The Brisbane Bullets continue their descent into disorder with the release of import guard Jaylen Adams. He had averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his 13 games played this season.

The Bullets started the season with one of the strongest import trios in the league. Only two months later and none of them are there anymore. Javon Freeman-Liberty was released for personal reasons after only three games and Casey Prather was ruled out for the rest of the season after he went down with another knee-related injury in his 12th game. Adams now joins the ghosts of what was supposed to be. One could think that the turmoil surrounding the Bullets would reflect in their record; they surprisingly had a 5–7 record at the time of Adams’ release and are seventh on the ladder.

It has been a long way to the bottom for Adams. He first arrived in the NBL with the Sydney Kings in 2021 freshly removed from a brief tenure in the NBA. Adams quickly established himself as one of the premier players in the league and led the Kings to their first championship in 17 years. He was selected as the NBL’s most valuable player while averaging 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Instead of staying with the Kings on their championship re-run the next season, he split the year in Serbia and China with only single-digit scoring numbers in 14 total appearances. Adams returned to the Kings in 2023 but their championship contingent had gone elsewhere. His 19.5 points per game were contributed to a team that finished with a 13–15 record and lost in the play-in qualifier to prematurely end hopes of a third consecutive title. Adams stayed with the Kings for the 2024–25 season and averaged 18.0 points per game as the team again lost the play-in qualifier. In contrast to his debut Kings season, Adams received no awards for his performance; his output was the same but the difference was the team’s performance.

There was likely no mutual desire for the Kings and Adams to have a fourth season together. He ended up with the Bullets which was described as “one of the biggest moves of the NBL off-season” for “one of the most high-profile signings in the club’s recent history” in the announcement article. Adams had an erratic season; captured in no better way than his season-worst 1 point performance against the Perth Wildcats to his season-best 29 points against Melbourne United two days later. His attitude was often the talk of commentators as he seemed to display no enjoyment playing under the work experience experimentation of head coach Stu Lash. Adams was eventually benched and played in such a role for what was to be his final game with the Bullets: 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in a blow-out loss to the New Zealand Breakers.

The Bullets announcement of Adams’ release quoted team CEO, Malcolm Watts, saying, “Our club, our fans and our partners deserve a team that represents Brisbane with pride and professionalism.” The ESPN article by Olgun Uluc goes further by stating that it was a combination of Adams’ “volatile on-court form” combined with “off-court concerns the Bullets have harboured” since his arrival that culminated in the his parting.

That will likely be the last time that he ever appears in the NBL. I cannot see another team taking a chance on him in any near future. It is an unfortunate ending for someone who possessed so much potential when they first arrived. I hope Adams finds a way to return to his normal form.