For stars to stay, Taipans must show promise
WE are not talking about an M. Night Shyamalan film but the Cairns Taipans need to show “signs” over the final three games of the NBL season.
There needs to be positive signs for the club’s off-contract superstars in Mitch McCarron and Cameron Gliddon that remaining in Cairns is their best hope of winning that elusive NBL championship.
A change of focus occurs for great players in the prime of their careers. This happens after they establish themselves as legit NBL players.
The word “legacy” gets thrown around and all of a sudden winning a title and being known as a winner shifts to the forefront.
That is where I see McCarron and Gliddon now.
They are both consistent, quality players in our league and have cemented their positions as Australian Boomers.
The signs that the Taipans are on the right track to their first championship need to start tonight against the Sydney Kings and flow into the double away trip to the Perth Wildcats to finish the campaign.
Conversely, being part of the “rebuild” of a club becomes taboo once you reach this point of your basketball career.
For the Taipans, it’s quite acceptable to play the “poor little me” card to the general public.
But behind closed doors, the message towards the star players and the imports who crave success must be: “We are close to an NBL championship and if you stay here with us, we can win it.”
There are more than 25 million people in our great country and around 60 jobs for NBL basketballers.
Finding the “next kid” is easy, retaining genuine superstars is a much greater challenge.
And it has to do with far more than just money.
You must show signs.