The Breakers Are No Longer Coached By Mody Maor
Many chapters of New Zealand Breakers lore have been written during these tumultuous past few years but there’s one in particular that stands out right now. It’s the tale of when assistant coach Mike Fitchett resigned six days out from the start of the 2018-19 NBL season... enlightening then-Owner/CEO Matt Walsh of his intentions at the airport on the way home from a trip to America to face a couple of NBA teams, most notably Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Fitchett, who is currently coaching the Nelson Giants in the NZ NBL, kept things pretty hush in the wake of that resignation – one which it must be said was part of a wave of kiwi personalities leaving the team in the first couple years after the ownership change. Walshy, on the other hand, was happy to get a load off his mind with a chat to the media...
“I had already known what was coming because he had told other members of the staff. To be resigning six days before the season after coming on an NBA trip like this, I wasn't interested in hearing a whole lot from him. The way I run our organisation is, I have high expectations and I demand a lot from my employees and Dan [Shamir] is the same way as a coach. There are certain people who are built for that, and who step up and want to be a part of that, and want to be a part of the next steps for the Breakers, and there's some people who aren't built for that.”
Those high expectations led to Glen Rice Jr being recruited being signed a few months later but yeah alright. Sidenote: Fitchett was the last remaining member of the coaching staff that was in place when the new owners had stepped in less than 18 months earlier. That’s how quickly the desks were cleared. Now with the retirement of Tom Abercrombie, the last remaining playing link to the franchise’s most recent championship (2014-15) has been severed too – unless they decide to bring back Corey Webster, Reuben Te Rangi, or Jordan Ngatai... all of whom are available as free agents.
Regardless of how you judge it, that was a pretty hilarious situation. But the reason for mentioning this story is that it had a serious outcome which proved to be one of the most fortuitous things that has happened to the Breakers ever since. Needing to hire a new assistant at short notice, Dan Shamir turned to one of his old Israeli/American mates. A fella by the name of Mody Maor.
After three years as Shamir’s exuberant assistant, Maor was picked to replace his old boss following the worst season in franchise history. He immediately took NZB to the NBL finals, going within one win of a championship, then even last season when injuries and sketchy roster construction left them with a much lower ceiling, he was still able to hold the crew together to make the play-ins. Two outstanding years of coaching through two contrasting scenarios. Maor was able to drive elite standards whilst maintaining great personal relationships with his players. He always spoke well. He was a leader for the franchise, in many ways the face of the team these past two seasons. As we traversed what was already shaping up to be a concerning offseason (more on that later), the feeling was that the Breakers would be alright as long as Head Coach Mody Maor was around. But now he’s leaving.
Yes, Coach Mody has been excused from the final year of his contract in order to take up a more lucrative deal in Japan. It’s understood he’s going to be the new head coach of Nagasaki Velca in the Japanese top flight - the team where his former NZB import Jarrell Brantley currently plays. Coincidentally, Nagasaki Velca are in the same conference as Shimane Susanoo Magic who are coached by Paul Henare. Call it the conference of former Breaker HCs. As to why he’s leaving, that’s a simple one: MM has a young family and they’re offering him lots of money.
According to the report on Stuff (Marc Hinton always gets the best scoops on NZ hoops), the Breakers organisation was “plunged into turmoil” having been “blindsided by Maor’s decision”, which has left them “in scramble mode” to replace him. But that’s a little self-serving of them to say considering how he had another year on his contract so it’s not like they were forced to release him. Once upon a time Corey Webster asked for an early release from his deal and was pretty much insulted for it. It may well be that the club is getting a buyout for their generosity here, if so that’s not something that’s been reported, but either way they didn’t have to let him go. Reluctant as it may have been, they agreed to this release. Granted, it does seem to have happened very quickly.
Unfortunately this now leaves the team in a very precarious place. Without the safety net of Maor’s ability to maintain standards regardless of circumstance, there’s an added pressure on everything else to function smoothly and, to be frank, there wasn’t much evidence of that happening prior to his ascendancy into the head coach role. It was Maor who brought focus to the organisation. Then again, this did coincide with Walshy taking less of a hands-on approach, with Lisa Edser promoted as the new CEO, so perhaps it was more than just Coach Mody’s influence. S’pose that’s something we’re about to find out.
Problem is, the team’s recruitment was already a cause for concern. Fewer kiwi players than ever and a risky amount of dudes whose presence makes less sense without Maor’s development touch doesn’t leave much to fall back upon. There is at least the blessed retaining of Parker Jackson-Cartright, the first import to re-sign since the ownership change and only the fifth all-time. PJC joins a short list of: Rick Rickert, Mike Chappell, Gary Wilkinson, and most recently Cedric Jackson. So that was a nice start. PJC averaged 20.6 points per game on 47.2% field goal shooting and 35.4% from deep. Add 5.8 assists and 1.9 steals each evening as well.
His skill set is that of an NBA player and it’s only his 5’11 stature keeping him out of those realms. Jackson-Cartright said from the get-go that he was coming back to win championships, that signing a player like himself means you have championship intentions (humblebrag alert). He’s also put out a statement since the Maor departure restating his intentions so that was thoughtful of him. The Breakers have a bloke they can trust with the last shot of a playoff game. That’s the hardest recruit to find already locked in.
