Of course it was the same day aspiring No. 1 draft pick LaMelo Ball confirmed he'd be bringing his talents to the Snakepit, bringing unprecedented global exposure for the Hawks in a matter of hours.

Brooks' low-key announcement was largely lost in the media storm but the significance of it, when it comes to chasing just the second NBL title in the foundation club's history, was not lost on coach Matt Flinn.

"When it first got floated with me by his agent, I was talking to him about another player and he just said 'what about Aaron Brooks?' I just went silent," Flinn said.

"I said 'are you talking about the Aaron Brooks I know?' Of course I was interested. When we met I said 'congratulations on a great career' and he stopped me straight away and said 'coach I'm not done yet'. He's really hungry and he's just missed the game.

"He's going to be a real leader in this back court. We've got a young back court and we need him to come in and be that alpha dog. We are going to need to be smart when he first gets here because he has had a year off.

"By all reports, from imports who were working out with him, they've contacted Josh Boone and said 'get ready'. He's still in shape and he's ready to go."

With Boone's 256 games for the New Jersey Nets, and returning veteran Dave Andersen's 103 appearances for Houston - where he was a teammate of Brooks - Toronto and New Orleans, the Hawks boast more than 1000 games of NBA experience in their roster.

It's a welcome answer to initial concerns about what was a decidedly youthful looking roster in the early stages of free agency. The pressing question has now become how Flinn, as a first-year head coach, can put a puzzle with multiple key pieces together on the floor.

That includes where, and for how long, he puts Ball on the floor during what is his first professional contract. His approach will be heavily scrutinised, but Flinn is confident he and Ball are on the same page.

"I'm confident I can keep it about basketball and on the floor," Flinn said.

"There will obviously be certain other things surrounding it, he's a celebrity athlete but he's a really respectful kid. He's got enormous talent but I did talk to him about the level he's coming into.

"I re-iterated that this league is the second or third best league in the world outside the NBA and it's a long way from the Drew League because it's so heavily scouted and there's such quality.

"He's traveling with a minder in [former NBA player] Jermaine Jackson I was talking to him around the other day and said we're going to do everything we can to help LaMelo achieve his ultimate goal of being drafted but it's also going to take a certain level of buy-in from him to come in and focus on our team goals.

"The response from them was they have no individual goals, only team goals. I'm 12-deep and there's a lot of expectation within all of us to get opportunity and that's going to be the challenge for everyone to buy in and stay true to ourselves and the program."