The National Basketball League is "exploring a plan to play all-star games in the off-season as part of a plan to bring NBA teams to Australia," according to Paul Suttor of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The NBL season finishes next week with the three-game grand final series between the Wildcats and the New Zealand Breakers after Perth eliminated the Illawarra Hawks on Friday night, and "the league wants to remain in the public's eye over the winter months." As part of that process, NBL execs are "planning to set up an all-star team that will go on an overseas tour, most likely to basketball hot-spot China, or host an invitational tournament in Australia for major foreign sides." NBL GM Jeremy Loeliger and Exec Chair Larry Kestelman were recently invited to Toronto by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to attend the NBA All Star Game and "they made no secret of the fact that their long-term goal was to get one of the 30 franchises to make the trip Down Under." In reference to the NBL all-stars off-season concept, Loeliger said, "We have got some pretty ambitious plans for the off-season. We are getting significant traction there. Unless we can be really comfortable that we can do a fantastic job and deliver a product that's world-standard quality, then we won't do it" (SMH, 2/27).
