Sports editor TIM BARROW and sports writer CAMERON MEE consider the fallout of the NBL dumping the Illawarra name. Should Hawks fans just accept it and move on, after the new owners announced Brian Goorjian as coach?
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Barrow: It's a carrot-and-stick style management approach now, Cameron.
After years of off-court struggle, two rounds of voluntary administration and a Save The Hawks campaign - all in the past 11 years - the new owners are dangling the incentive of a rebuild, led by the great coach Brian Goorjian.
We've dropped the Illawarra name, but we have big things planned, come with us anyway, we need you.
But the stick is still firmly in the NBL's hand, after league owner Larry Kestelman admitted they will review the situation and the level of support in the Illawarra, as they attempt to broaden the club's reach across NSW and interstate, after dropping the name.
Mee: It's a situation we've all seen before isn't it.
The promise of a white knight coming in to save the organisation. This time, though, just seems a little bit different.
Goorjian is a big name and a man capable of both recruiting top-notch players and Bryan Colangelo has those links to the US that will hopefully allow the Hawks to sign talented imports.
Naturally there are numerous question marks surrounding the role of Colangelo, the exact ownership model and who is going to pay for the travelling roadshow that the NBL hopes the Hawks will be.
Overall, if the new owners are able to generate results on the court, the people of the Illawarra will get behind this team. If they don't, well we all know how that will end. Do we have any actual details about how this is all going to work?
Barrow: A lot has been happening behind the scenes this week as they shape what the club will look like. The new Hawks owners, led by the Sydney entrepreneur Dorry Kordahi, have a mandate for change with the backing of the NBL, so you can expect a major upheaval of operations from the front office to the playing and coaching staff.
And that is needed, they need to invest in the structure of the club and its ability to general corporate backing, as well as the support staff to the playing group, as much as, probably even more so than the players they sign.
Goorjian himself will attract interest from players who otherwise might not entertain moving to the Hawks, but the biggest issue they've had is the lack of funding and support to build a successful and sustainable operation.
We're also just days away from the official NBL free agency period opening date of July 1, do you think the NBL should delay, as Kordahi hopes, to offer them a level playing field?
We have to be ready to get behind Goorjian, the most successful NBL coach in history, because the region's future depends on it.
Mee: They have to delay free agency.
The other clubs have spent the past two or three months mapping out their plans for the year ahead, figuring out which players they want to sign and who they are happy to release.
The Hawks have had none of that. The ownership announcement was made exactly two weeks before the planned start of free agency, there's no way this new group has the time to sit down, figure out a plan, identify players to sign and prove the Hawks are a better option than say the Kings or Wildcats.
The NBL handpicked this ownership group to purchase the Hawks, it's now their responsibility to ensure the group is set up to succeed. Leaving free agency to start on July 1 will simply put the new owners on the backfoot from the outset and likely result in a challenging first season from which they may not recover.
On that note, how much responsibility do you think the NBL needs to take in assisting the new owners?
Barrow: As I understand it, the NBL have a huge guiding hand in the direction of the club, starting with Kestelman dictating the removal of the Illawarra name. So while they've got a mandate for change now, they also have a huge responsibility to ensure they respect the faithful and invest in the Illawarra.
Because Hawks fans need to understand, this was not the only viable bid. It was less than two months ago when Illawarra businessman Tory Lavalle and NBA hopeful and former Hawks guard LaMelo Ball, through manager Jermaine Jackson, were the only viable bid on the table.
So it's not like the previous all-or-nothing path of Indian mining magnate Arun Jagatramka guaranteeing the future, or telecommunications millionaire James Spenceley saving the day.
The NBL have worked to bring this group together and so now in good faith, they have to work with the Illawarra supporter base and business community.
There are so many people in this region who have invested so much just to keep the Hawks going, it's not an NBL plaything.
How do you see this next season playing out though?
Given the Covid-19 crisis, tighter budgets and a more condensed schedule over summer might make it more unpredictable?
Mee: I'd like a bit of unpredictability, but I fear we may have the opposite situation. With so much uncertainty, I don't see the Kings or Wildcats changing their rosters too much.
That stability, while so many other clubs are struggling, will be crucial once the season does eventually kick off. I think the biggest wildcard throughout the season will be the increased number of back-to-backs.
If the Hawks catch the Kings just a couple of nights after Sydney play a tough encounter with Melbourne, that's a huge opportunity for the Illawarra side to claim a win. Overall, I agree there's every chance we'll see some upsets throughout the season, but the teams who thrive during the season will be the ones who cope with the instability best.
That will likely be the likes of Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. On that note, all this talk about how teams will fare during the season relies on the answering of one crucial question.
Will we even have an NBL competition this summer?
Barrow: That's all down to any further Covid-19 outbreaks now isn't it?
What's happening in Melbourne is a huge concern with community transmission cases and we had previously seen the NRL club the Melbourne Storm relocate briefly to train at an Australian football ground in Albury just to ensure the season would resume.
And now Essendon AFL player Connor McKenna tested positive, stopping the game against Melbourne being played.
Who knows what it looks like by November and December when the NBL is ready to launch.
But the Hawks have to be ready to launch and be competitive in the league again. Regardless of how upset fans and sponsors are about the dropping of the Illawarra name, we have to be ready to get behind Goorjian, the most successful NBL coach in history, because the region's future depends on it.