Keep It Real

I was reviewing some of the comments left by disenchanted KL Dragons fans on the Dragons’ facebook page. It seems a number of Malaysian basketball fans think that the recruitment of foreign players has not made a significant impact on helping the Dragons win games, and they may be right to a certain degree.

But let’s be honest, the KL Dragons are not in a position to recruit the United States’ and Europe’s best basketball players. It’s not likely that a player the caliber of Lebron James or Dirk Nowitzki would be attracted to playing in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) consisting of 6 teams with limited exposure and funds; of course not. The high profile players are in the United States’ National Basketball Association (NBA), or playing for teams in the European Basketball League (EBL).

The ABL represents a second chance for foreign players (journey men) who were left out of the premiere basketball leagues. So the KL Dragons will have to settle for what they can get, or start grooming their home grown players to perform better.