NBL willing to continue negotiations with Ball after ‘honest mistake’ by Jackson, Ball

After a miscommunication led to a premature declaration of completion from Jermaine Jackson, the NBL is open to continuing negotiations on the sale of the Illawarra Hawks.

As more news comes out regarding the sale – or more aptly the non-sale – of the Illawarra Hawks franchise, it has become clear that a miscommunication led to Jermaine Jackson’s premature declaration of a deal being done. As reported by Fox Sports Australia on Friday, Illawarra businessman Tory Lavalle was one of the members of the consortium along with Jackson and Ball that were looking to purchase the Hawks. But poor communication between the two gave Jackson the impression the deal was done, as he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

In reality, the deal is far from done as the league now holds the license to the Illawarra Hawks and is fielding offers from multiple suitors. Despite Jackson, Ball and Lavalle’s gaffe, the NBL is still open to dealing with the group about a potential deal, league commissioner Jeremy Loeliger told the AAP.

“It was a bit of misunderstanding and a miscommunication and I don’t think there was any malice intended. I don’t think anyone was trying to leverage the situation.

“I think it just snowballed and it got a little bit out of control but we’ve all had conversations and there’s certainly no bad blood out there between anyone.”

Given the inexperience Jackson and Ball have in making business deals, it’s likely safe to assume that it was a simple communication error. A shrewder businessman could have used that comment to apply pressure on the league to complete the deal.

Now, it seems that the consortium hasn’t been further from a deal. While they remain in the field of suitors, it’s an open competition for the franchise and given the inexperience in running a franchise that Jackson and Ball have, it puts them even further behind the eight ball.

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