If they bring back a like-for-like roster this coming season (including quality of imports) I think they're going to find out exactly how good a coach Beveridge was.

So I think the 'plan' originally was to bring back all the boys & invest big on a big time guard... Makes sense to upgrade on Ced as Jett & Conks served their purpose & were good value.

However, a little later down the track the murmurs of Captain Kev being offered the exit door & perhaps Ando looking for a greater $lice of pie surfaced, meaning the Hawks would look something like this-

MELO* / Naar
Jett / Glover / Dech
Blanch / Grida
Conklin / Coenraad
TBA / AJ

* Optimistic but believable.

I think originally that other 5 to complement AJ 'was' going to be Ando, so now that option may go to another local...

I'm sniffing around the Snakepit as we speak to try & sus out more details : )

I like when they re-signed Ogilvy for 2 years they were at pains to say it was really only a guaranteed 1 year deal with a team option for a second year.

I'm feeling it's Ando.

I reckon he's knocked back the bigger dollar options elsewhere to stay with us in the beautiful Gong!

Hmmmmm. Froling would fit nicely. Does that mean Coenraad back to playing the 3? Behind Blanch? I actually liked Coenraad in the 4 last year, thought it suited him & the team really well.

I'll be very surprised if the Hawks are in a position to outbid Melbourne for Trimble.

There have been many murmurs that the Hawks would spend big on a big money import guard then back their youth & Aussies to get the job done.

No need for a third import if a local can do the same job at the same price.

Also it's not always about money, including for imports. If a big gun player plays for a smaller market team their ownership of the team (& stats that scouts see) will obviously be higher than if they're part of a 'big 3', 'big 4' or more at one of the bigger money clubs.

So a young import looking to make their name in the league is well suited to the Illawarras & Cairns of the league.

So table an appealing offer tied in with exciting young talent & some quality vets to do the grunt work is a very clever plan to pitch to stars of the league.

I knocked Jett early on, but he came into his own, especially coming off the bench. Don't know how much he was getting paid, but if we were to assume "not much" then he was good value.

I think Cedric was ok, but again depends on money. There are certainly better PG's out there, so it comes down to how much cash they have.

Let's be fair, losing Kay & Norton gutted that team. Now I think that with a new coach, they have to be looking at a rebuilding year.
Which IMHO should mean developing and locking in young Aussie talent.

Sadly, White (AKA our Damian Martin) is off the table & won't be returning :' (

Naar can play 20-25.
Trimble (or alternate dominate 1-2) can play 30, Jett a good 20, Young guns chip away for 10+.

I like the idea (as would any scorer) of having a young gun 1 focused on passing & the team getting someone like Melo the ball when he's denied or playing off the ball.

"just saying if the hawks get Trimble do they finish top 4"

You mean, like Cairns?

Jett needs to get a haircut and get serious about his pro career. He needs to model his game around James Hardens as he has the core strength....maybe grow a beard and lose the dreads!!

I don't think you could have Andersen and AJ on the same team and be successful at NBL level.

Andersen’s past the point of playing big minutes, but his soft touch and passing can make a significant impact in spurts.

AJ is just soft. Playing off the bench and having to earn his minutes MIGHT motivate him to put greater effort in.

IFF Jett came back as well, they’d have 3 short-burst impact players off the bench. Would there be enough $ left to pay bulk-minute players that are NBL standard contributors across whole games and a whole season.

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Andersen could also play as an impact player off the bench, as well as mentoring Sam Froling or any young big who wanted to develop a soft shooting touch and passing game.

I get the impression that he's quite smart in basketball terms, and could relish such a role. The opportunity for this mentoring could be used as a selling point for college returnee bigs.

Seriously guys...Melo to the Hawks...is the off season really that bad that this stupidity has to be mentioned...

Melo Ball to Hawks...

With his Dad as a package deal.

I'd love for it to be the return of Rotnei Clarke, the 3 point shooting was atrocious last season and he helps rectify that issue a lot and is still worth paying to see