Photo: overtimeelite.com

As the NBL Next Stars program continues to attract higher and higher levels of international talent, General Manager of Next Stars Recruitment Liam Santamaria has taken a deep-dive into how some of the world’s top draft eligible talent lands at an NBL side.

There are currently three Next Stars signed up for NBL24 – Alexandre Sarr, AJ Johnson and Ariel Hukporti – while NBL23 Next Star Rayan Rupert is gearing up for NBA Draft night, after a successful season at the New Zealand Breakers.

With plenty of time remaining until the start of the new season, there is still time for more Next Stars to come on board for the upcoming campaign, and Santamaria has detailed how Sarr came to sign for the Wildcats.

“Let’s use Alexandre Sarr as a case,” Santamaria said on The BackChat Basketball Show. “I was in constant communication with Danny [Mills] as well as the other key decision makers, but in constant communication with Danny about what the team’s going to look like next season, what the team’s going to look like moving forward, and which space they would be interested in a Next Starr.

“Then as we start to engage will players I’ll start to speak to these guys about potential Next Stars – not guys who have signed as Next Stars, but guys we’re in conversations with – that could come into the mix and get a bit of a sense in that regard.

“From there there’s an expression of interest process, and when we get to the pointy end of conversations with the player and their agents, their family, and there’s a real strong interest in coming to the Next Stars we then put out communications to all of the clubs to say if there is genuine interest to engage with this player.

“From that point the player and their team have the opportunity to meet with the key guys at those teams, have Zooms, and essentially get pitched to as to why they would be a great landing spot.

“In the end the decision lies primarily – almost wholly – with the player … that’s what happened with Alexandre Sarr.

“He was really impressed with what Danny and John Rillie presented, felt like it was a really good fit, [and] the role was exactly what he was looking for.”

Santamaria added the league covers the cost of the Next Stars’ salary in order to ensure the decision of which team they land at is purely basketball and development related.

“Next Stars salaries sit outside the salary cap … that’s the really attractive element of working with these guys from a team perspective,” he said.

“It’s negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The league is involved in that process of engaging that player, contracting that player. That then takes the decision about which team the prospect is going to play for – we take the financial element out of that decision.

“It’s a pure basketball decision which is a really key component of the process.

“The decision of what team to play for is a pure basketball decision about the fit, the role, the roster, the city in some instances, the coach – what’s going to be a great spot for the team, but also the prospect to make sure it’s a win-win situation moving forward.