When cutting something good creates growth

36ers Coach Joey Wright has learnt to make the tough calls - Photo by Wide World of Sports/Channel Nine

It doesn’t matter whether it’s prior to a season tipping off or the tough decisions to make at the end of the season, generally nobody enjoys this stage of the season. What many people fail to recognise is that for an athlete, this is the time where we see an individual’s true colours both coach, player, team-mates, fans and supporters. Plenty of people have different opinions from different perspectives and know different sets of information. A fan will claim a player is required by their club while their coach will know that retaining the player will not allow the team to grow and prosper, it’s a hard call if you don’t know all the facts. We as fans and supporters love to speculate, predict and play the role of list manager and who doesn’t, our water cooler discussions about sport at this time of the season are mainly dominated by these topics.

As has been reported this week (and also on this website) 36ers import Ronald Roberts has been released due to not meeting the requirements of coach Wright. Read that as you will whether its knee issues or its attitude problem or something else, to me this shouldn’t matter. Here we have an example of the cut being spoken about in negative terms but surprisingly it’s not always a dreadful thing when a player is cut from a roster. Opportunities open up for people within the club to stand up and fill the role, players who have considered trading themselves to a club may now seriously put their name on the trade table with that piece acquired, a trade can form the last part of the championship puzzle for any side. Roberts came with a huge reputation as a D league All-Star and the kind of game Adelaide needed for their style of up tempo full court ball. You could consider that his initial recruitment was a good thing and that sure if given the time he may produce what is needed for the 36ers in the areas they need. So why did Wright release a “good” player just one day before the NBL season tipped off on Thursday night?

Wright has made a tough call early in the season for the good of the club and his team. I have no doubt it was a tough decision to make as a much earlier call than supporters and fans had expected but Wright had stated clearly, he has a number one priority in his team to makes sure that he gives his chargers the best shot of a championship, character. Wright and his 36ers involvement in the NBA Summer League has seen a new attitude that matches his passion for the club in putting character before ability first as well as doing what is best for the “whole” club and not necessarily individuals. Roberts for whatever reason has not met Wright’s requirements so Wright has cut something good to create growth for the 36ers. The 36ers have been notorious for holding onto imports for well beyond their input in the past and it looks like those lessons have been learned for the benefit of all at the club. In this day and age of “me”, it is refreshing to see the group prioritised before the individual.

I too have gone through this stage only recently with the local club I play for. I had an extremely tough decision to make to leave a team on the cusp of winning a championship after coming so agonisingly close to winning one. The decision stunned many of my team and friends but when I explained my reasoning behind it they understood. I was giving up something good to create growth for our club taking on a playing coach role in another team of new players to help grow the club even further. My personal goals of winning championships are not bad of course which is why coming so close to that goal and cutting myself to start again was a challenge. It was however going to create a win for our club off the court and these wins are perhaps worth more in the long run. The move has helped my teammates from that finals team acquire one of their friends to play in that team, players I’d coached at youth level were moving into seniors that I’d now play with and could mentor on court as well as off and our club would have another avenue to grow for the benefit of all.

I get Joey Wright’s decision and at this stage of the season whether it be the end or the beginning, consider when you’re thinking about your team you support, coach or even in life that cutting good things can create new growth that might just be better for you and others than you think.

Written by Tristan Prentice