Canberra Capitals close in on WNBL stars but could be without imports

The Capitals are deep in negotiations with key quartet Kelsey Griffin, Marianna Tolo, Maddison Rocci and Keely Froling but travel restrictions could see imports ruled out of the upcoming season.

League officials have tabled three options for the 2020-21 season opener with clubs now considering start dates in October, late November-early December, and January.

Coaches across the WNBL have their hands tied when it comes to recruitment with the free agency period suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is set to have a major impact on club budgets.

It could leave coach Paul Goriss on the hunt for local players to fill the huge void left by championship-winning imports Kia Nurse and Olivia Epoupa.

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Nurse claimed the league's most valuable player award last season while Epoupa was named the grand final series MVP after steering Canberra to a second successive title.

Pre-season schedules add another layer of uncertainty to discussions surrounding the competition start date given second-tier leagues have been cancelled this year.

"Until we've got our players signed, I can't say 'this is what we have to change' or 'this is what we have to do', because I don't know what our team will look like," Goriss said.

"Especially with the point guard situation, until we get that sorted and know who we've got it's a difficult one.

"You can't plan too much, because otherwise you will be taking steps backwards once you've recruited your team and know what the season looks like.

"It's hard to know. How long is our pre-season going to be? We usually have about four weeks, we may need longer this time around considering most of the players are usually playing NBL1 or Waratah League or something like that.

"Usually they're in some sort of shape because they would have been training and playing, whereas this time around they are just doing stuff on their own.

"There isn't much planning, because until you know what the season is going to look like, you don't know what planning you can do."

Travel restrictions could have a major impact on plans for a FIBA international window during the season, which could keep the Opals out of action on the road to the 2021 Olympic Games.

"Who is going to want to host [the international window]? Even though it's in the Asia-Oceania region, who is going to want to travel? Then they potentially have to come back and isolate while we're in-season," Goriss said.

"That's another issue. You'd be out for a round or two because of the tournament, but then you'd have to come back and self-isolate for 14 days."