NBL: Adam Forde reveals why he signed new deal with the Taipans

Forde’s extension was signed way back in November, when the Taipans were laying the foundation for the second best winning rate in club history, but it was only publicly revealed at the club’s awards function on Friday.

Much of that was down to timing - Forde didn’t want to steer the narrative away from his players on the court, and there’s every chance the extension would have been smashed had the Taipans suddenly gone off a cliff.

Instead, they finished one game away from the NBL Championship Series, which was a fair result given they were predicted to finish last.

But as good as that on-court product was, it was outside factors which enhanced his desire to stay in one place.

THE DECISION

Forde fits the Taipans like a glove.

There’s something about the way he and the club operates that it just works so naturally.

It could be the small-market, community-focused aspect of the club which doesn’t have the resources some of the big-city franchise boast.

And that means more control and influence Forde has on this team and the way it operates.

Forde’s paid his dues, rising through the ranks from a volunteer video technician role at Perth to assistant coach, then head coach at the Kings.

That lasted one season, and when he came to Cairns as a fairly inexperienced coach he took the reins and sought to imprint his style from the start.

He’s had the full support of the Taipans club the whole way, from chief executive Mark Beecroft and president Troy Stone, through the front office and to the ground.

“The people you were work with; it has to be compatible,” Forde said. “Sometimes you can’t choose your family right?

“But what always bodes well in terms of what’s working is when you are able to work with the people around you.

“Working with Mark, Troy, Jas (Amis, Taipans media and marketing manager), everyone else in front office, having a large say in who comes in in terms of the operational side of things, to choose who I work in – that’s not always a luxury afforded to coaches around the league.

“I just completed my third year as a head coach; there’s not too many teams willing to give an inexperienced coach so much freedom and leeway to do that.

“The fact Cairns allows me to do that, and we all work so well together, and now we start to see some results, it makes it a little easier in regards to the decision.”

THE TALK

The delay in announcing the deal did open the door for some feedback.

Commentators called for the Taipans front office to get the deal done, and the club was criticised in some quarters for dragging their heels in locking up the man who would become Coach of the Year for NBL23.

But the deal was done, and Forde wasn’t concerned.

“It didn’t bother me too much; the people who needed to know, knew,” Forde said.

“I didn’t pay too much mind to it.

“And just chatting with a few of our players, the general conversation always eluded to the fact I didn’t vision me going anywhere else.

“Once we made it official, we let everybody know. But in the planning side of things, the people who needed to know, it wasn’t much of a big deal.”

FAMILY MATTERS

Forde is now enjoying his first off-season in four years with family in one place.

He was enjoying a Sunday out at a park when he spoke to News, taking a moment to reflect and relax after a gruelling campaign but with the knowledge he can stay put for just that bit longer.

As much as Forde’s story is about the way he’s worked his through the ranks, it is as much a testament to his family who have been with him every step of the way - even if that meant on the other side of the country.

“I’ve moved them around the past four years – between Perth, Sydney, New Zealand, and Covid; this is the first off-season where we’ve just been able to take a breath,” Forde said.

“That was a large part of it.”

THE FUTURE

The Taipans who take the court in NBL24 will do so in the similar style Forde has implemented, but the names on the back of the uniforms may differ.

The likes of NBL Second-Team stars Keanu Pinder and DJ Hogg are off-contract, as is NBL22 Rookie of the Year and defensive machine Bul Kuol.

Star guard Tahjere McCall and NBL23 Next Generation Player Sam Waardenburg lead the list of contracted players, though with a few options and out-of-contract players the roster may well evolve.

This is Forde’s time to shine.

He’s a man who backs himself on talent identification, and he’s got runs on the board - no coach has done what he did in finding, successfully recruiting the likes of Kuol, Waardenburg, Ben Ayre, Lat Mayen, and not to mention Pinder, the first man to win two consecutive Most Improved Player awards.

But it may mean change.

“What will look very familiar is the way we go about things in the style of play, the type of players we bring in, the day to day operations and the way we prepare guys on that mental robustness and how we want to conduct ourselves when we represent Cairns,” Forde said.

“There could be a massive difference with how the lineup looks.

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“I’m excited by that, I feel like as a coach one of my main strengths is talent identification and bringing in those types of players that will suit the model we want to strive for.

“That’s the exciting part for me, building that out and seeing how it looks, and doing so with Mark and Troy to make sure we tick the boxes in not only how we represent ourselves on the court, but how we represent ourselves in the community.”

matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au

Originally published as NBL: Adam Forde reveals why he signed new deal with the Taipans