Mixed bag... Kiwis loved the homegrown family values vibe... but they also love a winner - the shrinking attendances at Spark in the last few years tell you which they value more. The diehards of course miss the days of it being a national squad with two imports, but I think they understand that approach no longer wins you the NBL. The Hampton signing has been great for profile and membership sales by all accounts, and it's certainly increased interest with the casuals.

Notwithstanding all that - new management couldn't have been more heavy handed if they tried. Doing away with Henare, Vukona, Pledger, Ili, Dewhurst (court announcer) and a lot of front office staff in one off-season alienates a lot of people. Hype, headlines, lots of "celebs" paid to sit courtside, not a lot of results.

The other thing that I think rubs people up the wrong way is the way the Barstool guys treating the club as a plaything and not as an entity with longtime fans/a history that predates their involvement...

"The diehards of course miss the days of it being a national squad with two imports, but I think they understand that approach no longer wins you the NBL."

Interesting Comment.

I have no idea of the current TB strength. But as a general rule, if you could keep that loyal Kiwi core, guys who enjoy playing for a defacto National team (in what must rank as one of the world's greatest sporting rivalries) that will generally give you a very solid team.
Plus upto 3 imports gives you the ability to top up when the NZ contingent is weaker.

There's a lot of deckchair shuffling that goes on in the NBL. Bench players moving almost annually for a promise of greener grass, and maybe a few extra bucks.
Better for NZ to build that Kiwi culture and try to hold onto their guys, instead of becoming just another participant in the shuffle.

Losing guys like Vukona and Pledger, allegedly because you insulted them with low-ball offers, is just plain stupid.
They're clearly still good enough to play significant roles. So why let them go, then struggle to replace them with Sudanese-Aussies, who presumably want just as much money.

Not sure about Wesley, he seems a bit more mercenary, but if they could have kept hold of him and got him nationalised, he would have been a great asset.

And I don't understand why they keep changing coaches like underpants?

Henare is their National Coach, very successful, and clearly highly regarded. The allround synergies of having him were advantageous.

The hard part is that the Blackwells did not do anything wrong in establishing a basketball culture. They ran the Breakers like they did their supermarkets - it well and truly was a family and former Breakers returned (Boucher, Vukona et al) because years of toil to create a development culture did its work. Their 'no dickheads' policy was known. There was consistency and in the former NBL that couldn't turn profits or commercial sensibility, that culture got us championships.

But I don't see that model working in the current NBL. The Blackwells couldn't keep up with the profit-making, talent-spending ambition of the NBL. Even at the height of success, being the hottest ticket in Auckland for sporting success, in a central spot, they couldn't consistently sell out Vector (now Spark) Arena. Even with rings, they weren't making money. They weren't eager to spend over the salary cap, and as Sydney and Melbourne became flush with talent, at some point that talent would win out.

And there's a bit of a Kiwi talent gap. After Abercrombie, there are very few Kiwis who would take NBL salaries that could step-up into major TB roles. The development pathway that brought Vukona, Pledger, Webster and Abercrombie currently has brought Raukawa, Vodanovich, Rusbatch and others in the last two seasons, not quite the same level of player to make their journey into NBL roleplayer/starter.

All things considered, I'm very intrigued about this season. RJ Hampton will be super fun to watch (a top 5 HS recruit playing here!?!), Finn Delany has stepped up, will Corey Webster get out of his season-long funk. But the current ownership have their work cut out for them.

It's possible they're overpaid as a legacy from past success and now being over their peak?

Umm, its not a conflict of interest when you have only ONE team, and that is a defacto national team (ie the NZ in "NZ Breakers") in an o/s competition.

Henare also coaches in the NZBL, that's more likely to be a conflict.

I didn't realise there was a problem with the FIBA window. That's a fucker for sure. They need to work with FIBA and the league to ensure their window aligns with ours.
LK is a very pragmatic guy, he wants the Breakers to be competitive.

Pledgersorus made the GF last season with MU, and they are highly rated again, so clearly he still has something to offer. He would be part of the capped 5, so not earning massive bucks. Majok has been playing in Lebanon and China, so would have been on good coin.

It's concerning when you say that they couldn't maximise attendance, even during their 3-peat years. I'd be very interested to understand the reasons for that, because if true, that's fucked.
I would have thought that Kiwis would love to get behind a team kissing arse in the Australian League?

Attendance was strong through the three-peat years - regular sellouts at both Spark and NSEC. It took a big hit in the 2013-14 season after the three-peat and has been slowly trending downwards ever since - last couple of years a average-good crowd at Spark is about 5K (with curtains down over the upper rows). Probably a reflection of the actual following of the NBL in NZ vs the bandwagoners.

Aucklanders are fickle... but there are heaps of NBA fans that never would have gone to a Breakers game before - the Hampton signing I think has piqued their interest.

Pledger has something to offer, but we were paying him and Vukona starter money. Neither would've been our bottom five salaries. Hence the tough decision.

Knowing that the Breakers sought after Will Weaver but couldn't get him, I think the Braswell signing was a collective shrug in hindsight. Why offer him the three year deal if he was a lame-duck? That's a question to be asked.

But Zico Coronel is an underrated assistant coach signing - very talented offensive mind who could be the future Head Coach in no time. Veeeeery glad the Breakers got him onboard, says something about the current group.

They need to work with FIBA and the league to ensure their window aligns with ours.

Apart from all the titles and strong club culture another offshoot of the Blackwell's successful legacy at the Breakers is making Lemanis look so good that they've possibly and inadvertently sabotaged the Boomers!