But most of the tennis world didn't see it as good news and instead were in shock that Kyrgios was punting some tournament in Holland next year in favour of playing in a celebrity basketball game during the NBA All-Star weekend.

At first glance it might look like a negative, but this is actually a good step for the 21-year-old.

For what seems like years we've been hearing how the world No.14 doesn't like tennis, was pushed into by his parents, will retire by the time he's 27 and would rather play basketball.

This gives the Boston Celtics fan the perfect chance to showcase his talents on the world stage against some former NBA stars at an age where he could still potentially switch sports.

If his heart's not in tennis – and his tanking against Mischa Zverev certainly suggests it isn't – then why not give it away and play a sport he actually likes?

Two birds, one stone. Life's too short after all.

It could be a positive outcome from the furore surrounding that effort against Zverev in Shanghai as the Canberra tennis star faces an eight-week ban – which could be reduced to three if he agrees to certain conditions imposed by the ATP.

Why hang around for another six years in a sport he has no passion for?

Any potential code hop from tennis to basketball would be a lot more difficult the closer he gets to 30.

If he is serious about pursuing basketball, then making the move now makes a lot more sense.

However, there are 3.6 million reasons he should stick around in the tennis world – that's his prizemoney since he first started pulling cheques almost five years ago.

And that doesn't include any sponsorship deals he's had during that time either.

That's a lot of moola to turn his back on when there are no guarantees he could make a successful go of a new sport.

"Potential" is a word bandied about when talking about Kyrgios and it's clear he's got plenty of that, but they also say the mental side of the game is what separates the good players from the great.

If you don't want to be there, then the mental battle has already been lost.

Maybe it's time Kyrgios made good with his threats and actually did walk away.

NRL transfer window a no-brainer

This year's AFL's trade period was an absolute gold mine of free publicity and one the NRL should have sat up and taken notice of.

While it ran for just 11 days, it generated some of the biggest news of the year with some of the sport's biggest names finding new homes seemingly out of the blue.

It's become a brilliant way to keep the code in the headlines with an endless stream of stories at a time when the next game is still five months away and players are scattered around the globe on holidays.

The AFL world will now take a breath before the next round of off-season hype explodes around their draft.

In contrast, the NRL relies on controversies, sporadic player movement and the relatively limited interest in international rugby league to keep the game in the headlines.

A transfer window would have been the perfect build-up to next weekend's Four Nations – especially if the big names such as Cameron Smith or Cooper Cronk were playing for the first time after a shock move interstate.

The NRL has already removed the ridiculous round 13 rule, that allowed players to backflip on agreements provided they was made before the mid-point of the season.

A transfer window was something Canberra Raiders legend Alan Tongue thought would be a good idea.

In the coming weeks, negotiations can start for the 2018 season – 16 months before the start of that season – something that didn't sit well with Tongue.

"I do like the idea around the trade period. Players, only in a couple of weeks' time, they can start negotiating for a couple of seasons down the track," he said.

"That doesn't sit real well with me. I know it's a business, but that's a little bit funny."