The Hawks are expected to sign athletic small forward Deng Adel, who played in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, as part of Brian Goorjian's rebuilding project.
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The club, which dumped the Illawarra name when the new ownership was announced, is poised to add Adel to guard Emmett Naar and Deng Deng, who has previously been with the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers, to the roster.
Adel was playing in the NBA G-League when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and returned to Australia.
Born in South Sudan, Adel grew up in Melbourne, before playing US College basketball in Louisville, and made his NBA debut in January last year for the Cavaliers.
ESPN first reported the deal last week, however the story was curiously taken down soon after, the NBL then announcing Deng Deng's signing instead.
However, the speculation has been rife about Adel's signing and on Monday high performance trainers Olympia Athletics, who oversee his programs, posted on Instagram about it being done.
"It might be difficult and uncertain times but keep an assassin's mentality and attack this week like @thehawks new recruit @foreverdeng22 ! Let's get after it!" Olympia Athletics posted.
It is believed the two Melbourne clubs, United and Phoenix, had pursued Adel in free agency, but the lure of playing under Goorjian is expected to ensure a move to Wollongong.
Adel's signing comes as a much-needed boost to the Hawks, as Goorjian and the new backers led by Sydney entrepreneur Dorry Kordahi and ex-Philadelphia NBA general manager Bryan Colangelo, rebuild the club after a period of voluntary administration.
The likely deal also comes as Illawarra junior Angus Glover leaves the Hawks to join arch-rivals the Sydney Kings on a multi-year deal.
He will join fellow Wollongong product Xavier Cooks at the the Kings, who was part of their run to the NBL finals series, which was cut short due to the Covid-19 shutdown.
An electric teenage talent, Glover's emergence in the NBL was hampered by three anterior-cruciate ligament tears, before making his mark with the Hawks.
He was contracted to Illawarra for next season, before the Simon Stratford ownership era ended in liquidation, with Glover, Sunday Dech and Sam Froling becoming free agents.
