While they might've always been professional by name, the Hawks were certainly semi-professional by nature.

Not any more. Gruber's shock axing just six games into the season confirmed that.

The tough-as-teak forward was cast aside as the odd one out, despite being a pillar of strength on the court and a committed clubman off it during his five-year tenure.

The Hawks have sent home imports in the past, but the Gruber case marked the first time in the club's 35-year history that a player's performances or character had nothing to do with his firing.

And there's the rub for countless angry Wollongong fans who reckon Gruber has been shafted.

Not just any old fans. People like club legends Glen Saville and Chuck Harmison, whose retired playing jerseys hang from the WIN Entertainment Centre rafters.

"He is everything the club needs," Saville tweeted.

"Dave was the heart and soul of the team," Harmison wrote. "Not a good decision at all."

The Hawks' Facebook page has been swamped by similar comments from emotional and confused fans.

Some are so enraged that they vowed to stop attending games.

So why was Gruber cut?

He had been an integral part of three top-four teams in five years and showed no signs of slowing down.

Last season was probably his best with the club at the age of 32, culminating with the Player's Player award from teammates.

He trained strongly in the pre-season, played in trial games and was looking forward to his sixth season in Wollongong colours.

But Hawks owner James Spenceley couldn't resist signing 2.18-metre free agent Luke Nevill a week out from the season and coach Gordie McLeod suddenly had 11 contracted players rather than the 10 he bargained for.

Gruber missed the first two games of the season through illness and appeared just once in the other four games, so he never got the chance to show the club's new management team what he means to the Hawks and their followers.

It isn't fair to make Nevill the scapegoat in Gruber's sacking.

The former Melbourne, Perth and Townsville centre just wanted to get back in the NBL and would never have expected that a teammate would be released three weeks into the season.

But even Nevill would understand why Hawks fans are hurting. He's basically been with the club for five minutes, while Gruber was a mainstay for five years. Nevill will have to stick around for a while to earn the kind of respect Gruber enjoyed.

The big twist to the Gruber story was Wollongong's re-signing of free agent guard Rhys Martin on Thursday.

Martin had six years with the Hawks but did not sign on for a seventh when an initial offer was made in the off-season.

He decided to look at his options of playing in Europe, leaving many Hawks supporters to speculate that he had been lowballed by the club.

Nothing eventuated overseas and Martin seemed destined to sit out the 2014-15 NBL season.

But the Hawks were convinced they needed help in the back-court after losing five of their first six games and Martin was the obvious choice. Whether he received the deal he originally sought is anyone's guess.

Wollongong fans won't vent their anger on Martin. They just believe the club got it all wrong to get rid of Gruber.

There's no going back now. Hawks management made its bed and has to lie in it.

McLeod still has 11 players, meaning one will be rested every game to meet NBL requirements.

Hawks general manager Kim Welch said the club would "meet our financial obligations" for Gruber and promised him an office job if he wants it.

That's all well and good, but Gruber wasn't planning a shift to the world of suits and desk jobs for a few years. He just wants to be on the basketball court where he belongs, muscling in for a rebound, rattling an opponent's teeth with a brick-wall screen, diving head-first on the floor for a loose ball, rising above the pack for a rim-shaking dunk.

He never won a title and is unlikely to have his jersey retired. But know this: no other player in Hawks history gave more than Grubes.

At the very least, he deserves a much better farewell than the sad one he received on Wednesday.