Too little, too late? The cavalry is finally arriving.
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In the five weeks the Hawks were without a replacement for Aaron Brooks they went 2-3, the LaMelo Ball-inspired brightest period of a bleak season.
On Thursday, the Hawks announced 32-year-old Darington Hobson - an American journeyman most recently in Italy, who will add offensive punch - with owner Simon Stratford taking to Twitter to declare there's another signing to come, presumably as Sam Froling moves to the long-term injury list.
Coach Matt Flinn talked of "team chemistry" in waiting to bring in new players, but with the Hawks now at 3-9, it raises so many other questions.
Did the NBL demand the Hawks make signings to ease the pressure on Ball?
Given they pay Ball's way under the Next Stars program, is the NBL still confident the 18-year-old potential NBA No.1 draft pick will stay in Wollongong for the rest of the season?
Did the NBL contribute to Hobson's contract?
And if so, did that money come directly from the assistance fund created for club's struggling financially under the soft, but incredibly opaque, salary cap?
Was the signing delay a financial decision?
Is Stratford committed to staying on as owner beyond this season?
Is the NBL satisfied with how the Hawks are run, given Illawarra junior Xavier Cooks decided his career prospects looked better with the Sydney Kings?
A week before Hobson's signing the Mercury started making calls for answers.
Absolute stonewall silence.
Stratford and general manager Mat Campbell have not responded.
Three separate interview requests with NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger were fobbed off.
Of course they're not obliged to, but then the NBL seems to have a complex about scrutiny.
It's much easier to sit back and let more compliant members of the media polish the figures and metrics to make basketball as shiny as possible.
As this column has written in the past, there is great need for a level of accountability and transparency around a club which has faced its own demise on multiple occasions.
What does it say of the Hawks and the league that they're reliant on a teenager - albeit an extremely talented one - to play more than 35 minutes a game to be competitive?
It will be fun years later to say Ball sunk triple-doubles here to start his career, when he's an NBA superstar.
The only numbers that really matter are the Hawks' 3-9 season record and their bottom line is sustainable.
If the standard of the NBL is lifting after the wildly successful closer relationship with the NBA, the Hawks have to be able to raise their game as well.
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