Basketball’s reform a poisoned chalice

Credit must be given to basketball administrators for recently voting unanimously to merge Basketball Australia and the NBL and adopt recommendations set out by a wide-ranging review. It’s clearly a step in the right direction.

However, since the document’s release back in September, the sport’s interim administration has been disturbingly contradicting many of the review’s recommendations.

And that’s not all.

They are also seriously undermining the next administration (although we’re still waiting to hear when there will actually be a next administration).

In order to win approval for the reform from current NBL clubs, the interim administration declared that clubs competing in the NBL this season will be guaranteed a spot in the new national league, provided they meet the financial criteria.

By giving this guarantee, they have left the new administration with little flexibility.

For example, even if the new administration sees fit to stay out of football codes’ “expansion wars” (in markets like West Sydney and the Gold Coast), the Gold Coast Blaze could still walk up with a pile of cash and they’ve automatically got a spot in the new league.

A similar predicament would exist if all current clubs want in and consortiums out to revive the Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets emerge.

Would broadcasters want to handle a twelve-team competition? Isn’t it widely accepted that having twelve teams is too many anyway?

What limitations would that put on expansion down the track?

If either of these scenarios were to eventuate, the new administration could be forced into making a decision that is not in the best interests of the game. It would hardly be a good start to the so-called “reform.”

Not only that, the guarantee has also made it much harder to give the perception that this new national league is any different to the previous one.

We may just end up seeing the exact same teams, give or take a Sydney-based side, of course.

The interim administration is also pursuing an offer from Fox Sports to telecast the new national league and national teams for five years, bringing a healthy $35 million into the game’s coffers. This is another example of the interim administration going into areas they shouldn’t.

It’s a lot of money, yes, but the deal will no doubt be exclusive.

If the sport pushes ahead, it runs the risk of being frozen away in the oblivion of Foxtel, away from the mainstream fans that have so famously deserted the game.

Even beyond the “mainstream,” there are plenty within the basketball community that do not feel a connection with the NBL. The review has stated this. A lot of these types are the people that are avid NBA fans and are all over college hoops, but have no time for their “local” team.

Interestingly, as of next year, the NBA and college hoops will be shown free to anyone with a set-top box or built-in tuner on One HD, Channel Ten’s new secondary channel.

It’s scary to think that American hoops would take a more prominent position than the new national league, especially given how things are now.

On the five-year front, it is worth noting that the two competitions this new league is likely to be modelled on – the A-League and netball’s ANZ Championship – both started out with one-year broadcast deals before moving on to bigger and better things.

If One HD isn’t biting (and their severe lack of local content makes that seem unlikely), then it would be far better strategically to opt for a one-year deal.

Basketball, sooner rather than later, needs free-to-air. This is too big a call to be left in the hands of an interim administration.

According to the timeline set out by the review, “key appointments” were supposed to take place in November. It is December already and there’s still an interim board and there’s still an interim CEO in the form of Scott Derwin.

Leadership was critical to the reform of football, which poached John O’Neill from rugby union (and has since poached Ben Buckley from the AFL.) At board level, Frank Lowy has been running the show. A lot of basketball fans may envy Lowy for his money, but it is his brains that should be desired most.

Just where is basketball’s leadership? Where is our John O’Neill?

Nobody ever said reforming an entire sport was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to hurt – no pain, no gain.

By cushioning the ride for stakeholders and taking the easy option where possible, the interim administration is limiting the sport’s potential.

Now is the time to get serious about reform.

Let’s bring in the guys that will be running the show a year from now today and stop beating around the bush. And let’s hope they know how to make a tough call.

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