Former Breakers coach Jeff Green and the NBL’s general manager Justin Nelson are on opposing sides of the argument when it comes to the future of the NBL in Auckland after the Rangers were axed from the competition yesterday.
The participation agreement for the Supercity Rangers was cut short with the NBL claiming the franchise owed the league money.
Green, who brought the Breakers to NZ, and coached the Rangers, says the Breakers have created a vacuum for basketball in Auckland.
"I think the Breakers have sucked a lot of energy and money out of the economy for basketball at that level,” Green said.
“I don't think that the NBL will ever have a successful model within the Auckland area.”
NBL general manager Justin Nelson, who said the decision to boot the Rangers out wasn’t made lightly, remained bullish about the future of the league in the country’s biggest city.
"There is a genuine passion for basketball in Auckland and there's a number of people who want to make sure elite level men's basketball is in Auckland for years to come, we want to have two teams in Auckland, one in the north one in the south and create rivalry."
"We need to find out why the Rangers didn't work, why they weren't followed as heavily as we'd like, and we need to improve, roll up our sleeves, and do the hard yards."
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