NBL plans meet staunch resistance
National Basketball League general manager Justin Nelson is not giving up on his radical new-look competition for 2020, despite meeting some staunch club resistance.
As revealed by Stuff on Monday, Nelson is hoping to launch a truncated, made-for-TV NBL as soon as New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions drop to level two – to be assessed on May 11, at the earliest.
He is proposing an intense five-week competition that would see as many as 80 games squeezed in to provide near nightly content for broadcasters Sky Television. It would culminate in a finals format.
The games would be played behind closed doors to meet Covid-19 safety requirements and among the special twists the NBL boss was hoping to bring to the competition was a draft to disperse talent.
However, as reported by TVNZ’s 1News on Tuesday night, the idea has met some resistance, with four of the eight NBL clubs said to be opposed to the proposed truncated league, and another two ‘‘wavering’’ in their support. The proposed draft appears to be a common stumbling block. The report suggested the league was
‘‘over before it had even begun’’, though
Nelson on Tuesday night refuted that claim.
‘‘We continue to work hard on solutions that will help deliver an exciting competition and possibly have Kiwi basketball as one of the first competitions back in action,’’ Nelson told Stuff.
‘‘Four teams have indicated a few issues that will make it hard for them to participate, which we understand and respect, and we are now looking at how we can offer more support to help them get involved.
‘‘Our focus is on getting a minimum of six teams together, which may include some new identities, and do everything we can to get 60 Kiwi basketballers back into work. We want to do all we can for our players, they want to get back on court and showing us their talent.’’
The NBL boss also denied that the draft was problematic.
‘‘Sport is a competitive beast, that’s why we love it, and it’s a lot more exciting for the fans when there is a balance of talent spread across all teams,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re looking at a one-off model to help us put on a show for the fans and we think a draft has merit in helping us achieve that. It’s just one suggestion, but we’ll continue to look at it, as well as other parts of the model, and hopefully it will help all the teams get involved and play.’’
1News reported that defending champs Wellington Saints had joined the Taranaki Mountainairs, Manawatu Jets and Hawke’s Bay Hawks in tabling their lack of support for the new competition.
Stuff understands financial constraints are a factor in their reluctance, though Saints boss Jordan Mills told TVNZ they opposed the concept for a number of reasons. ‘‘We spent a lot of time recruiting players in the off-season to get them to play for our franchise and that’s all thrown out the door,’’ he said.
The Canterbury Rams, Nelson Giants, newcomers Franklin Bulls and Southland Sharks are the quartet of clubs showing more enthusiasm.