Illawarra Hawks: Trice a key piece in revamped back court

That's the opinion of Hawks coach Brian Goorjian, who feels he has found precisely what he's looking for in the former Bullets and Taipans point-guard.

It was recruitment priority number one, with Goorjian putting it on the table in the immediate aftermath to his team's game-three semi-final loss to Perth last season.

Trice, who averaged 15 points and five rebounds in his last stint Down Under, fits that bill in letting Harvey spend more time in the two spot next season.

"We felt like we had Tyler out of position a lot last season," Goorjian said.

"He's a scoring guard, a guy who likes to put points on the board and he had to carry that [play-making] a lot. We feel like the team lacked a director, a guy that could run the team.

"Positionally, [Trice] is exactly what we're looking for. I wanted a guy that can get the ball to other people, can run the break, can play with Tyler. You can take him out and put (Emmett) Naar in, rest Tyler, they can play together, they can both carry the ball.

"Scoring is secondary to him, getting people involved is primary and that's exactly what we need."

Trice averaged 12 points and four assists in the most recent season with Galatasaray in the Turkish League, but Goorjian said the 28-year-old's previous NBL experience was the major selling point.

"With the way the world is right now and with what's going on, getting somebody who's played in the NBL is what was really exciting for me," Goorjian said.

"He's played in this league, he understands it. He's played outside of Australia and was really excited about wanting to come back to play in this league.

"He's been following the NBL and sees what you and I see, this thing's on the move and there's a nice spot for him there with Tyler.

"I trust that he's keen and he'd love to play on this particular team and get back in the NBL, so there was excitement there from him.

"He played at Michigan State for a tough coach, he's played for Team USA under (Jeff) Van Gundy, so he's been around good coaches. He's played tough basketball, he's at a good age and he wants to be here."

It will be a new-look back-court for the 2022 title tilt after Deng Adel failed to see out a full campaign last season, while conflicting timelines prevented a new deal with NBL Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon.

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Goorjian feels he's found a hybrid in two-way force Antonius Cleveland, with the swingman set to play a major role at both ends of the floor.

"We're hopeful that we've got another Justin Simon [defensively], and maybe a few different attributes. [Cleveland] can maybe shoot the ball at a bit of a higher clip," Goorjian said.

"With Justin, for him and for us, the role he wanted was something a little different and he definitely wanted to do the (NBA) Summer League.

"The way things are with COVID, we just weren't comfortable [with that]. That piece is really important and the timing of him joining the team is important, so we ruled that out and we feel we've got a nice piece there.

"It was very important after last year to come back with something that the fans could see was a step forward and I feel we have that."