Beyond that though... let’s just say they won’t be able to reuse last year’s uniforms. Izayah Le’Afa has left for the Sydney Kings at the expiration of his contract. Will McDowell-White was once again recruited by half the damn league but ended up choosing ALBA Berlin in Germany which is where his former Breakers teammate Yanni Wetzell has been playing these past two seasons. Finn Delany popped over to Spain to finish the season with Casademont Zaragoza (former club of Isaac Fotu) and there seems to be interest in bringing him back for next season. Either way, he’s not returning to the Breakers. Tom Abercrombie has retired. Dan Fotu is a free agent. It’s also the case that Aussies Mangok Mathiang (pursuing overseas opps) and Cam Gliddon (out of contract) appear to be goneskees. Mantas Rubstavicius will be chasing the NBA Draft.
What has that left them with? Parker Jackson-Cartright... and back-up Australian big Dane Pineau who averaged around seven minutes per game last season. Aside from their development dudes (Alex McNaught, Max Darling, and Carlin Davison... who all appear to still be under contract, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be back) those are the only two folks returning from last season’s roster. And with Mody Maor gapping it too, we can probably expect a whole new coaching staff too. Good thing that those thrift stores on K-Road are still there for him because they’re going to be the only things PJC recognises when he gets back.
Maor’s situation may have caught the Breakers off guard but they probably suspected long in advance that many of those player departures were coming. The talk has been about ‘rebuilding’ from the moment that one season shifted into the next...
Yeah so about that local core... technically both New Zealand and Australian players count as locals for the Breakers and it would appear that Aotearoa’s only fully professional basketball team does not see the difference between those two passports. They have brought in Sam Mennenga. Their first bit of offseason action was arranging a buyout for the kiwi rookie’s second year with Cairns Taipans and bringing him back across the Tasman Sea. Mennenga was up and down with the Snakes but always showed promise with his size, strength, sneaky touch, and workrate. Would have made for an ideal Mody Maor player but we move on.
As it stands, Mennenga is the only New Zealander on the roster. He had more kiwi teammates at the Taipans (shout out Sam Waardenburg) than he currently does at the Breakers, DPs excluded. You can make a case for Mojave King given that he was born in Dunedin and enjoys some very strong South Island basketballing heritage in his whanau. But the 2023 NBA Draft second-round pick has always affirmed that he wants to represent Australia internationally, which is where he grew up. King played some Summer League with the Indiana Pacers and that was as close as he got to the NBA. Two years in the G-League with two different teams (45 games, only 8 starts) averaging 6.1 points per game with 40.6/25.2/73.8 shooting splits didn’t catch many eyes so he’s back in the NBL where he formerly had unconvincing Next Star seasons with both Cairns and Adelaide.
No doubt there’s a wicked player within Mojave King (who did do a season with the Southland Sharks two years ago) but he’s not there yet. The thing is, Mody Maor also has a reputation for being an excellent developer of young talent. From the very start he took a personal interest in mentoring the various Next Stars that have passed through the building and you can also see his imprints in how guys like Will McDowell-White and Finn Delany have progressed under his tutelage. King was surely hoping for some of that Coach Mody Boost for himself. With that possibility, he was an intriguing signing. Without it, he’s a very risky one.
Same deal with another new addition: Jonah Bolden. This is a bloke who played 61 games for the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns before retiring aged 25 to “pursue a career in cryptocurrency”. He came out of retirement after three years to join the Sydney Kings last season but only played 18 minutes per night, averaging 8.5p/6.4r. No doubt that there’s more to come from him... yet at the same time there are motivational issues and rustiness that make him far from a slam dunk addition. The vision is much harder to trust without Mr Maor.
They’ve also added Mitch McCarron and Grant Anticevich. Two more Australians. McCarron is a solid veteran and a great passer but with subpar shooting accuracy. Currently playing for Taranaki Airs in the NZ league. Anticevich had an impressive campaign with Southland last season and has been doing fine in Germany lately with BG Goettingen. He’s actually a really good signing but the nature of that deal has been overshadowed by the fact that he’s now the fifth Australian on the roster.
They’ll add another Next Star at some stage. Including whoever that may be (it won’t be a New Zealander), they’ve got 12 spots on the roster. Three imports and a Next Star. Eight locals. Five of those are already Australians. Two more imports and two more locals yet to come means a maximum of three fully rostered New Zealanders, not including Mojave King. Yes, there are the DPs... but McNaught/Darling/Davison played a combined eight minutes last season so don’t count on it. This after a season in which kiwi players had already appeared less than ever before in Breakers singlets...
There is a simple solution here. They could hire a New Zealander to coach the team as Mody Maor’s replacement. It ain’t like there’s any kinda shortage of candidates. Brent Matahaere (Otago Nuggets), Zico Coronel (Wellington Saints), Michael Fitchett (Nelson Giants), Aaron Young (Auckland Tuatara), Matt Lacey (Tauranga Whai), Natu Taufale (Manawatu Jets), and the man who should be the top candidate Judd Flavell (Canterbury Rams) are all calling plays in the NZ NBL as we speak. Not to mention Pero Cameron with the Tall Blacks. Hell, give Ross McMains a call once the Boston Celtic finish up their NBA Finals stint – McMains is a player development coach with the Eastern Conference champs.
But nah the Breakers are apparently “in the midst of a global search for a new head coach”. Oh well.
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