THEY'RE no longer teammates but Hawks livewire Daniel Grida will always owe former skipper Kevin White - specifically next week's rent.
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It's interesting subplot to the Hawks clash with Adelaide on Monday, with Grida and fellow young-gun Sam Froling currently residing at White's home in Wollongong.
"I'm his landlord and he hasn't paid his rent so make that your headline, Grida and Froling out on the street," White joked ahead of his first meeting against his former club at the WEC.
"I've got people going around there to check on them every now and then to make sure everything's going well and the unit hasn't been burned down."
White was equally frank when asked if he'd look to collect the debt from his former protege on the floor.
"A hundred per cent. The first thing I'm doing is ripping that headband off, maybe give him a haircut in the process," White said.
"I'm looking forward to playing him though. He's a great kid, I love him. He's someone I took under my wing a bit last year, we had a lot of fun with each other and joked around a lot but he works his arse off.
"You've got to respect everything he's done already. He's so young in his career and he's still got so much more to come. I'm just looking forward to getting out there and hopefully kicking his arse one more time."
Monday will be White's first meeting against the club he captained for two seasons but he insists the playful banter is as far as any grudge runs despite being deemed surplus to requirements at the end of last season.
"It'll be good to be around some family and friends and catch up but we've got a job to do and that's all I'm looking to do. I don't think anything changes," he said.
"It's not about proving a point, it's just about going down there and winning a game of basketball. It's what I'm paid to do and it's the job we have as a team.
"People in Wollongong know exactly who I am and what I'm about. It was the same any time I put on the Hawks jersey, now it's any time I pull on the Sixers jersey."
For his part, Grida denies he's in any way behind on the rent.
"I'm living in his old place so he's my landlord at the moment, I pay him and Rach rent every two weeks, " Grida said.
He's unequivocal on that score, but admits he remains indebted to his former mentor for guiding him through his first season as a pro.
"He really just kept it fun," Grida said.
"If we were ever having a bad day he'd lighten the mood, he'd take us all out to do something. He's such a leader, he was always there for me and Emmett [Naar] when we were coming into the league.
"On the flip side, he once gave me a wedgie that ripped my undies clean off so it goes both ways with Whitey. He bought me a new pair though, he's a legend and I'll always be grateful for how he took me in last season.
"It's going to be a lot of fun playing Whitey, I think he'll come back here have a point to prove. He's going to come out to play his hardest which, as we all know with him, is pretty hard so it's going to be an exciting match-up."
Monday's showdown with the Sixers - their second on a run of four games in eight days - is crucial for the Hawks on their home floor ahead of Thursday road clash with the Breakers in New Zealand.