Andrew Bogut has blasted the NBL hierarchy for their lack of communication with players and "retroactive" management that led to the Kings' grand-final series against Perth being cancelled and awarded to the Wildcats with two games to play.
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Perth, who led the series 2-1 ahead of Friday's scheduled fourth game, were awarded the title on Thursday in extraordinary circumstances as sports grapple with the coronavirus crisis.
The season was halted on Tuesday when the Kings informed the league they were no longer comfortable participating because of the threat posed by the coronavirus, with the NBL subsequently giving themselves a 48-hour window to determine the outcome of the series.
Kings centre Bogut said he had no issue with the eventual decision but slammed the league for not leading the process, saying players were "used like pawns".
"It's hugely disappointing for any professional athlete to make the decision we had made," Bogut said.
"To me, what's more disappointing is how the NBL have handled this. That's got nothing to do with Perth, I've got no issues with all that.
"The retroactive aspect of this (from the NBL) has been 10 out of 10. The proactive was barely one (out of 10), the reactive stuff is probably about five."
Bogut says there was no contingency plans or scenarios planned out by the league and players were treated as "an afterthought".
"It took us to initiate these meetings, to push these meetings, to find out if there was going to be a crowd. Our front office had to call Perth and the league to find out what was going on."
The Boomers star revealed Kings players broke down in tears during a three-hour meeting and says a number of players are struggling mentally with the situation.
The NBL released a statement in response to Bogut's spray on Friday, insisting they had been in regular contact with clubs and that contingency plans were discussed but never mutually agreed upon.
Discussing the social responsibilities of athletes, Bogut says as it stands he will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics with the Boomers.
He also described the decisions by the AFL and the NRL to continue matches behind closed doors as "questionable".
"The thing that I laugh about at the AFL is that everything to do with something social, they're involved with. This is a prime example, yet they have 100-plus people travelling around Australia, playing games. The NRL is the same."
Bogut also backed Paul Smith after the Kings owner claimed both NBL owner Larry Kestelman and the Wildcats reneged on an agreement that neither club was to have the championship without completing the five-game series.
It's an allegation the NBL also refuted in their response on Friday.
"I wasn't involved, but I trust Paul Smith and (Kings chief executive) Chris Pongrass. I've no reason to believe they lied," Bogut said.
Australian Associated Press
