Australian NBA star Andrew Bogut has suggested the AFL implement an NBA style of trading, in which players are traded without their consent.
Bogut himself was the victim of such a trade, when he was sent to the Dallas Mavericks from the Golden State Warriors at the end of last season.
Despite his move from last season's runners-up, he said that he was in favour of club's having the final decision, rather than players having the majority of the power, as is the case in the AFL at the moment.
“I’m in an industry where you don’t get any choice, but I’m in an industry where you get paid a lot of money to play sport," Bogut said on SEN Radio on Tuesday.
“While it is disappointing when you get traded, you’ve got to pack your bags and go to the next city. At the same time, in the AFL it’s not fair to the clubs either. Players can pick and choose where they want to go and demand to be traded somewhere — that’s not fair.”
The Australian centre suggested the league will eventually look at handing more power back to the clubs.
“I think it has to be a discussion." he said.
“I’m a big players-first guy, but that’s one instance where I agree with clubs. They’re being held at ransom where it’s like ‘hey I want to go to Gold Coast’ and they might not have anyone the club wants (in return).
“I think, in the grand scheme of things, it’s eventually going to have to be looked at.
“It’s part of the business.
“I knew that if KD decided to choose the Warriors, it would be me and one other guy that had a valuable contract. I knew that going into the off-season, so it definitely wasn’t a surprise.
“There’s no hard feelings, that’s just the way it goes.”
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