Saints, Sharks to opt out

If Justin Nelson gets his revamped New Zealand National Basketball League over the line, which he believes he can, then he will do so without two of the best performed clubs of the last decade.

Nelson told Stuff yesterday he is not yet at the point where he can confirm an NBL for 2020, though he believes he’s not far off it.

Nelson continues to battle pushback from his clubs as he endeavours to green-light a league of between six and eight teams that will be played over a five-week period in one city with talent dispersed evenly via a draft. It will be fully televised by Sky.

‘‘We’re really optimistic we’ll have an announcement in the next 5-7 days,’’ Nelson told Stuff. ‘‘It’s head down and bum up and increasingly people are getting very keen to see our very best players back out on court.’’

Nelson would not reveal details of the prospective new-look league, nor indicate problem areas that are holding it up after over a month of negotiations.

But Stuff understands that already champions Wellington Saints (winners of four of the last six titles) and traditional powerhouses the Southland Sharks (three titles since 2013) have indicated they will not be taking part. For the capital city club it’s a money issue, while the southerners see limited value for their fans in a league based likely in Auckland.

Nelson Giants, Canterbury Rams and newcomers the Franklin Bulls are all in, as are Otago who were not due to enter the league until 2021. Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki and Manawatu are the maybes who still have to be got over the line — thus the delay.