If the whole sorry saga at Basketball Otago has taught us anything, it is that the organisation is going to need our help to get back on course.
Since last October, eight board members and three staff members have left the organisation.
They have gone for varying reasons but the enduring theme has been the financial pressure the organisation is under.
There are conflicting views as to how deep the crisis is, and the accounts are still with the auditor.
But deputy chairman Simon Eddy, who has since resigned from the board, told the Otago Daily Times in June the organisation expected to report a deficit ''upwards of $50,000''.
That was a dire projection, given BBO reported consecutive losses totalling $49,953 from the two previous financial periods.
Chairman Ricky Carr contradicted Eddy in August, saying the loss ''will be way less''.
Wherever the reality lies, any deficit will be disappointing, particularly since the Nuggets had one of their best seasons last year.
Crowds were up and the team swept into the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
Now we know that success was masking a poor financial performance.
Carr has insisted all along Basketball Otago will continue to trade and, in the past few days, the Otago Daily Times has learned of a grants package that will effectively wipe out the deficit from 2013.
While Basketball Otago will escape financial ruin, it has been a period of enormous upheaval.
General manager Markham Brown resigned in June following a review of the organisation's financial performance.
Office and events manager Sandy Wallace was made redundant the same month.
Last week, director of development and Nuggets player-coach Mark Dickel accepted a coaching role with Canterbury.
A gagging order has prevented the board from commenting on the departure of Brown but former board member Karl Andrews helped shine some light on situation, revealing his decision to resign from the board in October was influenced by a personal view Brown was the wrong person to be leading the organisation.
At least one other board member, who wished to remain anonymous, shared Andrews' views and emailed the ODT in October expressing concerns about Brown's competence.
The role Carr has played also needs close examination.
While Brown has paid the price, the board is ultimately accountable, and Carr has been a constant presence since 2008.
He may need to go so BBO can move forward with a clean slate.
When the Nuggets dropped out of the National Basketball League in 2009, the basketball community rallied and got the team back up and running the following season.
With budgets likely to be tight, BBO will need that kind of support again if it is going to prosper.
And the Nuggets, well, they may need a Kim Dotcom-style sugar daddy.
BBO has proposed splitting off the Nuggets and letting the franchise stand on its own.
It has worked for other teams in the league - the Nelson Giants are a good example - but I do not believe the Nuggets would work as a privately owned entity.
Would anybody be interested in buying the franchise?
They would need deep pockets if they were.
BBO's projected budget for the Nuggets in 2015 comes to a grand total of $335,550, including a modest profit of $3825.
But in the past the Nuggets have been a drain on BBO's resources, returning a loss rather than a profit.
BBO has absorbed losses during the lean years and shielded the franchise from many of the costs involved in running an NBL team.
I still believe BBO is best placed to steer the Nuggets and ensure the franchise remains part of Otago's proud sporting landscape.
The timeline
Otago basketball in crisis
October 2013
• Simon Clarke, Karl Andrews, Danielle Calnan, Colleen Hokianga, Martin Jones and Angela Ruske step aside at the annual meeting. Simon Eddy, Rene Sterk and Marie Taylor-Cyphers are elected to the board. Todd Marshall, Donovan Clarke and Chris Timms are seconded at a later date.
• The ODT receives an email outlining concerns about general manager Markham Brown's ability to track the organisation's finances.
June 2014
• Brown resigns following a review of BBO's financial performance.
• Deputy chairman Simon Eddy tells the ODT Basketball Otago expects to report a deficit for the financial period ending December 2013 ''upwards of $50,000''.
• Office and events manager Sandy Wallace is made redundant.
August 2014
• Chairman Ricky Carr contradicts Eddy, telling the ODT the loss ''will be way less'' and reveals Eddy has resigned for health reasons and Gavin Briggs had earlier left the board because he did not want to be bound by a gagging order that prevented the board commenting on Brown and Wallace's departures.
• Director of development and Nuggets player-coach Mark Dickel accepts a coaching position with the Canterbury Rams, leaving BBO with just one full-time employee.
