NBL23: Pressure mounts on bottom-placed Hawks as relocation rumours swirl

The Illawarra Hawks insist they have no plans to leave Wollongong despite reports that the club is under-pressure to remain in the region long term.

Under-fire Illawarra has issued a defiant statement amid rumours the club could face relocation.

The Hawks are mired in an off-court stoush among ownership and have won just once this season, the losses now at nine.

Former star Xavier Rathan-Mates revealed several Hawks felt disrespected at the end of last season.

But the Hawks fired a broadside after News Corp revealed several sources said the NBL could relocate the team, amid the added concern of falling crowds in the small market.

“Rest assured these are baseless rumours. They are both factually untrue and without any credible substance,” the Hawks’ statement read.

“The Illawarra Hawks have no plans to move the team from the Illawarra; to the contrary, we are taking steps to solidify our relationship with the region for decades to come.

“We are proud of our history, foundation status and the regions we represent.

“We are committed to developing a high-performance culture and sustained on-court success while continuing our role as an active corporate citizen in the Illawarra community.

“We call on #HawkNation to turn out in unison on Monday, December 5, at the WIN Entertainment Centre and Protect the Pit against Melbourne United.”

Club Statement #hawknationpic.twitter.com/BBqF9MAets

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) November 22, 2022

Sources indicated Sydney had been floated as a region to expand the Hawks’ reach beyond the Illawarra.

Under a boundary rule, Sydney can’t have another NBL team until 2026.

NBL legend Shane Heal said on the Basketball Show not enough fans had embraced the Hawks and, if they didn’t vote with their feet, the league would have no choice but to relocate the club.

“The league talked about moving it and everyone from the Illawarra blew up and said ‘you can’t take the Hawks, they’re a foundation team’ and then they don’t vote with their feet,” Heal said on The Basketball Show.

“The only time they get excited about the Hawks is when there’s talk of relocation and then you go down there and there’s … no one there.”

EX-STAR REVEALS ‘DISRESPECT’ AS FOUNDATION CLUB LANGUISHES

Former Illawarra Hawks star import Xavier Rathan-Mayes has lifted the lid on the internal chaos that is threatening to rip apart the last remaining NBL foundation club.

The last-placed Illawarra Hawks had a chance to avoid the mess they’re in this season — but Rathan-Mayes says they blew it.

Rathan-Mayes has revealed several players who departed the club after last season’s second-place finish were not afforded the courtesy of an exit meeting, a phone call or even a text message.

The star guard said he, along with reigning NBL Defensive Player of the Year Antonius Cleveland and a number of other Hawks, had made a pact to remain with the club after falling short in the semi-finals against Sydney.

Instead, Rathan-Mayes said he felt “disrespected” after Hawks’ majority owner Jared Novelly had told him the club intended to re-sign its core but players were left hanging on a call that never came.

Now happy at Melbourne United, Rathan-Mayes made it clear he is still in contact with many in the organisation and has great love for new coach Jacob Jackomas, members of the front office, minority owners Dorry Kordahi and Bryan Colangelo and former coach Brian Goorjian.

But he felt let down by how he was treated.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes is disappointed at how it ended in Illawarra, but is over the moon at his new home Melbourne United.

“We were left waiting (they said) ‘yes, we’re going to call you back, let’s have a conversation’ and it just didn’t come,” Rathan-Mayes told News Corp.

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“The majority owner: just give us a call, talk to us, let us know.

“Just give us the respect, man. We’re people, too, we have families, we have lives.

“We want to figure out where we want to go, how our careers are going to move on and we’re waiting and waiting and guys are holding off on things, just to get no calls, just to get no messages.”

Rathan-Mayes’ criticism is backed up by Goorjian, who told the NBL’s The Huddle podcast this week that he was surprised by the large turnover of players.

“Playing wise, it’s in a rebuild situation and I was hoping that wasn’t going to be the case,” Goorjian said.

“That there was going to be more there for Jacob (Jackomas) and I felt like when I was walking away that I was handing him a pretty damn good package.’’

