The Adelaide 36ers are showing substantial signs of disconnect with head coach Mike Wells and star point guard Kendric Davis involved in a heated verbal exchange following the team's win over the Illawarra Hawks on Monday, sources told ESPN.
The exchange happened in the team's locker room, sources said, among the entire roster and in front of 36ers owner Grant Kelley and general manager Matt Weston.
Davis was coming to the defence of a teammate, whom Wells directed harsh criticism toward, sources said. The exchange was loud enough that some visiting Hawks players could hear the exchange from their own locker room.
The confrontation is the latest in a string of incidents between Wells and Davis over the course of the season. During the November FIBA window, an on-court exchange between Wells and Davis almost got physical before the pair had to be separated, sources said.
Wells -- who's in the first season of a three-year deal as head coach of the 36ers -- is currently dealing with a personal matter, so the 36ers' brass worked with him over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday to provide him with the necessary help and resources, sources said.
Some consideration was put into offering Wells some sort of sanction for his role in the incident, sources said, but a Wednesday morning meeting tempered the bulk of the franchise's concerns, with an eye toward progressing as normal.
The 36ers are in the midst of the NBL's play-in race, currently sitting in 8th place with a 10-12 record, but coming off an important win over the Hawks.
Davis has been one of the NBL's most productive players in his first season in the league, averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 assists per game.
The 36ers next face the Perth Wildcats on Friday evening.