Lever named chairman of NBL board

Cape Breton Highlanders protect five players

Halifax Hurricanes majority owner Mark Lever has been named the chairman of the board of governors of the National Basketball League.

Lever takes the helm from London Lightning owner Vito Frijia, who stepped down as league president after three years.

Lever — who is head of Salt Wire Network, which produces the Cape Breton Post, the Chronicle Herald and 33 other publications — said he hopes to work closely with the entire board to build on the foundation Vito provided.

“Thanks to him we can now take this league from surviving to thriving,” Lever said in a news release. “My priority will be to build consensus amongst the board on a best practices approach to govern our league and provide our professional staff the direction and resources required to operate a professional sports league. Sales and marketing, a search for a commissioner and tightening our rules are the areas of immediate concern.”

Meanwhile, NBL teams declared their protected lists, which increased from six to seven players this season.

The Cape Breton Highlanders protected Bruce Massey Jr., a second-team all-star, Shane Osayande, the team’s leader in blocked shots, Jamal Reynolds, who was named to the allrookie team, Malik Story and Antonio Biglow.

Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign their protected players. After that date an unsigned player can receive contract offers from other teams.

The league also announced that its salary cap will increase from $170,000 to $180,000 for the upcoming season, which begins in mid-November.