Shit scheduling but with Tassie and Bullets circling the drain everything has opened right up for the Sixers now, if they get serious. Should be a close game too given the two previous match ups this season.

Cairns W at home by 4 points
Adelaide W at home by 6 points in OT

DJV hit 4 3pts already in 5 minutes.

Jesus #6 for DJV.

31-7

DJV a tad warm out there.


6 straight



6 of 6

Make that 6 before he finally missed one

#7 fuck!

All-time record is Ian Davies with 13, in serious danger.

Imagine having NZ Breakers and Cairns in your league and claiming it is the 2nd best league in the world LOL

My word these 2 franchises are absolutely just stinking piles of shit.

Imagine paying 1 cent of your own money to watch this Cairns team LOL

wow DJ

Vasiljevic 21
Taipans 12

Sixers up by 26 at QT.

Cairns are not NBL standard
Either they are gambling against themselves or they are one of the worst "pro sporting teams" in Australia.

Its one or the other

Cairns are pure trash.

On one end they don't adjust to DJV.

The other end they just jack up threes in hope of matching the Sixers.

I hope the crowd boos this team.

An absolute disgrace.

Benching DJ, I mean.

LOL everyone losing there mind at DJ
Where was this against the Wildcats the other night?
LOL Biggest FRAUD in the league

Well, that's not what I expected. Cairns might have thought the same as I thought and just didn’t turn up as the win would be easy.

I predict Cairns will be booted out of the league in the next few years.

They add absolutely NOTHING to the league.

They simply devalue it.

Absolutely embarrassing

LOL and that Armrstrong thinks he is going to the NBA?

Hey jacket, good to hear from you.

Thought I'd log on for the first time in a long while, after my snakes have shown a special kind of ineptitude here. And Jacket is still at it hahaha. Quite sad.

Jacket, either you started your hoops commenting career as a child, or you're a proverbial Peter Pan. Please mate, for your sake, put it away and join the real world.

As for the club, is it time for a mutiny? Probably.

Nice to see you back Manu, sorry your snakes are being trounced

What do Cairns add to the league?

Seriously, what do they add to it?

They used injuries as an excuse for all there Embarrassing performances earlier this season which ONLY LOSERS do and now they are at full strength look what trash they dish up lol

How many have they lost at home in a row?

Imagine taking your family out to watch this trash, paying for tickets, parking etc and the team could not give a shit.

I would ask for a refund.

Imagine paying your hard earned to players who could not care.

They shouldn't have to be told, but Adelaide have to be disciplined now. No excuses for letting this get too close. DJ is not going to hit 7 again, and Cairns will adjust. Are they good enough??

Imagine commenting on a forum for a league that you don't follow. I’d be asking for my money back.

Can Sixers blow this possibly, certainly Ariana P egging DVJ to go for the record.

LOL Cairns are 5-18 LOL about to be 5-19 LOL

Stating facts

This team will be gone in the next few years.

They will give the licence to another frnachise.

Wait and watch.

Interesting how the Taipans emails aren't making a big thing of their AGMs.
I'm subscribed to their emails and just searched both "AGM" and "Annual General Meeting" verbatim. No Taipans results since 2022.

1968 Beetles are playing in the background.

Keep Waardenburg and Armstrong if you can. The rest... Gak as a backup centre okay. The rest can go. Future of Forde and the board?

Diehards will say 4 games in 8 days. But that ain't it.

Absolutely brilliant start by Adelaide coming off travel from Perth, huge credit to them.

Out on a limb..sixers got this.
Perth sixers GF. Has that feel to it.winning form going in play-offs for both..Hawks can be off and on. Kings are trash.

How does Damon Lowery still have a job? Just about the worst commentator (and commentor in general) going around.

Groves would be worth keeping.

Dunkman, he doesn't get on the glass enough imo.
If Waardenburg goes, yeah probably ask Groves to come back.

I'd be looking to tap into that NZ Breakers shooting guard well, which we had success in DJ Newbill, and target Matt Mooney. Give him a larger role.

Lowery doesnt understand how percentage works

Is DJ the first player in NBL history to hit 10 threes in a game with 2 different teams?

Stop this carry on! lol

Lowery doesnt understand how percentage works

I've been lucky enough to go to most NBL sides’ games at most arenas and Cairns convention centre is a great arena, the fans and atmosphere is right up there with the best, I love it.

