Basketball: Brian Goorjian’s coaching future uncertain after demise of Bay Area Dragons in East Asia League

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian is out of a day job after his Bay Area Dragons were disbanded by the East Asia League on Friday. Could an NBL return be on the cards?

On the same day of the Boomers’ World Cup exit Brian Goorjian learned that his Hong Kong club Bay Area Dragons had folded. Picture: Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images

Boomers coach Brian Goorjian faces an uncertain future after the East Asia League disbanded the Bay Area Dragons – the Hong Kong based team that Goorjian had been coaching.

According to reports, the EASL decided to axe the Dragons in an online meeting on Friday.

Goorjian was informed of the decision before Australia’s important game against Slovenia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Okinawa Arena.

The choice to abandon the team was abrupt, as the Dragons had already begun their practices in preparation for both the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup and the EASL tournament.

Bay Arena’s demise means Goorjian is now a free agent.

It remains to be seen whether he secures a new deal coaching overseas or he considers returning to the NBL, where he has won a record six championships.

Goorjian’s last NBL appointment was at the Illawarra Hawks in 2021-22. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

For now, Goorjian is locked in on finishing off the Boomers’ World Cup campaign against Georgia on Sunday from 5.30pm (AEST).

The legendary mentor’s contract with the national side reportedly ends after this Cup campaign, however there was a level of assumption that he’d always stay on until the Paris Olympics to finish his four-year cycle in charge.

Meanwhile, reports out of Hong Kong also suggested the decision to abandon the Bay Area was primarily financial.

The Dragons didn’t hold back on expenditures in its first season despite the cancellation of the league’s home and away games.

Bay Area also made significant investments in imports, including former NBA pros Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson, while the team stayed at the luxurious Shangri-La in BGC, Taguig, for almost six months.

Originally published as Basketball: Brian Goorjian’s coaching future uncertain after demise of Bay Area Dragons in East Asia League