Basketball: Penney has unfinished business

Kirk Penney opens up at a press conference on his return to the NZ Breakers after not securing a place in the NBA League in America. Photo / Richard Robinson

Kirk Penney wants this to be a positive story. He'd like it focus on the fact that he has rejoined a Breakers team that was so untroubled by his absences they began the season with a club record five-game win streak.

He'd like it to emphasise the laudable aspects of his decision to put family above his job and attend his brother's wedding in Italy instead of taking on the 36ers and Wildcats in Australia last weekend.

And he'd like it pointed out that his decisions to chase his NBA dream and then skip out for a weekend on his return were made with the full blessing of his teammates and club management.

That's all well and good. But it doesn't change the fact the former league MVP and reigning top scorer's approach to the new ANBL season has been at best - how to put it? - strange.

For every positive there is an equally glaring negative. Penney's decision to trial with San Antonio affected the club's recruitment; it affected the club's marketing strategy; it has meant his team-mates have had to prepare for life without him and then readjust for his return (twice); and it has deflected attention (to the annoyance of some) away from the team's successes.

Spin it any way you like, Penney's actions have brought his commitment to the club into question. With his arrival at the club in 2008 the key moment in the transformation of the Breakers from basket-case to basketball force, such a scenario would have seemed unthinkable months ago.

"There are a lot of perceptions of it, a lot of different takes on it," Penney admits.

"You can look at it in a very negative light if you choose to or in a very positive light. It depends how you want to paint the picture. -That's fine. They are decisions I've made and I don't regret them. They were things that I thought were very important. If anyone else was in my situation, I hope they'd do the same thing."

The official line from the club is Penney's adventures have created zero disharmony, a position long-time Tall Blacks team-mate and foundation Breaker Paul Henare insists is accurate.

"I can honestly say that it hasn't caused any disruption," Henare says.

"We had a talk about it as a team and as a family. Once everybody had said their piece we went about our business. There was nothing that took us by surprise about all of this."

Still, round table discussions and clear-the-air forums are hardly standard practice for a team suffering zero disruption. Had the Breakers started 1-5, the perception might have been entirely different.

There's no doubt Penney's team-mates have had his back, both on and off the court. With a tricky start to the season - which featured four out of six games on the road - negotiated and their star scorer back in harness, the Breakers are in position to ensure Penney's positive narrative plays out.

His absences have allowed others to experience more senior roles, while the team's talisman should be fresher at the business end of the season.

"It's good to see Kirk back in a Breakers singlet," Henare says. "He is just an amazing talent. There is nobody like him in this part of the world. To have somebody like that on your team is a big boost. And to have his smiling face around is good for the culture.

"From the start we have always wanted Kirk in the squad. But him leaving has given guys like Tom [Abercrombie] and Corey [Webster] experience that is going to help down the stretch."

After feeling like his life was on hold for the last couple of months, Penney just wants to put the whole issue to bed."It has been a very different start to the season," he says. "The timing wasn't ideal but it is what it is. I am just trying to put it behind me now. I just want to play."

Penney married in June and turns 30 on Tuesday. While being cut by San Antonio likely marked the end of his NBA dream, the finest basketball talent this country has produced still has plenty of good years left.

But whether they will be spent at his hometown club remains to be seen. He couldn't answer a question about his long-term future, but was happy to talk about his hopes for the remainder of the season.

"This is my fourth year and we haven't won a championship yet. I feel like we have had the teams to win championships, so my goal is to win one. The Warriors went very close and made the grand final and the Phoenix have had a good crack. We are in the situation where we feel like we have the team to win a championship."

Whether he likes this story or not, Penney at least has the chance to write his own ending.