I wouldn’t be backing Tasmania to screw it up to be honest. Adelaide will likely finish 7th/8th.

Nevertheless, a very very important *big* win.

If Sixers miss play offs on percentage, I'm not certain DJV throwing up those late threes for a record is worth it, different if you are a top two certainty. Congrats to Adelaide, it surely was a tough road trip and to play the first quarter so well was smart as well as excellent.

Where to for Cairns, they really don’t look happy, Waardenburg should join Roth to play the four, back up five, even if McVeigh comes back. There is some better players out there, some not seeing much time, would like more opportunity. Forde probably deserves another shot but I’m not certain you keep to many that are there.

Which frnachise should they send the licence to Jacket?

Good to see and a big percentage booster too which is now virtually the same as Tassie although they remain 0.5 games ahead. It's all in our hands now if we're serious and come out with that sort of intent and great defence in the first.

Next up Sydney in Sydney Friday night.

word14,

No, Shane Heal hit 12 3pts in a game with Brisbane and then Sydney.

Both 14-15 is a best case scenario for 36ers, I feel.

It'll be about percentage which means Adelaide will want to win solidly and lose marginally IMO

13 Ian Davies vs St. Kilda 1985
12 Shane Heal vs Townsville 1994
12 Shane Heal vs Wollongong 2001
11 Darryl Pearce vs Newcastle 1988
11 Brett Maher vs Brisbane 1996
11 Derek Rucker vs Brisbane 1998
10 Ebi Ere vs Adelaide 2008
10 Jason Crowe vs South 2007
10 Andrew Gaze vs Brisbane 1987
10 Lanard Copeland vs SE Melbourne 1995
10 John Rillie vs Perth 2009
10 Jermaine Beal vs Melbourne 2015
10 Bryce Cotton vs Cairns 2020
10 Chris Golding vs New Zealand 2025

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBL_(Australia)_All-time_Records

Although Vasiljevic's first 10 3pt game seems to be missing from that list.

"Some of the three-point makes were incredibly contested, off balance and from way downtown buckets too as he chased down the 10 three-point performance he had against the South East Melbourne Phoenix for Sydney back in NBL23."

https://nbl.com.au/news/dj-shoots-36ers-to-big-win-in-cairns

Interesting, though I must admit I don't remember that game. I noticed on the NBL broadcast they had Shane Heal doing it three times so who knows what the deal is NBL record keeping has always been crap.

Cheers Zodiac

Sixers last 5 games:

@ Sydney
vs New Zealand
vs Brisbane
@ SE Melbourne
@ Perth

I would back them to beat Kings in Sydney again especially if they play like they did today, they look very wobbly. Both home games should be wins if remotely serious. SEM in Melb likely a loss. The final game in Perth good chance Wildcats might get some rest into some players. I see us going 3-2 or 4-1 if Perth do us a solid.

Tassie last 4 games:

@ SE Melbourne
vs Illawarra
@ Melbourne
vs Cairns

I can only see them winning one of those the Cairns game.

Sixers should finish 14-15 perhaps 15-14 if Perth down tools in the final game, Tassie to finish 13-16, just can't see them getting to 14 wins.

As any intelligent person knows, Cairns are hamstrung by a small budget and rely on redemption players and getting lucky on imports.
No team in the league would have stopped that buzzsaw in the first quarter, after that it was an even game.
Don't know what's going on with Waardenberg, just looks totally disinterested and waiting for the end of the season.
Will likely lose Armstrong, would say he'll get a shot in NBA.
So they'll have to rebuild again in offseason, will Forde want to go through that again or take a break and wait for a spot to open up elsewhere.
So they'll likely take a chance on some young imports and guys looking to start or restart their career.
Special mention for Lat carrying on at the foul line pumping up the crowd and proceeded to brick the first one.

Geez, Forde didn't miss them in the presser. And justifiably so.

I said this after that Perth loss . The Sixers literally would have beaten another team on Friday. They are in good form. Blowing that tasdie game might come back to haunt them but at this stage I back them to sneak
Into six

Is this the longest trip in basketball, Perth to Cairns.

I'm not so sure.

