While all seemed cordial in Tuesday’s announcement of LaMelo Ball’s departure from the Illawarra Hawks, it may not have been quite as smooth sailing. According to ABC News in Australia, Ball did not inform teammates nor ownership of his departure from the franchise.
Hawks teammate Todd Blanchfield was so unaware of Ball’s departure that he only found out when ABC News called for a comment.
“It’s news to me, but [Ball’s camp has] got an agenda they have to take care of. At the end of the day he’s thinking of the bigger picture and has bigger things in mind.
“We were team mates for half the season while he was playing, and we had our ups and downs, but it would have been good to say goodbye.”
Likewise, Hawks owner Simon Stratford was less than thrilled with how the partnership between the two parties came to an end.
“I’m really disappointed that he didn’t say goodbye to his teammates and his coach. We had some indication via his minder Jermaine Jackson that he wouldn’t stay for the rest of the season.
“We anticipated that he’d leave around February 11, but we never thought he would leave before the Indigenous round this weekend, that is for sure.”
The Hawks season was set to conclude on February 14 but the team’s upcoming game had a little special meeting for the team and league. The inaugural Indigenous Round was created with an “aim to recognize and acknowledge Indigenous culture and basketball across both Australia and New Zealand.”
With his eyes on a bigger prize and his time in Australia done, Ball and his camp opted not to hang around for either the upcoming game on Friday nor the remainder of the final weeks of the regular season. While it seemed harmonious at first and throughout much of their time together, it’s an unfortunate end to the partnership between Ball, Illawarra and the league.
