Former NZ Breakers coach Paul Henare has opened up on why he decided to leave the Auckland-based NBL club.
Henare is considered a legend of the club, having spent eight years as a player there before moving into a coaching role as an assistant in 2013. He was promoted to the top job in 2015.
But in March, Henare made the shock decision to step down out of the blue but didn't give any reasons why.
However, the 39-year-old has told Trackside Radio that the new owners weren't keen on him coaching both the Tall Blacks and the Breakers.
"Initial talks, they said it was not an issue," he said.
"They said they like the synergy coaching the Breakers and the Tall Blacks, but towards the end of conversations, they put more thought into what the schedule looked like, and I think they realised that it was a busy international schedule coming up.
"I decided it wasn't for me really. Through discussions and going through the process of where the club was going, I decided it wasn't for me.
Henare admitted he looked at the Cairns Taipans coaching role but decided not to apply, so he can focus coaching the Tall Blacks, and try to guide them to the 2019 World Cup in China, and then the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
"It has given me a real opportunity to fully sink my teeth into the Tall Blacks which has a very busy schedule over the next 12-15 months, and I'm looking forward to giving everything I have got for the Tall Blacks.
"We have the June/July window, then we get back together in September and February, and all those windows coincide with the NBL season.
"After looking at it, I thought it was best for me, the Tall Blacks and any club team that I would have ended up at, I would have done a disservice for any club I would have ended up at."
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