Baynes' valuable "lesson"

Brisbane Bullets coach Justin Schueller has conceded Aron Baynes doesn’t condone how he handled himself during last week’s fiery clash with the Cairns Taipans.

Baynes will front the NBL Tribunal on Thursday night after his involvement in a half-time altercation with Taipans coach Adam Forde. The Bullets star was also visibly angered and furious at the referees after he copped an elbow from Lat Mayen late in the second quarter.

Both Baynes and Mayen were ejected from the game, with the Taipan charged with striking. Mayen accepted an early guilty plea, which saw his one game suspension downgraded to a $1550 fine.

Reflecting on the heated events, Schueller says the club and player will look at using it as a teaching moment in case it happens again.  

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Aron Baynes and Lat Mayen have both been ejected after several altercations in tonight&#39;s game. <a href="https://t.co/zf5nwUylNz">pic.twitter.com/zf5nwUylNz</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1710605532158198068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We don’t condone how Aron handled the moment. He doesn’t (condone it) himself in hindsight,” Schueller said via news.com.au.

“It is a frustrating one, but it’s a lesson. There are no regrets, it’s all lessons, so we know we can handle that situation better as a collective and as a team to get around the moment.

“For me it’s always about the well-being of our athletes, and if they are OK.

“For us it’s an incident in a basketball game that’s happened time and time again. Obviously he was frustrated with how the officials initially handled it and then everything after that is what it is, but we’re a tight knit group. We’re about constantly moving forward.”

The Bullets were also issued an official warning after the club’s Senior Basketball Advisor, Stu Lash, made public comments about Forde and the NBL’s ongoing investigation into the game.

Brisbane is back on court on Friday night against the Sydney Kings. The game will tip-off at 7:30pm AEDT live on ESPN via Kayo Sports.