Breakers to be Based in Melbourne - NBL21 Draw Imminent

The New Zealand based Sky Sport Breakers have delayed their departure to Australia by nearly two weeks and will now head to Melbourne on December 13.

The departure date was initially December 1, but going now would mean a delay in meeting up with the American players.

Giant seven-foot import Colton Iverson, development player Kyrin Galloway and new assistant coach Jacob Mooallem are already in Australia.

However, they will not leave quarantine and be available to practice with the New Zealand players before December 14.

"There's no value in having our kiwis fly over today if they're not training with their new teammates," says owner Matt Walsh.

Two-Time First-Team All-Star Lamar Patterson, who sank 32-points at the weekend for his team in Puerto Rico, may not arrive in Australia before December 19.

He will still need to quarantine for two weeks before he joins his Breaker teammates in Melbourne.

"The opportunity for Lamar to play in a Puerto Rician league bubble came up when we didn't exactly know what our pre-season would look like," says Breakers Head Coach Dan Shamir.

"The main challenge for all players like Lamar is to get back to NBL type of intensity having not played for nine to 10 months.

"We decided to allow him to do that and get a lot of games under his belt and get into some rhythm and shape.

Shamir says he's comfortable with Patterson joining the Breakers late from Puerto Rico.

"Lamar has played eight games and is heading to the playoffs," he says.

"The fact he's playing games instead of sitting at home coming into our season with zero preparation means we are definitely satisfied."

The Breakers are expecting to find out their playing schedule in the next 48 hours. 

The season's structure will likely see the Breakers play all 14 of its away games in the first half of the season – with the hope the borders will open by March so the team can return to Spark Arena.

A number of cities were considered for the Breakers' base in Australia, but they've settled on Melbourne because of its ample facilities, it is already home to two NBL teams, and it is also headquarters for the NBL.

Walsh says it will not be easy for the players to be away from their families for a long time, but they are all committed to the season.

"There are 115,000 kiwis living in Melbourne, so we expect we will get a lot of support," he said.