How the door opened for PJC return

The New Zealand Breakers have almost a full roster to build ahead of NBL25, but they’ve got off to a hot start with the signing of Sam Mennenga and the re-signing of Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

Following the Breakers’ elimination from NBL24 head coach Mody Maor said the chances of Jackson-Cartwright returning to the club were less than one per cent, and upon the guard’s near immediate agreement to an 18-month contract with Turkish side Galatasaray, any chance of the fan-favourite MVP candidate returning looked dead in the water.

Instead, PJC has become just the fourth import in Breakers history to extend his stay with the club past one season, and ESPN’s Olgun Uluc broke down how the door opened for the diminutive guard to return to New Zealand.

“It was a pretty quick negotiation for Jackson-Cartwright to come back. There are other factors the Breakers have to consider here going into free agency, but this was one they felt they couldn’t turn down,” Uluc said on The Marketplace.

“Even when he signed that contract [in Turkey] the word I was getting was a return to New Zealand wasn’t off the table. That was a one-and-a-half-year deal with Galatasaray, he only played one game with that team before parting ways with them.

“The door was always open for a return. I don’t think Mody Maor definitely thought Parker Jackson-Cartwright was going to come back, but they developed a really good relationship, Jackson-Cartwright really liked the league and team he was a part of, and it gives him an opportunity to run it back.

“It gives New Zealand a really good head start heading into free agency, knowing they’ve locked in not just one of their imports, but an import you know the production you’re going to get from him.”

The Breakers have now locked away one key pillar of their rotation heading into next season, but the question still hangs over whether star local guard Will McDowell-White will exercise his player option with the club.

Uluc previously reported on The Marketplace that seven of the NBL’s ten teams had expressed interest in the services of McDowell-White, and the ESPN Insider says the re-signing of Jackson-Cartwright has not shifted the needle either way for WMW’s decision.

“What I’ve been told that as of now the Breakers have received no indication one way or the other McDowell-White will pick up that player option for NBL25, so they’re still waiting,” Uluc said.

“There’s also an indication I got that the signing of Jackson-Cartwright won’t impact their feelings towards McDowell-White, and won’t impact his feelings towards the Breakers.

“Everything I’ve heard is McDowell-White really enjoyed playing with Parker Jackson-Cartwright and is not against doing that again, and the Breakers really liked the pairing of those two and feel like they made a lot of progress as the season went on.

“This ultimate doesn’t shut the door on McDowell-White, but it doesn’t open it any more.”

Regardless of whether McDowell-White does join Jackson-Cartwright in returning though, New Zealand will likely have to make a noted shift in its guard rotation following Uluc’s reports that Izayah Le’Afa will not be returning to the club next season.

Le’Afa joined the Breakers prior to NBL23 after starting his career with two seasons at South East Melbourne.

He averaged 7.5 points per game in NBL24, and has shot above 30 per cent from three in all four seasons of his NBL career.

“I’m told Izayah Le’Afa has told the Breakers he won’t be returning. He’s one who is a Kiwi and was with that team for two seasons, so he’ll explore the free agent market,” Uluc said.

“He’s someone who a lot of teams around the league see as a really impressive three-and-d guy. He shoots at a high level, he defends the perimeter at a high level, so he’ll test his value on the free agent market.

“A lot of teams around the NBL see him as someone they can bring in right away and they can plug him into different spots and he can be effective in a bunch of different ways.”

The NBL free agency period will officially begin on April 15.