NBA prospect LaMelo Ball headlines a consortium set to purchase his former team, the Illawarra Hawks.
The deal, which is yet to be finalised, is said to be in advanced discussions now, moving quite quickly, enough so to force the NBL to respond to media this morning with a formal statement confirming formal discussions had not begun.
Despite contrary reports the @illawarrahawks have not been purchased by LaMelo Ball. No recent discussions have occurred. pic.twitter.com/nIV73Si9Iq
— AussieHoopla (@aussiehoopla) April 2, 2020
The NBL is yet to confirm the deal yet but this afternoon have moved from their initial statement and have since confirmed they are aware of the Ball camp’s interest in ownership.
Jermaine Jackson, LaMelo Balls mentor and a member of the consortium expected to purchase the Illawarra Hawks from telco mogul Simon Stratford has already gone public with the announcement.
“We own the team, It’s a done deal” Jackson told ESPN today
“They opened their arms to him,” Jackson said. “They made us feel like we are at home. When we started hearing about the issues they were going through, we talked about it and decided, ‘Let’s own the team.’
Australian basketball great Andrew Gaze noted that LaMelo’s consortium would be a huge asset to the NBL.
“I suspect the NBL would love to have someone of his capacity involved with owning a team. It’s not an easy assignment and it’s a competitive league, but to have the international influence coming into our competition and tapping into a different community and resources, I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” Gaze said.
“With the resources they have, it would be a fantastic addition to the ownership group.”
Once it was learnt that Stratford was looking to sell the Hawks Sydney Kings owner and Wollongong local Paul Smith and a Victorian based sports consortium also expressed an interest in buying the Hawks.
Ball, 18, put together an impressive highlights reel with the Hawks before he suffered a foot injury in November, averaging 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in 12 games.
Ball is currently tipped to be a top five draft pick in the next NBA draft. NBA champion Andrew Bogut who played against LaMelo in the NBL and played with his brother Lonzo during his time with the LA Lakers gave his own scouting report of LaMelo and his thoughts on how he fare playing in the NBA.
“He has a great ability to get into the paint from the guard position, can handle the ball very, very well and I think his passing and playmaking is at an elite level already.
Obviously, his jump shot, which has been talked about a lot, will determine on how well he goes in his career. I think it’s very inconsistent from three and it’s kind of a herky-jerky shot that he’ll probably have to fix much like his brother has.
“His playmaking and the way he runs a team for a guy that young really stood out for me. The defense has to improve but I think that’ll change with coaching and development in a good NBA program. But he’s looking at a chance to be a No. 1 pick or a top-five, top-ten pick. It’s great for our league to know that he came over here and played and we hope he does very, very well in the NBA.” Bogut said.
The Illawarra deal is expected to be announced by the NBL within the next few days.