High flyer for Hawks
Former top NBA exec Colangelo takes stake
FORMER NBA executive Bryan Colangelo has purchased a stake in the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks, who will now be known simply as the Hawks in an attempt to extend their brand beyond regional NSW.
Colangelo, the ex-Philadelphia 76ers general manager and two-time NBA executive of the year, was revealed as the new, high-profile brains behind the NBL’s only remaining foundation club.
He will assume an advisory role and assist in governance and strategy of the Hawks, who originally appeared set to be bought by one-time recruit and potential NBA No.1 draft pick LaMelo Ball.
Instead the NBL has handed the reins to Colangelo and business partners Dorry Kordahi and Michael Proctor.
Colangelo – who was heavily involved in the 76ers selecting Ben Simmons the top pick in the 2016 NBA draft – departed the Philadelphia team two years later after a socialmedia controversy.
It was discovered Colangelo’s wife, Barbara, had operated multiple Twitter accounts and shared private information and opinions on the Sixers and team rivals.
Colangelo has previously been general manager of the Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors, and recently interviewed for the Chicago Bulls’ vice-president role.
Kordahi is an Australian entrepreneur and former coowner of the Sydney Kings, while American businessman Proctor has strong high school and college basketball connections in the United States.
Colangelo said the NBL’s Next Stars program – responsible for luring Ball away from the United States before his NBA start next year – had piqued his interest.
“LaMelo Ball, among others, serves as a great example of just how influential the NBL has become on a global basis,” he said.
“We are thrilled to be selected as new partners with the league and pledge to outperform the expectations placed on us and deliver for Hawks fans.”
NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said the club’s “primary base” would remain Wollongong, ramping up pressure on Venues NSW to upgrade its outdated WIN Entertainment Centre home court.
But on the league’s instruction, the syndicate has stripped Illawarra from the club’s title and it will now be known simply as the Hawks in an attempt to expand its footprint.