Unless a sponsor fronts with $200,000 in the next few days, the Canberra Cannons are broke and out of the National Basketball League which itself faces an uncertain future.

The NBL said that while a window of opportunity existed for the Cannons to continue in the NBL this year, the administrator has advised players and coaches to seek alternate employment.

The Cannons' Doomsday Double in Adelaide and Perth this weekend has been cancelled, and the NBL has rejigged the draw to accommodate the collapse.

The club currently remains in fourth position on the NBL ladder while a saviour is sought, but it has no players.

Cannons chairman Bernard Trevanion said he had informed the players they were out of contract and he expected the club's three imports would talk immediately to their agents about their futures.

Stunned Canberra forward Reginald Poole told Fox Sports: "We just weren't prepared for this, man, weren't prepared at all".

Trevanion said the club needed $200,000 almost immediately to continue and there had been encouraging signs up until last week of finding support.

"But we just ran out of time," he told reporters.

"Technically, the players contracts have been terminated as of today.

"The only prospect for contracts to be renewed would be for interested parties to come forward quickly and convince the administrator they have something positive to offer to enable the players to be re-contracted to play again."

Administrator, Michael Slaven, of Rangott and Slaven, was appointed to assess the company's financial position and report back to creditors on January 21 and then determine whether the Cannons can continue.

The appointment of an administrator would not impact in any way on the operations of the Canberra Capitals WNBL team or basketball's administrator in the ACT, One Basketball Canberra.

"The Canberra Capitals are a stand-alone organisation and are owned and operated independently to the Cannons," said WNBL president John Davidson.

In order to give the Cannons additional time to work on restructuring their finances and minimise the effect on the NBL, it rescheduled this weekend's road double.

On Friday, the Adelaide 36ers will now play West Sydney Razorbacks at the Clipsal Powerhouse, a game rescheduled from January 29.

And on Saturday, the Perth Wildcats will now play the Adelaide 36ers at Challenge Stadium, a game rescheduled from January 18.

NBL chief executive Peter Ali said the league wanted to provide the club with as much time and opportunity as possible to resolve their future.

"We would like to assure them that the NBL will work to do everything possible to assist Canberra and that we remain hopeful that we can maintain a team in the national capital," Ali said.

He said the Cannons' situation highlighted that reform needed to continue to ensure the long-term viability of clubs.

"The NBL has been working on a number of proposals to ensure the long-term viability of the league," Ali said.

"It is clear that this needs to continue and be brought into action as soon as possible."

The Cannons will maintain their position within the NBL and on the ladder unless the league is advised by the administrator that the license is to be discontinued.

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