The loss of Aaron Brooks to a torn Achilles seem to signal the end of the Illawarra Hawks season.
Brooks suffered the injury late in the third quarter, with the import guard limping from the court with 35 seconds left to play in the game, a 76-81 loss to the Perth Wildcats.
The loss now sees Illawarra sit at the bottom of the ladder with a 1-6 record and scrambling to find a replacement import at a time where most players are already contracted to other teams or those which aren’t often aren’t anywhere near the calibre of player that Aaron Brooks is, as was discussed on the recent Aussie Hoopla podcast.
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The future may not be so grim however, with a recent video from the Illawarra Hawks highlighting a list of potential replacements for Brooks, all with NBA credentials and impressive resumes.
While the loss of Brooks is devastating, prior to Brooks going down it was clear the current structure of the team wasn’t ideally balanced and the Brooks injury now gives the team a forced opportunity to realign the team balance.
“It’s crazy the level (of player) we’re looking at now, a lot of these guys are knocking on the door of high level Europe teams.” said Hawks coach Matt Flinn
It’s unclear what position the team will look to go right now, even the Hawks coaching staff aren’t sure with players at the two, three and four being considered.
#TheFoundationClub – Episode 8
— Illawarra Hawks (@IllawarraHawks) November 2, 2019
With Aaron Brooks ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury, the club undertakes the difficult task of finding the next best fit.
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In a recent video produced by the Illawarra Hawks Flinn was able to shine a light on the team’s decision making process in finding a someone capable of replacing Aaron Brooks.
“Kadeem Allen, we were keen earlier in the year but he was on a two-way deal with the Knicks but he’s a possibility now. John Jenkins, Jerian Grant are also in talks.
Tyler Ulis I like him, Malik Hairston, it’s just which one is going to be the right fit… character, skill set, money, but I don’t think we can replace Brooks. The next guy that comes in will be himself and he’ll provide a different skill set on and off the floor but we won’t get another AB” said Flinn.
While the Hawks have yet to decide what position they need to most help with priorities which are high on the list include the ability to rebound and bring the ball up the court without relying on LaMelo Ball and the ability to rely on him to score a clutch time bucket when the team needs it.
When looking at the list of names on the Illawarra Hawks whiteboard, there are plenty who fit that bill.
Names being considered by the Illawarra Hawks currently include;
Quincy Miller – SF/PF – 26 years old
A 208cm combo forward who last played for Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico. After an impressive college career with Baylor he played 69 NBA games with Denver, Sacramento and Detroit from 2012-2015.
Angel Delgado – PF/C – 24 years old
208cm and currently playing for the Beijing Royal Fighters in China, the Dominican born big man played college ball at Seton Hall and spent last year on a two-way deal with the LA Clippers where he logged minutes in two NBA games.
Okaro White – PF – 27 years old
White, 203cm, most recently played for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and had brief stints with Miami and Washington over the past three years playing 44 NBA games between 2016-2019. He played college ball at Florida State.
John Jenkins – SG – 28 years old
A former teammate of AJ Ogilvy at Vanderbilt University, Ogilvy calling him “the best shooter I’ve ever played with”. A 193cm shooting guard who last played for the New York Knicks. Since 2012 he has played 171 NBA games for Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Washington and New York.
Brian Roberts – PG – 33 years old
Last played for the Unicaja in Spain but played 5 years in the NBA with New Orleans, Charlotte and Portland. His best season being 2013-14 when he averaged 9 points and 3 assists in 23 minutes per game. The 188cm is also a three-time German League champion and graduated from St Johns University.
Kadeem Allen – PG – 26 years old
Coach Flinn says a healthy Allen could be the on of the best defenders in the NBL. Currently on a two-way contract with the New York Knicks. He played 18 games for Boston in 2017-18 and then exploded in 2018-19 with the Knicks where he averaged 9 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes per game. Allen is keen to play for Illawarra to prove to the Knicks he is healthy and potentially create an end of season return to the Knicks like Bogut did with Golden State last season.
Tyrell Corbin – G – 27 years old
185cm, Corbin, graduated Cal State Bakersfield in 2015 and has since flirted with the NBA playing in the G-League, Canadian basketball league and the Orlando Magic during NBA summer league.
Jerian Grant – PG/SG – 27 years old
Grant is the nephew of Chicago Bulls legend Horace Grant, son of NBA veteran Harvey Grant and younger brother of former Sydney King Jerai Grant. The 193cm combo guard played college ball at Notre Dame (2011-15) and was a key part of the rotation for New York, Chicago and Orlando during the last four NBA seasons. He averaged 8 points and 5 assists in 2016-17 for Chicago while playing 23 minutes per game.
Julian Washington – G – 28 years old
Attended Howard University
Josh Akognon – PG – 33 years old
The 180cm Nigerian–American guard last played for Montakit Fuenlabrada in Spain. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton in 2009 has played in Estonia, China, Serbia, Italy, Spain and Lithuania. He also played 3 games for Dallas during the 2012-13 NBA season and represented Nigeria at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Justin Dentmon – PG – 34 years old
Currently playing for Élan Béarnais in France, the 183cm guard played for Washington University and then bounced around the G-League until getting his NBA shot with the San Antonio Spurs in 2011. He also played for Toronto (2012) and Dallas (2012-13) logging minutes in 8 NBA games.
Mario Chalmers – PG – 33 years old
Perhaps the most well recognised on this list due to his time with LeBron James and the Miami Heat 2008-2015 where he won two NBA championships. Currently played in Greece with AEK Athens, he played 646 NBA games for Miami and Memphis from 2008-2018 and averaged 9 points and 4 assists.
Bobby Brown – PG – 35 years old
Aaron Brooks believes he is a “way better scorer” than he is. Last played for Mornar in Yugoslavia and won Euro championships playing in Italy (2013) and Germany (2008). Also had multiple stints in the NBA with Sacramento, Minnesota, New Orleans, LA Clippers and Houston. He played 158 NBA games over 6 seasons (2008-2018).
London Perrantes – PG – 25 years old
Played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers before signing a two-way deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017-18. He played 14 games in the NBA and last played for Cholet Basket in France.
James Bell – SF – 27 years old
Well liked by the Hawks coaching staff, he played college basketball for Villanova before playing professionally in Italy, France, Israel, Turkey and Croatia. Currently playing for Partizan NIS in Serbia’s basketball league.
Isaiah Briscoe – PG – 23 years old
The 191cm guard is Cousins with Australia born superstar Kyrie Irving and played 39 games in the NBA with Orlando last season. He played two years at Kentucky University (2016-17) and currently plays for ratiopharm Ulm in Germany.
Tyler Ulis – PG – 23 years old
The smallest player on the list, standing at 175cm, Ulis was a second round draft pick by Phoenix in 2016 and played 133 NBA games for both Phoenix and Chicago from 2017-2019. A product of Kentucky University who had his NCAA career high 23 points in a loss against the Ben Simmons-led LSU Tigers.
Whilst all of these players look impressive on paper, the intangibles and experience that Aaron Brooks brought to the Hawks is something that will not only be hard to replace, but not clear as to whether it can be replaced by any of these guys until they hit the floor.
“We were starting to develop a chemistry and give AB a kind of ownership which was about the flow of the game and the script he could see happening in the game. It was like he was a coach on the floor for certain possessions and that is going to be really difficult to replicate” said Flinn