Weaver's shared vision is key to sustained success

Will Weaver has a knack for laying fertile grounds. 

His fingerprints remain over a Sydney Kings side currently challenging for their third NBL title since his Covid-affected Championship Series in NBL20, for example.

And for the Bullets new Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations, there are certainly similarities between that job and the assignment in Brisbane.

Those similarities are analogous across every environment in pursuit of success. Foremost is the appetite across the organisation to collaborate and map a path forwards.

In Brisbane, Weaver sees just that - an organisation bereft of the success it craves in recent years, yet one with the foundations to achieve. 

"I can sense a real hunger and I think everyone recognises that there's untapped potential that everyone is laser focused on unlocking," Weaver said, reflecting on the existing pieces of the puzzle at the Bullets.

"I know firsthand that the consummation of that potential only comes from a relentless focus on the process. 

We're starting to build on some of those processes now.”

Weaver’s sole season in the NBL to date ended with a runner’s up medal, with the Kings conceding the series due to concerns around travelling to Perth in the midst of a pandemic.

He could be forgiven had those events soured his opinion of, and outlook on, the NBL. 

The reality is a far cry; that Championship run was his second taste of finals basketball as a Head Coach having led the G League’s Long Island Nets to the league’s best record a year prior and won Coach of the Year for his efforts.

He would go on to reach the quarter-finals of the Euro League with Paris Basketball.

Those roles have served to strengthen his resolve.

"I'm really thankful for all the experiences I've had, including my time in Sydney," he said.

"The similarities across those clubs 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.

“Sydney are in their fourth grand final over seven years.”

He is aware, though, of the need for patience and an element of serendipity in building sustainable success.

"The thing you can't control is the timeline over which things come together and how the stars align,” he continued. 

"Getting Xavier [Cooks] in that season in Sydney was one of those things that we weren’t planning for and has paid off long-term, 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."

Weaver has continued to rack up experiences since Paris, returning to the NBA with roles at both the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets. 

His time with the Australia Boomers spanned from 2014 to 2020, in the last year of which he assumed the role of Head Coach for Asia Cup qualification fixtures. 

Extensive time on task across multiple organisations has opened his eyes to the importance of a shared vision, and he is keenly aware of the Bullets’ potential.

"A through-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 in which those teams sit,” he said.

"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 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."

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