Brian Goorjian shares Rathan-Mayes concern for the struggling Hawks. Picture: Getty Images

Novelly said in a statement provided by the Hawks he was not responsible for the make-up of the team’s roster.

“Mr Novelly views his role with the Hawks as a responsible and anonymous club steward and a fan,” the statement read.

“His identity as an owner is subservient to the Hawks brand. He only wants to grow the fanbase, keep professional basketball in Illawarra and promote the sport internationally and in Australia.

“Mr Novelly does not seek or appreciate the publicity. He does not make individual or executive decisions relating to on-court personnel.”

The NBL has long held fears concerning the viability of the club.

It now appears Illawarra is closer to the basket-case days of the LaMelo Ball season, which ended in the club being placed into voluntary administration for the second time in five seasons.

Creditors at the time voted to liquidate the Hawks after the club was unable to meet debts of more than $2 million.

The NBL vowed to keep the franchise alive and, in June 2020, Kordahi, Colangelo, Michael Proctor and Novelly, as the majority owner, were awarded the license. Kordahi stepped down as president, mid-last season, amid a boardroom bunfight.

The Lamelo Ball experiment ended with Illawarra in administration. Picture: Getty Images

Club legend Mat Campbell was installed as acting president and is now the Hawks’ general manager of basketball.

Illawarra is still without a major sponsor this season and, on the back of a season-ending knee injury to import Justin Robinson, is last with a 1-8 record, loser of seven in a row, its worst streak since 2019. The Hawks haven’t won a game since October 6, with title-favourite Sydney looming Sunday, and attendance numbers have dipped as low as 2011 for the round-four home loss to Brisbane.

The Hawks couldn’t be further from a championship that Rathan-Mayes says was within reach last season.

“I’m really close with AC (Cleveland) and we wanted to be together, we wanted to stay in the organisation and play together … same with a couple of the other guys, Isaac (White), Harry (Froling), AJ (Ogilvy), we all wanted to stay together and do something special,” Rathan-Mayes said.

“We all sat there at the (end-of-season) function and said we want to run it back. We were told that ‘yes, that is our plans, this is what we want to do with you’ — and this is after Goorj left. We still were like ‘we will run it back with Jacob’.

“To see where we were last year (at Illawarra) and to see them now, it’s kind of sad.”

Antonius Cleveland and Rathan-Mayes were once teammates at Illawarra, now foes at other clubs. Picture: Getty Images

Ogilvy retired, while the others ended up signing at other clubs.

In a statement, a Hawks’ spokesman said the club reviewed its playing list at the end of last season and “held preliminary discussions with a small list of players around a potential return for the new season”.

“Ultimately, the club focused on retaining two priority players (Cleveland, who signed with Adelaide, and Duop Reath, now in China), who later advised of their intention to seek new contracts elsewhere for the 2022-23 season,” the spokesman said.

“The club also identified Justin Robinson as the preferred partner to Tyler Harvey in the backcourt for the new season.

“The Hawks’ recruitment and retention program is overseen by the club’s basketball subcommittee involving ownership, basketball operations, and coaching staff.”

It means so much to these guys 💙 pic.twitter.com/StO5HgCf44

— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) October 29, 2022

Rathan-Mayes was overcome with emotion after his starring role — 32 points, including several clutch buckets — in United’s recent double-overtime win over the Hawks in his return to WIN Entertainment Centre.

“I understand the business side of things, you move on from players and that’s cool,” he said.

“But I thought we could have been treated a little bit better so that was part of that emotion.”

Rathan-Mayes has built a close relationship with United coach Dean Vickerman. Picture: Getty Images

The Canadian said the move to United had opened his eyes to the differences between the organisations.

“I am extremely happy to be in Melbourne. I would love nothing more than to be with (coach) Deano (Vickerman) to be with Chris (Goulding), to be with (David) Barlow and the things that I get to learn from him.

“Being in this organisation with Nick (Truelson) our CEO and our training staff and our culture, this is the place I want to be, hopefully for the rest of my career.”

Originally published as NBL23: Pressure mounts on bottom-placed Hawks as relocation rumours swirl