The Covid-19 delay has worked in Daniel Grida's favour and he's hoping to make the most of it when he returns from a knee injury, after signing a new deal with Hawks on Tuesday.
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The club - which dumped the Illawarra name under the new ownership - has officially signed Grida to join Emmett Naar and Deng Deng on the roster, with former NBA talent Deng Adel expected to also sign on to play under coach Brian Goorjian.
"I'm super keen to be under 'Goorj' and that was a massive reason for me coming back to the Hawks," Grida said in a statement announcing his signing.
"Everything I have seen about Goorj is he makes everyone he coaches better and that's really where I'm at right now.
"I want to become the best player I can be, and I think he is the best guy for me to go to.
"I think I'm going to be back in January, so with the season being pushed back it actually works better for me. It (the recovery from his ACL injury) has gone really well with no hiccups yet."
The season tip of is currently scheduled for December, in the hope the Covid-19 outbreaks in NSW and Victoria have eased by then.
Deng Adel, who was playing in the NBA G-League when the pandemic hit and returned to Melbourne, played with the Cleveland Cavaliers last year after playing US College basketball.
Having Grida and Naar on board is an important step forward for the Hawks back court operations.
"He is a tremendous young talent and an even better person, making him someone that fits into the culture we are building," Goorjian said.
