club MVP (a feat only matched by Wildcat legend Ricky Grace), many eyes will be following him as he attempts to bounce back from a dislocated hip. Mind you, if anyone was going to fully commit to rehabilitation it would be Redhage. The man is a work horse and after putting in the hard yards the initial signs are showing that Redhage is progressing well and will be good to go for the start of the season. The bigger questions on peoples' minds are; is he going to be able to go all season? Will he be as good as he was before the injury? How (if at all) is his game going to change?

Kevin Lisch inked a multi year deal in the off season and returns not only a season older, but a season wiser. Lisch was the co-club MVP for 2010-11 with Redhage and Kevin is really looking to cement himself as a superstar of the NBL this season. Lisch was one of the better Wildcats on the road last season but will benefit from having good games more consistently. Lining up alongside Lisch in the backcourt is Damian Martin. Martin is the reigning NBL defensive player of the year and has spent this off-season training and playing with the Boomers under Brett Brown. Expect Martin to continue filling the stat sheets, and though he isn’t going burn you on the score board you can mark my words that Marto will be snapping up rebounds, stealing balls, swatting shots, dropping dimes and generally making life tough for opposing point guards.

On the rise?

Damian Martin isn’t the only Wildcat that will benefit from time with the Boomers this off season. Jesse Wagstaff spent time in the Boomers camp and was one of the better players in the series against China. There is no doubt that this former Rookie of the Year is looking to take his game to the next level

Small forward Cameron Tovey surprised and silenced many critics last season and thrived in head coach Rob Beveridge’s system taking his game from ‘NBL role player’ to ‘legit NBL starter’. Tovey developed a three point shot and hit as many threes last season as he had in all his seasons before that.  The Wildcat fans are hoping for Tovey to continue to thrive especially with Stephen Weigh’s decision to switch clubs.

The wildcards?

Matty Knight suffered another injury to the calf muscle playing for the Willetton Tigers in Western Australia’s SBL. Though Matty appears to have overcome this latest setback and is currently in full training with the squad and participating in pre-season games, should this calf muscle create more problems causing Knight to miss regular season games then the Wildcats are looking thin up top having Jeremiah Trueman and Wagstaff as the only solutions to fill time at the centre position. If an injury to a big man is going to be long term the Wildcats do have enough room in the points cap to deactivate that player and sign an import but if an injury was going to be a game here or there then that could affect the Wildcats as they search for the ever important home court advantage come playoff time.

The Wildcats have also lived by the three ball and died by the three ball. Combined three point shooting as a team is again going to be a key to this team’s success. Kevin Lisch,  Drew Williamson and Shawn Redhage can all shoot the lights out but there are times that they all go cold.

How is the roster shoring up?

Import Andre Brown was advised as soon as the season finished that his services won’t be required next season and though Brown publically stated that he wanted to play himself into a contract for this season you can’t help but think that he played himself out of a contract. With ten players signed to contracts the roster is looking complete. The only other change to last years team is Stevie Weigh who left the club and signed with the Adelaide 36ers. 2010-11 Wildcats development player Greg Hire quietly filled the vacancy left by Weigh.

The Wildcats core players have built a solid foundation and are a group of people who openly express how much they enjoy each other's company and how great it is to play alongside each other and you can see this in the way they play on the court. You can see the level of trust and support in every player dressed in a Wildcats uniform.

Editor's Note: Since this article was written, the Cats have looked to secure giant centre Luke Nevill, who has been training with the squad. They have also put their hat in the "Andrew Bogut Sweepstakes" ring.

Where will they finish?

Many analysts and fans have made an early prediction that the Wildcats are going to be competitive this season, some even touting them as favourites. You can rest assured that the Wildcats are going to be strong this year. Their defensive intensity really changes the way other teams play. Expect the Wildcats to push deep into the playoffs.