If you look a little deeper it goes a long way to explaining how and why he left the league 11 years ago, and how and why he's back after more than a decade away.

The South East Melbourne Magic aren't around anymore, neither are South Dragons. When Goorjian parted ways with the Kings in 2008, it looked very much like the glamour club was headed down the same path to extinction after the collapse of Firepower International.

Firepower founder and chairman Tim Johnston was later found to have perpetrated what's been widely described at the largest corporate fraud in Australian history. Goorjian has repeatedly labeled the off-court tumult the most difficult time in his storied career, despite producing the best regular season in NBL history with a 27-3 record.

They fell one win short of what would've been the master coach's fourth NBL title with the Kings, losing game five of the grand final series to Melbourne. Current Hawks co-owner and president Dorry Kordahi - only 31 when he bought a share of the Kings in 2007 - says he and Goorjian were, by then, running on empty.

"Nothing we were going through as a club was exposed externally, everything was kept behind closed doors which is why myself and Brian built a very strong relationship through the period because it was probably the toughest year of both our careers," Kordahi said.

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"It was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through being 32 and having someone like a Tim Johnston at the helm. Players weren't being paid on time, we had to travel around the country trying to track him down and get checks from him to pay players. I was literally sick in the guts for an entire season.

"We finished with 27 wins and three losses, we had the best record in the history of the NBL, through probably the most turbulent time in the Kings history. Going through that and getting one win away from having a [championship] ring on your finger... it was definitely an experience that Brian and myself will never forget and one that's built this relationship so deep in our veins. It was the start of our friendship that's lasted more than 12 years."

Goorjian spent 11 of those years in China, fed up with the off-court instability that plagued the clubs he coached to unmatched success on the floor. Both he and Kordahi were approached by the Kings to return at various points of the last decade but rejected all overtures.

To think either would subsequently make an NBL return with Illawarra, the battlers from down the highway, seemed far-fetched in the extreme. It was surprising, but Kordahi says the Firepower debacle provided a valuable lesson: if he was going to throw himself into the fraught world of sporting club ownership, he had to be in the driver's seat.

"That night when me and Brian walked out of that carpark at the [Sydney] Entertainment Centre together after game five [of the grand final series] was the last time I was [financially] involved in the NBL," Kordahi said.

"I've always wanted to get back into it, it was [just] about the right time. To be honest I did look into investing back into the Kings about five years ago but it wasn't the right fit, it wasn't the right mix of owners. There was something like 15 owners which was ridiculous.

"For me [I wanted] an opportunity where I could steer the business and take a lead. I have that belief [in myself] but, if I am going to fail, I'm going to fail on the back what I believe in and not fail on the back of others. With this opportunity with the Hawks, I was in a position to test those beliefs.

"I love testing myself, I love the challenge of being the underdog and I love the challenge of taking things that have failed in the past and turning it around. I saw the opportunity to put my fingerprints on this club to make positive changes with it.

"I was in two minds at first but I thought 'you always love testing yourself, you love putting yourself in tough situations, well this is it. You think you're good let's see what you can do'."

One thing that was non-negotiable, was bringing Goorjian back as coach.

"When he was in China and I'd go over there for work we'd catch up and we just kept reminiscing about that year [2008]," Kordahi said.

"Brian's been around for many years at many clubs but we just kept going back to that one year and how special it was. When I took this on I said to Brian 'you're the only option I have as a coach, you have to do it and we're going to do it together, you on the court, me off the court'.

"There was a lot of pressure on getting this team right and a lot of pressure on Brian, he's got his reputation to keep up with as well. We both hate losing, we want to win and everything we touch we want to turn it into a winning culture.

"Brian does what he does and he does it great. I don't get involved with that, I'm a sounding board if he needs it but in terms of how he coaches, we can give him opinions but we're going let him steer it because it's what he's good at."

The haste with which the pair - and US-based co-owners Brian Colangelo and Michael Proctor - have had to rebuild a club that fell into administration means neither has had much of a chance to take a breath, but the journey and return only really hit home when they walked into Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday for the Hawks clash with the Kings.

It wasn't the old Kingdome, but it was draped in purple and gold, Goorjian's name and picture hanging in the rafters. For two people that seemed unshakeably bound to Sydney, being there in the colours of their arch-rivals was a "surreal" experience.

"People have always seen me as a Sydney Kings guy, irrespective of the fact I've been out of it for 12 years," Kordahi said.

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"I was a towel boy for the Kings when I was 11, I've been there throughout many years watching the Kings as a spectator since having that [ownership] share when Brian was [last] there. Everyone's always known me as a purple and gold guy.

"I literally knew half that stadium and it was a bit weird to walk back in there as a co-owner of another club and yet have so many fond memories and close ties. To come back 12 years later with Brian with a new club... it was great to get the win and say "yeah we got one up'."

It was surreal for Goorjian as well but, while he'll always be synonymous with the Kings, his passionate pitch for the Illawarra return leaves no doubt at to where his focus and loyalty lies in his NBL second coming.

"There were so many mixed emotions," Goorjian said.

"Preparing for it I didn't even think about it but, when you walk into the stadium and you're hanging in the rafters, there is emotion there. [I had] many good years [in Sydney] and many good memories, that's something they can't take from you.

"You where those rings around your heart, you're not defending them, but my whole life now with this new team is about pursuit and about trying to do something special with something exciting and new.

"Dorry and my relationships is always there, that's life, but I'm excited about the organisation as a whole. I'm really enjoying these guys, I'm enjoying the franchise and starting something brand new. It's a new day. That's where the energy went once we walked into the locker room."

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