White hot first qtr, but after that they basically lost to the Cairns bench. They have the talent but I doubt they can put it all together in time to catch Tasmania.

My pessimistic predictions:
36ers - 13-16
@ Sydney - L
vs New Zealand - W
vs Brisbane - W
@ SE Melbourne - 50/50, I'm thinking L
@ Perth - L

Tassie - 14-15
@ SE Melbourne - W
vs Illawarra - 50/50, lets say L
@ Melbourne - L
vs Cairns - W

I actually think Tassie could go 15-14 whilst I feel like Adelaide maxes out at 14-15.

Forde ripped in about his starters, said they let the side down and sulked. I can not many from that team being there next season, had Armstrong in his sights on defensive end. Just don't see Waardenburg or Armstrong there next season.

Geez that was an intense presser from Forde, gotta love him though, no coach in the league like him.

I reckon he brings back AHT, Gak, and otherwise build a new looking team (again).

Galloway's got another year to go could be an option but I doubt he moves to Cairns for just one year. Adnam and Stith both have team options too. Can't see any of those import coming back could be a very different looking team next season especially if Forde leaves, go get him Sixers!

Groves has probably been the best of the 3 imports but can't imagine any of the 3 coming back.

Hope Batman has heard the bat signal and comes home if he doesn't go to the NBA.

Zodiac, do you mean you want Forde to coach Adelaide if Wells is no longer coach next season?

The comments by Forde are not really overly different to Humphries calling out Wells coaching....are they?

Yes, I want Forde to be the Sixers coach next season. He's out of contract, rumours Cairns are thinking of moving on from him and he's from Perth so Adelaide is closer than the alternatives.

I'm not sure what comments you're talking about though I haven't seen his press conference.

I think Wells will still be here though...

Yes his press conference was pretty honest. Just saying. Is it any different when your coach throws the players under the bus? I was directing that at the whole forum.

Adelaide have been playing well. I didn't think they were that great against Perth. Cairns today were utterly woeful, and Adelaide were supercharged by DJ in that first quarter. Probably should have won by 50….

If it's going to come down to Wells or Humphries, my money is on Humphries especially given he's good friends with Vasiljevic. I don't see much chance of Wells being back.

Interesting comments by the 36ers owner being interviewed during the game, saying how Mike Wells has done a fantastic job, even though the interviewer did not even ask him.

You expect him to say he's been crap?

Surely they can all get over themselves so that Adelaide does not have to find ANOTHER coach...

Well QAnon was implying a player might be wanting out of his contract after the Hawks post game, not difficult to assume it was Humphries he was talking about. Ice did throw Wells under the bus publicly with that ABC interview and Wells brought that up when he went off at him after the Hawks game.

Humphries & potentially Vasiljevic on one side and Wells on the other, I think we know which side would be winning that. It's not great no but you do not risk upsetting/losing a local core of Ice and DJV for any coach especially a mediocre overseas blow in.

I should add too I've said before it annoys me how much of a sook Humphries is but the reality is if Humphries wasn't already here DJV likely never comes here in the first place.

Zodiac, I don't have any foot in the Wells camp, so I am not trying to blindly support him. He has obviously failed to properly manage people. But seriously, how can Adelaide replace another coach before somebody else is held accountable? I just think this could be an opportunity to go down the mediation path, and go against the trend of just firing coaches to please players. The whole club needs to have a hard look at itself, players and coaches. I would be very surprised if Wells was still coaching if he knew his time was up at the end of this season, but maybe I am wrong. You would think this discussion would have been had...

It sounds like Wells has a bit of a temper and lacks a bit of discretion in dealing with situations. But, on game day he seems relatively calm and supportive of the players. Much has been said of the relationship with Davis, but Davis is also playing some incredible basketball under him. Humphries was always going to be a victim of circumstance with Harrell here for the season, and having Martin also.

They have shown they are capable of seriously good basketball under Wells, why not just do everthing in their power to mediate this situation first?

I don't know, maybe Wells is a nightmare, and they have no choice but to get rid of them. Who knows?

Article in the 'Tiser today said that while Wells has a 3 year deal, at Wells insistence it's a year-to-year deal which Wells wanted so he could have an out-clause in the event he and/or his family didn't take to Australia too well.

