The association released a letter on Saturday seeking expressions of interest for parties to become franchise partners in a Dunedin-based NBL franchise.
It was the first step to re-establishing a team, having been without one for three years.
The board saw it as a key element in providing a pathway for players and strengthening the development of the sport in the region.
BBO general manager Justin Ludlow said while there had been no immediate response, it was early days and not time to panic.
While the association would look to push it as much as it could, in the end it was a case of needing to be patient.
"We’ve got a board meeting next week, so we’ll re-evaluate there and look at some options about where we can further that discussion.
"2019’s a long time away.
"Even though applications are due April next year, I think we’ve got a few months to worry about it, so we’ll see where it pans out."
Ludlow still hoped to provide a representative pathway for local men, and was pushing a second-tier competition.
He had met with Basketball New Zealand chief executive Iain Potter last week to discuss the idea and received a positive response.
"It was really good, really positive,’’ he said regarding the meeting.
"I had a good meeting with Iain, discussed a lot of things and definitely the need for something below NBL, especially with no NBC [national basketball championship] in the process at the moment.
"We certainly had a good conversation around formats and how we do it.
"The biggest thing is we’ve sort of got to take the initiative and look to push it."
The idea was to have a league for other South Island associations, depending on interest from those other associations.
However, even if that did not go forward, he was keen to try to push for a competition among lower South Island teams.
He was hoping to investigate having some form of competition as early as this year, although was not in a position to offer more specific details.
His primary aim was to offer the region’s men players an opportunity to play at a level above club basketball.
Aside from the Hoop Nation tournament over Labour Day weekend, one-off games and the national under-23 tournament, there was little on offer below the NBL at present.
