Are Adam Forde and the Cairns Taipans about to part ways after finishing last in NBL25?

History could be about to repeat itself for Cairns following a shocking NBL season which had parallels to Mike Kelly’s fateful 2020/21 campaign. Find out what Adam Forde had to say about his future.

History looks set to repeat itself for the Cairns Taipans.

At the end of the regular home and away season in 2020/21, the Taipans and coach Mike Kelly parted ways after the club equalled its worst losing streak with 14 games.

The Taipans finished the season 8-28 under Kelly in his final year before Adam Forde was announced as head coach ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Fast forward to this season and Forde comes to the end of the season and the end of his contract on the back of a campaign that featured a 15-game losing streak.

Forde’s Taipans finished the regular season at the bottom of the ladder with a record of 8-21.

The 43-year-old was asked about his future at the Taipans after the club’s 100-93 loss to the Jackjumpers in their final game.

Cairns Taipans chief executive Mark Beecroft speaks with head coach Adam Forde at a training session. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Not a time I want to discuss right now,” Forde said.

“One thing I feel like, especially what the Cairns Taipans require is that the head coach of the Taipans really has to understand how that club and organisation works.

“So you’ve got to wear multiple hats and you really need to be 100 per cent committed.

“And that’s one thing I’ve always said, is if I don’t feel like I can give 100 per cent to the club, I don’t want to cheat them out of the position or the role that they need.

“The good thing is we’ll have some time to reflect and we’ll have those conversations and we’ll let everyone know when we let everyone know.”

Despite it being a tough year for the Taipans who looked to have their second-worst year in club record, Forde managed to get the club off the canvas to finish with a 5-5 record in the 2025 part of the season.

Since the new year, the Taipans have defeated top place Illawarra Hawks twice and the Perth Wildcats in Perth in a double-overtime thriller.

“This is credit to the guys, this is probably one of the more enjoyable groups I have been a part of,” Forde said.

“Because we went through the real dark times with that 15-game losing streak.

Adam Forde Head Coach of the Taipans talks to his players during a time-out during the round 18 NBL match between Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans at RAC Arena, on January 25, 2025, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)

“Then we come out in the new year and we’ve gone 5-5 and it’s not like we’ve exactly been playing lights out basketball.

“We’ve just been playing with the group that's been available with a little bit more confidence and I’ve been really proud of them.

“There’s things where in hindsight you can look back on and things I will change from a coaching perspective.

“Things that I have learnt that you’ll take with you from your career, losing those 15 games but also being able to come out the other end and try and refocus the group and bring it back to winning ways.

“We beat Illawarra twice, once at their place, we won the shootout, we won a game in Perth and we have moments where we looked really, really good.

“It was rewarding that you still sit here and go ‘we got a few things right’ but like with everything we will do a bit of a review and process and learn from it.”

Cairns Taipans coach Adam Forde during the round 19 NBL match between New Zealand Breakers and Cairns Taipans at Spark Arena, on February 01, 2025, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

One thing Forde has done for the Taipans over his four seasons as head coach is being able to find new, young talent coming through.

The experienced coach helped Taran Armstrong become one of the most powerful point guards in the competition this season as well as developing Alex Higgins-Titsha.

“Cairns also allows me that platform to really experiment,” Forde said.

“If you had a bigger budget and the pressure of bringing in high-level talent and having them play, it’s a different style of coaching, there is probably more adjustments.

“What we do is probably a little bit more on the teaching side and it’s cool to see the evolution of that from week 1 to round 19.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword in a sense that you get to bring these guys in and you see them grow and blossom and then you lose them, but that was always going to be the case.

“It’s cool that again we got some things right in that regards and you know, Alex (Higgins-Titsha), this was his last chance at being an NBL player because it is his last year of DP (development player) eligibility and I think he has just done a great job of cementing himself as a contracted rostered spot player for the next 10 years.”

Originally published as Are Adam Forde and the Cairns Taipans about to part ways after finishing last in NBL25?