The Brisbane Bullets are preparing to play under their third head coach of the season, after the team announced Tuesday that Greg Vanderjagt will take over as interim head coach, replacing former interim head coach and current Bullets General Manager, Sam Mackinnon.
Mackinnon had been acting head coach since late November after the Bullets fired James Duncan following a horror start to the 2022/23 season.
But the merry-go-round is not yet over, with ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reporting that Vanderjagt will only be standing in for the time being before the eventual full-time head coach arrives, with Uluc pinpointing Todd Purves, who will come to the Bullets from the Macau Wolf Warriors in the ASEAN Basketball League.
According to a league statement, Mackinnon gave up the head coaching job “to solely focus on his role as General Manager of Basketball,” however this seems to contradict what Mackinnon himself said just mere days ago.
Sam Mackinnon provides an update on whether he will see out the season as the @BrisbaneBullets head coach, and if they will bring in another import to close out #NBL23 pic.twitter.com/lVbtqaGwuM
— NBL (@NBL) December 10, 2022
Following a 16-point loss to Melbourne United on Saturday, Mackinnon was asked if he was going to coach the Bullets the rest of the way. His answer was that he was unsure, however stating “but I want it.”
Mackinnon’s four-game stint as coach was far from successful, with the team going 1-3 over that period, compared to the 3-6 start to the season that saw Duncan shown the door.
Hopes were high for this Brisbane Bullets unit coming into the season, with the team able to sign Australian basketball star Aron Baynes, as well as NBA journeyman Tyler Johnson.
Aron Baynes and Tyler Johnson are bringing ✨showtime✨ to Brisbane 😎
— NBL (@NBL) October 27, 2022
The Big Banger channeling Bryce Cotton with the four-point play 🥵
Catch the #NBL23 action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel pic.twitter.com/Q74hWkylQG
But the wheels fell off just as quickly; the team started with five straight losses, DJ Mitchell was suspended for one game in October for “not adhering to team standards” following a training incident, and then November saw the team release import Devondrick Walker, as well as coach James Duncan.
Now more than halfway through the season, with the Bullets sitting second-last on the ladder, it would take a truly special run from the team to move up into finals consideration, and with the leadership of the team still up in the air, reprieve does not seem to be coming anytime soon.