So it is possible that all parties just go "this isn't working" and terminate the deal and go their seperate ways at the end of the year. The bigger question for the 36ers would be who the heck could they recruit to replace him.

LaPark, I dare say that would be the stage management if Wells was to depart.

"Wells and Adelaide mutually part ways due to family reasons"

If it's not, Weston deserves even more criticism for signing a coach who can’t even guarantee he wants to live in the same country for more than one season.

Confident Wells leaves at season end

Larry will place one of his guys here like Rhys Carter or Dave Barlow

Is he leaving because he wants to leave, the club wants him to leave, or mutual? I think Adelaide should have higher hopes than that. Their next decision is make or break.

This isnt babysitting

A coach shouldn't need to grow into a role they should , at this level, be across what they need to do and who they need to be.

As others haver pointed out. You cant just go an get a guy that hits 7 3's in a quarter very easy;y , nor a starting big that can deliver 20/10 nights. Easier to retain the talent and find a coach that suits the situation.

Q Anon, what do you mean babysitting? You obviously speak from the luxury of knowing a thing or two about what is happening internally, I can only go off observations.

So you don't think a first year coach should be entitled to growth and learning?

But it is interesting that the players you speak of are playing in an environment that at least empowers players like DJ to do that. It's not like Wells appears to be a coach that suffocates his team in terms of playing style. It's not like these players are not playing well.

My question is simple. Why is it beyond a coach and player to to find common ground and move on?

Wells was brought in to be the X and O guy to assist the coach who was perceived as the people management person.

Wells has been exposed as lacking in that area , which is arguably the most critical piece of being a coach.

This isnt the NBA where you have specialist coaches and situation coaches. NBL needs a coach that can cover off everything from day 1.

The players and the fan base expect wins, and rightly so. If a coach needs time to develop skills that is what they should be doing as an assistant. Wells has had 26 years to get his people management game sorted. What will change about that in the next 12 / 24 months?

While I certainly don't have a dog in the 36'ers ongoing internal shitfight, that seems a pretty reasonable assessment from Q Anon.

It'll be interesting if sixer storm into the finals and make a semi or better. Then does the coach stay?
Humphries is on big money, you just got get on with it, no doubting his talent though, his temperament at times looks not great, I’m not certain it isn’t just a job for him as his passion might be elsewhere.
Adelaide boy Olbrich is out of contract and clearly worth chasing.

I don't care that much if Wells does leave, so I am not on opposite sides here necesarily, but it's still important to ask hard questions of yourself as a club and fan. We have had 27 coaches in the last 5 years. Wouldn't a better solution be to try and sort this situation out? There are still six games left in the season, and Adelaide can still make the 6, and who knows what could happen after that.

That's only if you BUY the narrative that Wells was here to do that when it is pretty obvious he knew he was getting the HC job. That part of the argument doesn't really matter anyway. And if Wells was selected to balance what was lacking in Ninnis, then we should hold every coach to account.

So, you're telling me that although Wells has failed at this to such an extent, the team is still playing at a high level, cohesively, with enjoyment, and a determination to make the finals? Seems slightly paradoxical to me if the players are playing well because they know a coach is leaving. DJ is happy to play with freedom to put up 18 3s in a game. Davis has a licence to do his thing. They happily pour gatorade on each other other the games, and yet Wells is not really been given a chance to learn...

Again, I don't fly a flag for Wells, but I do get concerned with this idea of players needing to be 100% contented all the time in order to perform, and I DON'T think they should be the judge of their environment.

Olbrich has another year to go on his contract, he signed a 3 year deal with the Hawks. Hopefully though it is an option that he's able to get out of and come back home to the Sixers, but then again why would he?

Sam Froling is out of contract at the end of the season and if he leaves the Hawks Olbrich would likely be pencilled in to replace him in the starting lineup, though I do think he's not quite ready for that yet.

I agree that Humphries has always struck me as someone that really only plays basketball because he's 6'11" and good enough at it. I formed that opinion of him in his first stint in Adelaide when he would only play in games if 100% healthy and nothing less than that when in reality most pro ballers have constant niggles throughout the season.

"Again, I don't fly a flag for Wells, but I do get concerned with this idea of players needing to be 100% contented all the time in order to perform, and I DON'T think they should be the judge of their environment."

