NBL delays Free Agency in hope league can sort itself out
The NBL have announced in their most recent release that commencement of free agency will be delayed until the 30th of April 2015.
This is in hope that both the Wollongong Hawks and Townsville Crocodiles can redefine themselves and escape the depths of voluntary administration so that both clubs can enable themselves to play in season 2015/16 and beyond.
The NBL's other hope is for the Brisbane based team that the league has so desperately needed to get off the ground and commence proceedings as the competitions ninth club.
Details of the release are below:
In light of recent developments relating to a number of Clubs and their position in the competition, and the possibility of a Brisbane team entering, the National Basketball League, in conjunction with the Players Association (NBLPA) have agreed to put a hold on the Free Agency period ahead of the 2015/16 season which will allow all Clubs and Players equal opportunity when it does open.
The start of Free Agency will be delayed until 30 April 2015. Pushing back the date of releasing the Free Agents List ensures that teams cannot sign any new players until this date and are only able to re-sign players under contract from the 2014/15 season.
A Club may re-sign any of their currently rostered players, even those out of contract and without options for next year prior to the beginning of the Free Agency period.
Clubs will have until the start of Free Agency to activate any options they currently hold on Player Contracts.
This delay of free agency has created a second wind, possibly even the third wind regarding the possibility of the Brisbane team. Obviously there are still continuous negotiations occurring, with credible businessmen haplessly attempting to recreate a Brisbane based team that has been severely lacking in the competition for quite some time now.
Other murmurings have heard that Townsville and Wollongong do still remain positive that they will be in the competition next season, however more positive news has come out of the Crocs department in terms of sponsorship rather than the NSW team.
If the NBL is to remain Australia's premier basketball competition, it will need a massive month ahead inside NBL HQ as league executives know that they will require at least eight teams to run and maintain a stable (in terms of NBL level) competition.
Many fans are restless at this time, with the future of the NBL unknown at the current point in time. All we, as backers of our countries competition can ask, is for the support to remain strong, as we can see that on-court product is as strong as ever.
It's now time to back your league that we can all push past this next tough period.