Angus Glover and Sunday Dech both had breakout campaigns in an otherwise difficult last season for the club that saw it finish with a 5-23 ledger.

Fellow young gun Sam Froling was hampered by injury but showed enough potential to earn a Boomers call-up alongside Dech and Glover for November's Asia Cup qualifiers.

All three were locked down for next season but became free agents after all contracts with the Hawks were voided as part of the voluntary administration process.

READ MORE: Cooks opts out of Kings deal

Having boosted their stocks, the trio will be open to offers from NBL rivals when the postponed free agency period opens on July 1, with a number of suitors already circling.

Deals with rival clubs can't be formalised prior to that date but they are free to re-sign with Hawks prior to free agency opening, though that will depend on when new ownership of the club is settled.

There's also no contractual guarantees coach Matt Flinn will return after he was stood down with all staff once the club was placed into VA. Any deal to continue as coach would require fresh negotiation.

It comes at a time where clubs will be putting more focus on domestic talent, with a new pay deal to combat the economic impacts of COVID-19 reducing import spots from three to two next season.

The pay deal struck with the ABPA saw marquee contracts slashed by up to 50 per cent, with the likes of Bryce Cotton, Casper Ware, Xavier Cooks and Matt Hodgson all choosing to opt out of their NBL contracts to explore other options.

With the deadline for opting out of current deals now passed, clubs will turn their attention to building their rosters for next season though the Hawks remain in limbo without an owner since the NBL took back the license after Simon Stratford relinquished control of the club.

It's understood the league is close to cutting a deal with a joint bid from NBA Draft prospect, and former Hawk, LaMelo Ball and Illawarra businessman Tory Lavalle but are yet to rubber stamp any agreement.

The Mercury's attempts to reach Mat Campbell, who's been re-installed as interim general manager by the NBL, were unsuccessful.

It comes as the NBL works towards confirming a start date, with executive chairman Larry Kestelman confident the league will continue its rise despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

"We believe the NBL will remain a highly attractive option for players from both Australia and New Zealand and around the world should borders be re-opened," Kestelman said.

"We respect the rights of players to test the market. The agreement with the Australian Basketball Players' Association was done by the NBL on behalf of the clubs who were unanimous in their support of the players and wanted to avoid stand downs as they managed the impact of the virus.

"Those players who choose to explore their options can still opt back in to their NBL contracts and we believe there will be a number who do so as the situation in regards to COVID-19 and its impact on various basketball leagues around the world becomes clearer."