The NBA lockout is not all bad news after all. Certainly, it is good news for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian pro circuit, the National Basketball League (NBL). The said lockout means that the face of their franchise, Kirk Penney, will return to lead the Breakers for a repeat bid as NBL champions. Penney, who was the 1998 NBL rookie of the year, is said to be entertaining thoughts of a return to the NBA after averaging 20.0 points per game and leading the Breakers to the NBL championship last season. Penney, who also plays for the Tall Blacks National team, played two seasons in the NBA (2003-05) with unimpressive norms of 0.8 ppg, 0.3 rpg and 0.3 apg in six total outings with the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers. The 30 year-old, Auckland native was a member of the 2004-05 NBA D-League champions, the Asheville Altitude, where he posted averages of 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 42 games. He later resurfaced in the NBA D-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and averaged 21.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game during the 2010 playoffs. He had a career-high game of 40 points and eight rebounds in a regular season game against the Bakersfield Jam. The 6-4 guard and all-time leading scorer of the Breakers franchise had also played international ball in Israel, Lithuania, and Germany. The Breakers are extremely confident that they will retain the services of Penney next season, according to the Stuff.
“Tall Black Penney has a clause in his Breakers contract which allows him to explore opportunities in Europe until August 1 by which time he must confirm with the Australian national league champions for another season.
“New Zealand Breakers chief executive Richard Clarke said they were 90 per cent certain of having Penney back on the roster for next season.”
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