The Brisbane Bullets will soon have their fourth head coach of the season.
They began the season with James Duncan, moved on to Sam Mackinnon -- who was, and remains the team's General Manager of Basketball -- and have now promoted assistant coach Greg Vanderjagt as interim head coach, with an eye toward appointing a new head coach for the remainder of the 2022-23 NBL season.
It's the sort of outcome a team goes through when its decision-making processes are volatile, led by an ownership group that's absent from the day-to-day NBL ecosystem.
On Monday afternoon, Mackinnon -- who was in his position as the Bullets' interim head coach -- was offered the role of head coach for the remainder of the 2022-23 NBL season, with the proviso that he step down from the team's General Manager of Basketball duties, sources said.
Mackinnon quickly opted against signing the short-term contract, sources said. The 46-year-old had a desire to remain in the position long-term but the circumstances meant he had no choice but to lean into his role as General Manager of Basketball exclusively.
The Bullets went 1-3 with Mackinnon as interim head coach. They currently sit at ninth on the NBL ladder, with a 4-9 record.
Before an 8am practice on Tuesday, Mackinnon informed the playing group of the developments, sources said. By that time, word began to trickle around the basketball community that the Bullets had their eye on a new head coach: Todd Purves, who last coached the Macau Wolf Warriors in the ASEAN Basketball League, and is in advanced talks to join the team, sources said.
Later that morning, the Bullets' CEO, Peter McLennan arrived for a sit-down meeting with the entire playing group in an attempt to assuage the dismay felt among the majority of players, sources said. The meeting was extremely heated, sources said, with multiple senior players pushing back at what's perceived as dysfunctional decision-making within the franchise.
The players then had to prepare to fly out of Brisbane in the early afternoon, ahead of their Wednesday night matchup with the Cairns Taipans. Until a new full-time head coach is signed and joins the team, Vanderjagt will take over the helm on an interim basis.
The Bullets announced Vanderjagt's temporary promotion in a press release before he was informed, sources said. Mackinnon joined the team on their road trip, sources said.
The perceived dysfunction with decision-making isn't new, and has extended across the previous two seasons. Former head coach Duncan had limited input when it came to key roster decisions during his tenure, sources said. This extended to the NBA Summer League in July, where Duncan was told he was not required in Las Vegas as critical scouting and roster decisions were made, even after offering to pay for his own flights and accommodation, sources said.
Over this past offseason, senior players weren't utilised in recruitment efforts as they had been in past free agency periods, sources said. The lack of effective processes led to a delayed approach to free agency.
With the initial belief being that the Bullets had a limited budget for building a roster, the signings of Aron Baynes and Tyler Johnson significantly changed the expectations on the Bullets for the season, ramping up the pressure on Duncan and the team.
After an 0-5 start to the season, the Bullets' ownership had begun to strongly consider replacing him, with communication between Duncan and the front office diminished, sources said. The Bullets won three of their next four games but, on the morning of November 25, Duncan was let go via a zoom call with the ownership group.
After making the call on Duncan, there was initial confusion as to who would step into the head coaching position before Mackinnon ultimately took the reins, sources said; another example of the unstable decision-making and communication issues that have plagued the franchise over the past two seasons.
Since their return to the NBL in the 2016-17 season, the Bullets -- one of the league's big market teams -- have only made the playoffs once: losing in the semifinals in 2018-19.
With a postseason berth looking unlikely -- though not impossible -- the Bullets have every reason to create a sustainable foundation going into next season. As of now, the team only has two players signed for the 2023-24 season: Baynes and Sobey.