The National Basketball League draft could be here to stay.
There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. And it has not been seen in action yet.
But the arrival of Covid-19 forced the league into a creative rethink of the tournament’s structure.
The most exciting development to emerge has been the introduction of an NBA-style draft which promises to deliver a much more balanced competition.
Close to 500 players have registered for the draft, which was initially billed has a temporary solution to help fill the rosters of the seven participating teams this year.
It will take place on June 11 and will be broadcast on Sky.
NBL general manager Justin Nelson is open-minded about the draft’s future beyond 2020.
"It has just become far bigger, more fascinating and more engaging than we could have ever have hoped. It has become just a true success, to be honest,"
Nelson said.
"I’m definitely open-minded for the future. However it is about the teams discussing it and looking at the best possible set-up for them and the competition going forward in 2021.
"My view was that is was going to be a once-off. But the response from the public, the media and the teams has been so overwhelmingly positive that I’m sure ... the teams will talk through the pros and cons of the draft system.
"Whether it sees the light of day again, I’ve got no idea. But I think it is a really positive discussion to be had."
Nelson has made no secret he felt the league was in need of a talent equalisation scheme.
A quick look at the results during the past decade certainly backs up his point.
The Wellington Saints and Southland Sharks, who both have not entered the league this season, stacked their roster with the best available players and basically shared the spoils between them.
The Saints won six titles between 2010 and 2019 and the Sharks won three. The short-lived Auckland Pirates was the only other team to win the title during the decade.
"I don’t think anyone would disagree that one of the key elements the league has lacked over a long period of time is that element of competitiveness from the top team to the bottom team.
"I went on record last year saying one of the things we needed to fix was this nature of a two-speed league."
The draft promises to re-gear the league.