I agree MC but this is our old school way of thinking. The landscape has changed significantly in recent times with players having more power, too much in the NBA IMO, and now the view is the coach has to adapt to the players not the other way around. If Humphries is unhappy and potentially threatening to walk out on his contract, keeping in mind both he and DJV signed these 3 year deals when Ninnis was the coach, then the club has to move on that. Adios, Wells.

"The players and the fan base expect wins, and rightly so. If a coach needs time to develop skills that is what they should be doing as an assistant. Wells has had 26 years to get his people management game sorted. What will change about that in the next 12 / 24 months?"

That might indeed the be case, but if only Adelaide had the luxury of not making several coaching changes over the past few seasons to address this. It's not about developing skills, it's about giving time to a coach you selected. Lots could change. I dare say he has ALREADY learnt a great deal. Any new coach would have a great deal to learn.

Zodiac, I am only 29, lol.

Okay, not really old school lol but it is an old school mindset that I share. Back in the day a coach would take Humphries by the scruff of his neck and read him the riot act, start putting in the effort or you'll find yourself on the bench.

The closest thing to that around now is probably Vickerman who IMO is the best coach in the comp, he's able to do that stuff without 'losing' the player. A delicate balancing act.

As Rucker just said on moments that matter about SEM, went from nothing and bad office management to successfull in less than a season, his words, don't scrimp on your coach. Greer basically gone, Mitchell goes to player recruitment and King gets control of all aspects of coaching.

LOL, I know I know, just having some fun.

It's not that I necessarily agree with that approach. There are pros and cons to being both hard and delicate, so challenge is always knowing when, how, and where to use them both. I accept that is also the point Q Anon is trying to make regadring where Wells might have failed so far. The issue I have with just accpeting that mentality is that players don't have to "like" a coach. And often when you do, and when you are too friendly, it is then possibe to confuse comfort with who is actually the best coach for the team. I also think empowering players to be the master of their own environment is dangerous, and can lead to the wrong decisions being made. If Adelaide can play so freely and happily as they have been lately, then what has Wells actually done that is so untenable or so unforgivable? And if so, why hasn't he been removed from the environment already? And why hasn't the team imploded? It seems a bit like knowing you're getting divorced, but remaining happily married for example. I suppose it is possible the decision is mutual and Wells has decided he wants to go home with his family, but I would be surprised if that decision has been made before seeing where the season finishes.

Dunkman, it's no surprise SEM became good the moment Greer stepped aside. He ran that club like his own personal fifedom jobs for all his old Tigers mates.

All this "Losing the players/dressing room" rubbish really drives me mad.

Professional sport seems to be the only job where the employees appear to have control the employer. I get the arguments that 1) it's easier/cheaper to fire/recruit one coach than a whole team and 2) the Board won't sack themselves, but any organisation worth their salt doesn't put up with that sort of behaviour as it sets a precedent, becomes toxic and eventually takes years to recover from.


That is all on the basis that the coach is doing a good job. I'm not sure that applies to the Wells situation in Adelaide.

"The issue I have with just accpeting that mentality is that players don't have to "like" a coach. And often when you do, and when you are too friendly, it is then possibe to confuse comfort with who is actually the best coach for the team. I also think empowering players to be the master of their own environment is dangerous, and can lead to the wrong decisions being made."

I look at this as fitting Nathan Sobey. Played his best under a hard old school coach like Joey then went to Brisbane to be the star of the team and with that power fell into way too many bad habits to the point they were happy to finally see the back of him. Goes to SEM where Kelly was the coach, a buddy to the players, and played much the same but once Josh King came in tough and demanded respect and Sobey is now playing probably the best ball of his career.

Damo75, I remember when the Cavs fired Blatt despite doing a pretty good job just because Lebron did not like him. They did go on to win it that year, but it was still pretty unfair on Blatt at the time. Wells doesn't seem to be doing particualry good or particualry bad either. If you didn't know their record overall but watched them dismantle the top sides, you'd think they were a pretty scary proposition. In a way they have had a slightly paradoxicl season.

Zodiac, that's a good point. And it's not like coaches are doing it to make life hard for people, they're mostly just trying to get the best out of them. Players shouldn't have to put up with coaches like Bobby Knight anymore though, I think most would agree with that.

