Weaver's shared vision is key to sustained success

Last time Will Weaver coached in the NBL and his fingerprints are all over setting that club up for sustained success and he hopes to do the same at the Brisbane Bullets working with the ownership and management group with a shared vision.

When Weaver had his last stint in the NBL at the Sydney Kings back in the 2019/20 season, he was taking over at a club that was craving success having not enjoyed much of it since their return to the league.

They went ever so close to winning a championship in NBL20 and who knows, might have done so had Covid not prematurely ended that Championship Series three games in against the Perth Wildcats.

But that's not what he reflects on, what he looks back on with pride is the shared vision he had when taking on that role at the Kings to build something made for sustained success.

That's certainly happened because since then, the Kings have won two championships and currently have a one-nil lead in this season's Championship Series against the Adelaide 36ers.

It's been a similar case anywhere that Weaver has taken on coaching roles where the most important aspect is having a shared vision with everyone at the club that you are trying to build something together, and that's set up for success moving forward.

From the moment he was appointed as Bullets coach and President of Basketball Operations for NBL27 and beyond, Weaver has noticed a real desire from everyone involved from the ownership group, chief executive Mal Watts and the rest of the staff and playing group to build something.

"I can sense a real hunger and I think everyone recognises that there's untapped potential that is everyone is laser focused on unlocking," Weaver said.

"I know for firsthand that the consummation of that potential only comes from a relentless focus on the process. So we're starting to build on some of those sort of process now."

Comparisons to time in Sydney

Looking back on that NBL20 season at Sydney and in a best-of-five game series, the Kings had lost two of the first three games in the Championship Series against the Wildcats.

But with Covid beginning to become a global concern, the Kings decided they couldn’t risk flying back to Perth for Game 4 so the series was done. Weaver doesn't look back on any regret about that potential championship could still have been won though.

What he looks back on was what they started to build with the Kings that season. He had a similar philosophy when he arrived at Paris Basketball. Then indeed with the clubs he's been involved with in the NBA and subsequently the G League.

Now when he compares it to the job ahead of him with the Bullets, there's a lot similar when he looks back to the Kings seven years ago with a club after returning to the NBL craving success and Weaver is looking forward to getting down to work.

"That's not really how I think, I'm really thankful for all the experiences I've had including my time in Sydney," Weaver said.

"The similarities of course are notable in terms of the drought that they'd experienced without finals success and then the way that we built things sustainably to help them have a run there that's continuing where they are now in their fourth grand final over seven years.

"The thing you can't control the timeline with which things come together and how the stars aligned.

"Getting Xavier in that season was one of those things that we weren’t planning for and has paid off long-term there, so I'm taking the same approach here and making sure that the fundamentals and structure are right and pointed straight.

"I really love that challenge and am fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it now on three different continents for four different sporting organisations."

Working through the punch list

Weaver has continued to rack up experiences around the world since last coaching in the NBL including as head coach at Paris Basketball before a return to the NBA with roles at both the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets, and also spending time with the Australian Boomers.

The more time he spends in the game and the more clubs he is involved in, the more it stands out to Weaver the importance of your coach having a shared vision with the club's management, and that you are all trying to build your team in the right direction.

He might be both coach and President of Basketball Operation now with the Bullets, but it's far from a one man show. The focus so far has been on locking down on what everyone wants to now build at the club for the city of Brisbane.

And now that they have that vision, Weaver is going down to work to make it a reality.

"I think that the older you get and the more experience you have the more common it seems for everyone to look backwards and say that was inevitable or of course that was going to happen or that place always had the potential of what it turned into," Weaver said.

"A firm line in all the places I've worked has been a real ambition with people having dreams of what the club meant not just on the table, but in the communities that those teams sit.

"That's for sure whether it was my bosses at the Hornets, Joe and Clara Tsai in Brooklyn, Eric Schwartz and David Khan in Paris, Paul Smith and now Robyn Denholm in Sydney.

"All those people have had really high standards and an aggressive but clear minded set of standards they were trying to enact.

"I have always done my best to fit into and try to understand and execute on the vision that those owners have. I think the ownership here no doubt have similar kinds of goals and we're absolutely in lockstep about the standards that need to be set in place.

"Now it's my job to work through that punch list."