Breakers owner Matt Walsh confirmed the club is talking with more Kiwis than previously as COVID-19 forces some of our best talent back to New Zealand shores.
The Sky Sport Breakers have been comparatively lucky through this Covid-19 crisis.
They haven't missed any games or any income from crowds, their roster is at a minimum so wages are low, and they don't have to worry about satisfying sponsors, because their season isn't expected to start until October.
For a sports franchise - or any business at the moment - it's an envious position to be in, but club officials, led by owner Matt Walsh, are hardly sitting back and enjoying the sun from the decks of their homes during the lockdown.
The Breakers are working tirelessly to produce the best headstart going into next season, with Walsh confirming the club is talking with more Kiwi basketballers than previously as Covid-19 forces some of our best talent back to New Zealand shores.
"We're very fortunate - there are so many high-level Kiwis, you've got Isaac Fotu, Tai Webster, Corey [Webster] is back in town, Yanni Wetzell coming out of college, and Jack Salt, who didn't play last year.
"I think there's a pretty good chance that our team looks a lot more like the Tall Blacks than it ever has in the past," Walsh said.
Breakers owner Matt Walsh. Photo / Photosport
Corey Webster, Finn Delany, Tom Abercrombie and Rob Loe are already on the Breakers' books, and among the Kiwis will be another young Next Star prospect, with the club encouraged by the brand developments made with NBA prospect RJ Hampton last season.
"We will have a Next Star, we're in the process at different levels with different guys," Walsh said.
"Unfortunately the United States is pretty far behind us (in Covid-19 management), so I think there is a pretty good chance our season is up and running before say a college season or something like that, so I think you're going to see a lot of Next Stars in our league next year."
The Next Star programme has proven a success so far for the ANBL, with the Hampton and the Illawarra Hawks' LaMelo Ball both attracting large crowds in 2019, and both are likely to be top selections at the next NBA draft.
In fact, Ball liked the league so much that reports have emerged he's in talks with the Hawks to buy the team, in partnership with his manager Jermaine Jackson.
It's a move that Walsh believes would be a further boost for the league.
"If somebody who is about to embark on a 15-year NBA career had such a good experience in Illawarra and in our league, that he wants to invest, I think that's exciting. I think it speaks to the level of the league and business-wise what's going on here."
Whoever the Breakers' Next Star might be will get his chance to parade in front of NBA scouts in the USA, should Covid-19 have largely subsided by October.
Walsh has confirmed the club has signed a deal to play an NBA team in a pre-season game in the USA, and promises it will pique the interest of fans in New Zealand.