Zodiac, totally agree, I'm told King wanted to sign another local but kept getting told, no money left. No names as I’m not certain how reliable it was.

One thing that was in the article today was from Phil Smyth saying basically "Hey, you can fire Wells, but you better make sure you're holding the playing group accountable too" as the coach is only part of the dynamic and with how many coaches the 36ers have gone through it can't just be a coach who keeps being the issue.

Also seemed to suggest it's down entirely to Kendric Davis and their ability to keep him whether Wells stays or goes.

What's interesting about that too is that if it wasn’t for Cotton, Davis probably wins MVP. It’s not like he hasn’t flourished under Wells at all...

It was interesting to hear Boti talk about it because I was sure he was just gonna take some easy shots at Wells, but he put it as "You can't keep having that, where it's clear the player disrespects the coach"

Which then makes me think of what Davis immediately tweeted and deleted after it came out until it was just said he was sticking up for Humphries.

Keep Davis?

The PG who couldn't pass the ball to a guy who hit 7 3's in a quarter to start the game until a few minutes to go in the game? The same PG that very much looked like he was trying to make sure he got his points up rather than passing to open team mates? The same guy who then threw water on DJ during an interview and hugged him like what he just did all game was a good thing?

Just an observation.

Yeah I'm not sure I agree that KD is the devil but one thing I always come back to is, wins. Yes, KD is having a very good season personally but he's putting up those numbers on a losing team.

That and his constant heated clashes with the coach are why I can't understand most are so keen to keep him. Undersized SG's that put up numbers like him, Jerome, Casper etc a dime a dozen. It's not translating to wins clearly so why break the bank to re-sign the guy? I would rather see us move on from him and take the gamble with his replacement for less than half the price.

On the flipside you've probably got an owner who says "He's popular and draws a crowd" and wants to keep him.

Part of me thinks the big clash between Davis and Wells is because Wells is trying to get Davis to do the team things and Davis is focused on his stats for career aspirations that go beyond playing in Australia.

Some of our worst basketball does come from Davis over dribbling and there being no movement on the floor because we're iso watching and then it's forcing us to throw up contested jumpers.

On the flipside, he's also a very good scorer himself, but can especially set up the bigs quite well when he's in the mood too. I think we're best when we play that way early, but we seem to slowly creep away from it as the game progresses and go more perimeter focused because Davis and DJ get antsy about not having shots.

Would you rather Kell or Davis ?

I know who I would take

I said that a few weeks ago would love to see Kell back as a big PG too. If not maybe Delly.

You can't just say that someone is chasing stats because they lead the team statistically. KD *is* a scorer. Is Bryce Cotton chasing stats? I don’t know off the top but KD would be up there in assists too? Adelaide don’t seem to be a particularly bad or particular good side at the same time. I think if Adelaide don’t make the 6 (likely) there are many hard questions that need to be asked. KD shouldn’t stay automatically if he’s not even aware of issues he contributes too (supposedly), but I would be letting this season play out before anything.

KD is second in points and first in assists at just under eight. It's MVP level.

The real question is, would they be a worse team without him?

Swap out KD for Kell and that's definitely a better team IMO. Kell and DJV were just starting to mesh during Ninnis' time.

Honestly I wonder what would have things been like if we stuck with Ninnis and brought back basically the same team. Better than 11-13 I reckon.

Looking at the NBL Stats, Cotton leads with 27.69 ppg with Davis second on 25.36ppg. Davis leads assists with 7.82 per game while Cotton has 4.5. The other leading scorers in Prather 21.4/2.3, Hurt 20.5/1.5, Harrell 20.1/2.1 have nowhere near the assists that Davis has.

One thing to remember is that Davis is only in his second year as a Pro so there is plenty of time to develop. The worrying thing as several others have mentioned is his habit of wasting 10 seconds or more on dribbling the ball instead of moving it quickly around. His assist level would highly likely increase if he did. Only a couple more assists needed to have a double/double each game.

One of the most frustrating things watching the 36ers is the contrast between the good and the bad. When they move the ball around quickly, open shots result either from the perimeter or though cuts/pick and rolls.

I a not sure what happens at half time but generally the contrast between the first half and the second is an issue.

Get these few things sorted out and they could beat anyone.

