Basketball On The Internet.

THE sudden and unexpected arrival on the elite basketball scene of a new competition was sure to draw a reaction and it did, including a surprised one from NBL Executive Director Larry Kestelman.

Kestelman, whose proposal to run the NBL with a 51 per cent ownership was accepted by the league last week, said he knew very little formally about Champions League Basketball.

"There's never a dull moment in this job," he said.

"But the NBL has nothing to do with this (CLB) and if they want the league to be onside, we need to be having some talks.

"I would have thought that should have occurred before they went public because we know nothing about it.

"The NBL holds the only license for professional basketball in Australia and if they're wanting to use our players, we need to be talking.

"At this stage we're not sanctioning it or are aware of their format."

Basketball Australia’s General Manager of Competitions, Paul Maley, said that the new league proposal had potential and was positioned correctly (in winter), away from the NBL.

"We think it's fantastic somebody is seeing the opportunity to create a new league for elite level players, and it shows a belief in the nation to support (more) elite level basketball," he said.

"They still have a lot of work ahead and they have some experienced people involved.

"We are watching it with interest."

NBL Players Association president Jacob Holmes said his union not only serviced NBL players but also looked after the interests of other Aussies playing abroad.

"To have another chance for elite athletes to play in the (winter) off-season is a good thing," he suggested.

Holmes said other sports had tried variations of their mainstream product to great effect, accessing and engaging their broader supporter base. Cricket is the most obvious example.

"It's up to the Champions League to negotiate how it works with Basketball Australia and the National Basketball League and the SEABL," Holmes said.

"That relationship is vital for our players.

"The idea of playing all year around is what players want, which is why after the NBL there's the SEABL, New Zealand NBL and state leagues players additionally participate in.

"But the most excitement is with our international players. Playing a short-term season has a lot of appeal and it will be intresting to see how this might filter into BA'\s elite pathways."

Multiple NBL champion, league MVP, Olympian, NBA and Europe-experienced former player and coach Chris Anstey, who has assisted the CLB administration in an advisory capacity, said he saw the new competition as "non-threatening".  

"It (setting up the new competition) has been done with all the right intentions," Anstey said.

"The model has been proven to work in Europe.

"But I think maybe the most important part is I consider the NBA is the biggest threat we have to our NBL.

"The NBA tends to come on (TV) in the mornings, then the NBL wants people to come out and watch a product that night which will look inferior."