OFF-CONTRACT Illawarra guard Emmett Naar will explore his options in free agency, but admits it's hard to consider a Hawks return while the club ownership remains up in the air.
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The St Mary's alum endured a roller coaster second season in Wollongong in which he was largely sidelined following the arrival of Next Star LaMelo Ball.
Naar enjoyed a mid-season form explosion when Ball's campaign was cut short by a foot injury, though battled some injury concerns of his own down the stretch of the season.
He initially signed a two-year deal with a player option for a third before all deals were voided as part of the Hawks voluntary administration process.
It will leave him free to explore his options, with the 25-year-old having scrimmaged with South East Melbourne since COVID-19 restrictions were eased.
He told former Boomer Adam Gibson's 'Gibbo Goes One-On-One' podcast that he's open to all opportunities.
"I'm just talking to teams now waiting for free agency to start," Naar said.
"It has been a little bit difficult with the Hawks not having an owner right now. I'm just trying to keep my options open.
"Hopefully the team gets bought soon and there's something more in concrete to go off. I'm open to playing anywhere really.
"I've loved my last two years in the NBL and want to keep playing in Australia so we'll see what happens."
He admits riding the pine following Ball's arrival was frustrating but credited housemate Sunday Dech with keeping him on-song throughout the season.
"Playing with such a talent like LaMelo, it was always going to be a bit tough when we signed him," Naar said.
"At first we experimented a bit with different line-ups. In the first game of the season we started with me and him together but having two players who are a bit better when they have the ball in their hands making plays, it didn't quite work out with the two of us.
"Getting a front row seat to watch him play was always exciting. You never want to see someone go do down but, once he got hurt, I really got some opportunities there at the back end of the season.
"I'd been living with Sunday Dech who had a helluva year and he was in the same boat at the start of the year in not getting a lot of minutes.
"He was really good in keeping working outside of practice hours, he'd drag me down to the gym a lot to get extra shots up you could really see how much it worked fro him at the end of the year.
"I've got to give a lot of credit to him for keeping me motivated there."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