I wanted to see that team come back also. Sometimes what Wiley gives isn't unlike Harrell. To be honest though, I was still a dismissive of how good Kell actually was/is. How wrong I was at the time. Throw in another import too.

How long has this take it a year at a time contract been around for, very convenient for it to surface now. And how often does GK travel with the team? Was he there just to keep an eye on his expensive toy and to see first hand if there was going to be another dummy spit. As well as that, was it an opportunity to have an informal chat with Forde about making a move?
If I'm Forde I'd be demanding a more official title than just head coach just like some of the NBA guys, having an absolute say in the roster construction. He's been a very good recruiter over the years with young guys and has made a few a lot of money by giving them an opportunity. So apart from just coaching he'd be extremely valuable in getting players and getting the most out of them. But Adelaide and New Zealand are the worst franchises in terms of interference. Maybe finally, after all these disasters, GK may acknowledge the issues. And apart from blasting Armstrong, he'd be a good pairing with DJ in the backcourt if he's advised by NBA front offices to do something similar to Travers.
And while it was one of those wtf moments with DJ hitting all those 3s in the first, let's not get too excited. Whilst Davis wanted his numbers and certainly was selfish, DJ did come back to Earth for the rest of the game, so it's not like a LeBron and should be consulted on all player moves. And Humphries is still behind a lot of local bigs, Froling, Pinder, Harrison, Hunter etc. Apart from his fragile state of mind, he needs to be spoon fed a lot, should be getting a lot more offensive rebounds. Every game it's the same story from commentary, he needs to be fed the ball early to keep him motivated. And this hasn't just been in the Davis era.
And on Davis, despite being up there in points and assists, is he really a valuable player? Cotton yes, Cooks yes, Goulding yes, Kell yes. Davis is like Carmelo Anthony, elite scorer but what did he win? So I doubt he'd get a direct correlation of votes vs his stats.
Anyway it looks like they've found a honorable way for Wells to go. He's probably learnt more from this season if he becomes a head coach again. But just the distraction, whether rightly or wrongly sees him gone.
If Forde is chased, he has the advantage and would want the assurance that there won't be meddling. Else it'll be the same story with some gleague guy coming over and making the same mistakes.
Just interested in what the Sixers do in the final few games to stuff it up. Player revolt and we have Gristci, Rasmussen and Rigoni start, bring back the Sturty Sixers

Phantom, I'm pretty sure he travels with the team almost all the time.

It’s surprising that Forde has such strong support (myself included) when you consider how poor Cairns have been this year. If Adelaide move on from Wells in whatever way, there is going to be serious expectation to get it right. I wonder how much this season would hypothetically deter teams like Adelaide.

Forde record last season wasn't great either if I recall correctly.

Did GK ever find a replacement gig after he got fired as CEO of Vicinity Centres? I always got the impression the 36ers are the only major thing he's got left on his resume, so it takes up most of his time.

Forde has a low player budget compared to every other team which is why he isn't under the heat in terms of job security.

Just looked at last season, 8th, but a win and percentage out of playin.

I'm not certain Cairns spends much less than other clubs, if you compare to hawks as an example, both got three imports, hawks imports play better and probably cost more but not greatly otherwise you go over the cap, both probably one marquee, at a guess Froling and Waardenburg, again I would not think they’d be a lot different in wages, all other players on both have to fit under the cap or pay tax and hawks are not doing that. At a max the hawks would spend no more than 150k than taipans. I’ve said it before some taipans players are not performing to their wage packet. JJs also would not spend much more than Cairns. Brisbane probably another.

Come on Hawks would be probably be spending more on Froling, Harvey, Kell than the Taipans roster combined. I bet Tatum's on closer to double what Forde's on too.

Cairns last season chose not to marquee Bul Kuol's contract so they could stay above the salary floor and even then finished just $6k above it. Cairns roster this season is decidely worse than last season too.

Dunkman, this was published by ESPN earlier in the year. The relative spending by each club for this season is probably similar.

TOTAL SPEND FOR 2023-24 NBL SEASON

TEAM CASH SPEND
Perth Wildcats $3,653,800
Adelaide 36ers $3,285,900
Tasmania JackJumpers $3,267,000
Melbourne United $3,160,800
Sydney Kings $2,975,400
New Zealand Breakers $2,957,700
Illawarra Hawks $2,910,100
Brisbane Bullets $2,805,600
South East Melbourne Phoenix $2,792,300
Cairns Taipans $2,094,500

Dunkman, as posted by KL and Zodiac the Taipans are comfortably the lowest spending team in the league. They were also the lowest spending team in NBL23, making their playoff run even more impressive.

