THEY came with more money. They always do.
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But after Townsville’s demise, Nick Kay had bigger plans.
The towering 205cm, 23-year-old NBL rookie of the year was the hottest property on the market, once MVP guard Kevin Lisch signed a lucrative deal with the Sydney Kings.
Cashed-up Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane all took a keen interest, but in the end Kay was swayed by the chance to work with Rob Beveridge.
His two-year deal with the Hawks was finalised with a plan to realise the potential which could make him a future Boomers star and Olympian.
“I thought he had a really mature approach,” Beveridge told the Mercury.
“He could easily have gone for the big pay day early in his career, everyone was chasing him. We can’t compete with that, but he wanted to buy into a system to help develop his game and become a better player.
“There’s no doubt he’ll earn better money down the track, but it’s just fantastic to have a guy who wants to be part of this team.”
Kay joins Crocodiles teammate Mitch Norton on the Illawarra books, to become the seventh signing for next season.
Of course, Beveridge’s friendship with the former Townsville coach Shawn Dennis was a factor.
But it’s also part of Beveridge’s plan to replicate the success he had at Perth, where they won the NBL crown in 2010. “When I started at Perth, no-one knew who Damian Martin, Jesse Wagstaff or Matt Knight were,” Beveridge said.
“They were young players getting their opportunity. Last season the Hawks were the oldest team in the league, so it’s important to bring some younger players in.”
Beveridge knows his next priority is to focus on finding imports, with decisions to be made in July, after the NBA draft.
Who the Hawks replace Lisch and Penney with will shape their championship fate.
However, Beveridge believes Kay’s signing – and retaining centre AJ Ogilvy and forward Cody Ellis – will allow Oscar Forman to return to his shooting best.
“It will take a lot of pressure off Oscar,” Beveridge said.
“Last season he was in a position of trying to match the physicality of the opposition, but this puts him back where we want him, back to being a prolific perimeter scorer.
“Oscar’s one of the greats, he offers so much leadership and I think he’ll be a lot more relaxed, now we’ve had a year working together and he knows more about what I want from the team.”
Forman – who signed a one-year extension – said he hoped to help bring scoring firepower to the Hawks without Lisch and Penney.
“You saw last year when we were able to get it right that teams had trouble going with us,” he said.
“Losing Kevin and Kirk changes things, but hopefully we will still have plenty of firepower and the imports will have a big part in that.”