Kelly opens up on Cummings departure

South East Melbourne head coach Mike Kelly has discussed the club’s decision to release import guard Will Cummings from his contract last week.

Cummings was surprisingly cut from the Phoenix roster due to off-court behaviour, and his departure marked the second player being lost from the active roster in less than a week, following Craig Moller’s season-ending knee injury suffered in Round 9.

Kelly says while there are aspects of the decision that were difficult, the call to drop Cummings ended up being a simple one.

“It was difficult because I really like Will and he’s a really good basketball player, but he basically made the call,” Kelly said post-game.

“Whether he knew it or not, when he didn’t buy in and do the things we said we were doing as a group, he was saying ‘I don’t want to do this and I don’t want to be a part of this’.

“Even though we made the decision as a club and I made the decision as a coach as for what we can stand for and how we operate as a club, it really was Will making that decision.

“As hard as it was – as heart-wrenching as it was – to let a really good player and good person go, it wasn’t difficult at all.”

Along with Moller and Cummings, South East Melbourne was also missing the services of Reuben Te Rangi, who was listed as absent due to ‘paternity leave’ ahead of Sunday’s clash.

While Kelly says Te Rangi is expected back in the lineup this coming weekend, and the hunt to bring in a new import to replace Cummings is well underway – although it may not be a like for like replacement.

“Reuben will be back shortly, we’re hopeful of that … we’re on the search right now for the best fit, import wise,” Kelly said.

“There’s always a pressure to that but we’ve seen what the guys can do when they play and tonight was the best I think we’ve done that where they played freely, played smart, moved the ball, defended and played for each other.”

South East Melbourne will next play Melbourne United on Thursday night, with the game live on ESPN via Kayo.