Matter of fact, the 3 lowest spending clubs of NBL23 all went to the final 4, that was the same season Adelaide and SEM underperformed as the highest spending clubs

ESPN also reported:

"The Wildcats paid the most luxury tax with $246,416, followed by the 36ers' tax bill of $152,840.90, then the JackJumpers' $133,169.22. League wide, a total of $697,621.64 was paid in luxury tax. Teams now have the opportunity to apply for additional funds from that subsidy total.

Four teams remained under the cap: the Illawarra Hawks, South East Melbourne Phoenix, Brisbane Bullets, and Cairns Taipans."

Be interesting to know how much of the $700K in luxury tax went to the Snakes. You would think a fair chunk. Being a community owned club they do an amazing job raising the funding they do and putting a team on the floor every year (even if it is with a fair bit of a helping hand from the big clubs through the luxury tax). That they have years when they make the play offs is even more remarkable.

Ok, I'm waiting to see this season figures. If it’s as bad as previous seasons, they will need to try find a bigger sponsor or it could be curtains.

Dunkman, it'll be the same as previous years, way on the bottom in spending. And unlikely a white knight sponsor will come in to save the day. They've been playing money ball for years, recruiting young guys returning to league, redemption players and hoping to get it right with the imports. They've been competitive doing that, just this year they've had the injuries, suspension, and no real impact from the young guys. Galloway looked good in a few games, his 3 ball was dropping and I thought he'd be another one of those Sixers that got away and thrived. But just by losing Kuol really hurt their depth, most teams can get away losing a legit starter, but no-one stepped up. Even Mayen gave them good minutes last year, not a star certainly, but could come on and at least hold his own while the starters got a rest or were in foul trouble. They've had half a dozen games scoring 60/70 PPG, don't think a team has done that for a long time in a season.
So whoever leads them next year needs to score some home runs on their imports and offer minutes to some young guys and pick up some vets. Adnam is what he is, but they need guys like that that'll just fill up the minutes column. Or someone like McCarron so he can build his stock and get his Money Making nickname back.
Good news is Larry needs to not have them as lame ducks again, so can see them getting a good next star that will contribute, plus a little bit more under the table to get a quality import. He can't be talking of expansion whilst they struggle again, and I doubt they'd relocate them. Maybe they could do a North Melbourne and sell a couple of home games to Darwin or Gold Coast to see what those markets could be like so Larry can talk them up as possibilities as usual. I'm sure the NT government would pay some nice money for a game and it's close enough to think the fans would get behind them.
But I think them and the Hawks are most people's second team, I think most are hoping the Hawks win it if their own team doesn't, similar to Tassie last year.

The problem with all this is that in 2009 when the Taipan last rich benefactor's business fell over the community was asked to help in any way they could . Some fans gave 10 dollars and others gave upwards of 5000.00 dollars with the promise of finishing that season and being run as a community owned club . Some of the directors even put up their houses as collateral to keep the club operating . Their motto of being a community club is not just a motto as I have not seen or heard of anyone coming in and repaying the money tipped in by the fans in 2009 whilst most who gave money at the time did so with the belief they would not get their money refunded it was never marketed as a donation . Exactly who owns the team seems to be forgotten in all of this talk about the team's performances . There appears to be little accountability from the management and board . Ultimately the players and coaches come and go but the board and management ( I believe it is the same GM since this time) seem to never be held responsible for results . I am not sure how it would work if someone came along and wanted to invest in the team as the only record of who financially supported the team in their hour of need is a team jersey printed in 2009 with the names of all who gave money printed on it on it (still have one in my cupboard) . Their must have been some legal arrangements to financially cover the losses that were inherited in 2009 and it would be interesting to know just what these papers said about any future sale of the team . The taipans seem to have regressed the last couple of years but apparently they are running at a profit now although I do not know if they publicly release their financials . Perhaps someone who was closer to the action in 2009 may be able to shed some light on what should be happening now accoring to the agreements put in place 15 years ago .