Harmony, hard work and a grassroots connection have the Sydney Kings ready to roll
It is a new era at the Sydney Kings, with a brilliant young coach, a back to basics training base and a sense that the NBL once again has a bright future in the Harbour City.
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It only took seconds to realise that things are going to be different at Sydney Kings HQ this season.
For starters, the frustrated frowns from stages last year have become beaming smiles.
The Kings made the NBL finals in 2018-2019 but behind the scenes there were personality clashes and confusion around the coaching.
But these struggles are now in the past, replaced with a spring in the players’ steps as they prepare for a new era under Will Weaver — one of best young coaches in world basketball.
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Weaver was part of the “Trust the Process” era under Brett Brown at the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant.
He was also an assistant during the Brooklyn Nets rebuild while he successfully steered the Long Island Nets to the G League finals last season.
Add in six years with the Boomers as an assistant coach and a well-rounded Weaver is ready to conquer the Australian domestic league.
Kings marquee man Andrew Bogut has full faith in the former NBA assistant given his close connection with him through the Australian team.
“I think Will has given a lot of guys confidence,” Bogut told The Daily Telegraph.
“It is a much different atmosphere this season.
“Whether it is guys that are starting or not going to play as much, I think the organisation has got better as far as our day-to-day structures.
“We know what we are working on and why within our offence.”
The Kings are also singing from the same hymn sheet under Weaver this season.
This wasn’t the case last year with Bogut and guard Jerome Randle, for example, having running battles throughout the season.
The pair were often on a different page when it came to their style and mentality around game management.
Bogut acknowledges scenarios like this weren’t ideal.
“You can have the best team in the world but if you have guys in the locker room that don’t get along, it doesn’t really work,” he said.
“I’m not saying that we did have that last year but there were times when there was some conflict and that is natural.
“But this is the honeymoon period now. “We haven’t faced any turmoil yet but even when we have lost games at the pre-season Blitz, I feel like the mood the next day is all about getting better and not dwelling on what we didn’t do well.”
PULLING POWER
Craig Moller would have stayed at Melbourne United if it wasn’t for Will Weaver.
Moller thoroughly enjoyed his stint at United, including a championship in 2018, but he was sold on Weaver’s title vision for Sydney.
As a Sutherland boy who grew up watching the Kings win titles, he wants to help the franchise return to the top.
“The club means something to people like me, who came through the basketball system as a junior,” said Moller, who played for the Kings in 2017.
“I was a member for eight years as kid and I watched the Kings win three in a row.
“That was a successful period.
“It’s why I really liked what Will said about his vision for Sydney. To be able to play for this club is important to me and I want to help them get back to those successful years.
“I think Will is the man to lead us there.
“Having that trust in him about what he is doing here was big for me.
“Sydney was a team that I wasn’t expecting them to call me but Will explained what he was building and my role within that.
“That made me excited and I thought it was the best option for me.”
Moller can’t wait to reunite with former teammates like Kevin Lisch and Brad Newley but he is particularly excited about linking with Bogut.
He believes the former NBA big man can make him an even better player, especially with his pinpoint passing.
“I’m really looking forward to teaming up with Bogut, even though the first time we played against each other in a pre-season game in Bendigo last year, he tried to take my head off,” he grinned.
“Watching the World Cup and the commentators were saying he is best passing big man in the world, which isn’t a lie.
“The offence we will run at the Kings this year will be so free-flowing. You saw the baskets Nick Kay was getting in that offence with Bogut at the World Cup.
“Hopefully if I can work off Bogues and use my IQ a bit to get in some great positions, I know he will find me.”
LAST TITLE SHOT
Let’s face it, a large chunk of Sydney’s roster are at the back end of their careers.
The likes of Lisch, Newley and Daniel Kickert are edging closer to retirement.
Bogut is in a similar boat as he weighs up whether the 2019/2020 season will be his last.
It’s why the former No. 1 NBA draft pick wants to make the most of the final years in his stellar career.
The Sydney Kings are heading to Paddy's Markets Flemington this Friday!
— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) October 8, 2019
Join us this Friday from 12.30pm - 2.30pm where we'll be hosting a free clinic for the kids with the players.
Registration for the clinic is essential: https://t.co/yrYhRxP57G pic.twitter.com/oJO7gxDIJw
“The goal for us is to build on last season, which is a bit funny to say given we’ve got a whole new roster and coaching staff,” he said.
“But for me, it will be getting to that grand final and seeing what happens.
“That would be a successful year for me.
“But the league is closer than ever and a lot of teams have got better, even teams that aren’t tipped to win a lot of games.
“Those teams have a few players that can get going on any given night.”
WORKING-CLASS KINGS
Sydney have long been dubbed the silvertails of the NBL.
The big budget boys from the big Harbour City.
This season, though, the Kings have swapped their training base from the sparkling Qudos Bank Arena to the rustic Auburn Basketball Centre.
The move was the brainchild of Bogut, who thought the Kings would benefit from Auburn’s old school set-up.
“Okay the stadium is run down a little bit and it is a little rough but it has got soul and character and it is going to be ours,” he said. “I thought it had a lot of potential.
“At Qudos we never really felt like we were part of the venue on the non-game days.
“We’d get kicked out if Pink came to town for a concert and then at the last minute we’d have to find a new training venue.
“It just never felt like we were a part of it.
“Auburn isn’t as nice as Qudos but we can base ourselves here and we don’t have to deal with getting parking tickets and our development players are not paying 25 an hour for parking.
“We are also renovating the locker room here at Auburn, so we will get there eventually.
“For me it was a no-brainer.”
The coach and the plan is in place, now it’s the players turn to produce and deliver Sydney the NBL championship that the city has been waiting 14 years for.
Originally published as Harmony, hard work and a grassroots connection have the Sydney Kings ready to roll