What's next for the reigning champions?

12 months is a long time in basketball, just ask the Illawarra Hawks.

This time last year, they were celebrating their second NBL championship, defeating Melbourne in five games.

Now, the Hawks are sitting on the sidelines watching the NBL Finals, enjoying their last moments as defending champions.

But as their eyes shift to next season, Illawarra sits in a strong position.

As it stands, Sam Froling, Dan Grida, Will Hickey, Mason Peatling, Todd Blanchfield, Tyler Harvey (club option), Harry Froling (club option), Johny Narkle (club option), Biwali Bayles (club option) and Kobe McDowell-White (club option) are on Justin Tatum’s squad for next season.

On the latest episode of The Marketplace, presented by Paywise, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc anticipated the Hawks will pick up their club option on wing Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, which will see him join the NBL25 championship core.

But Uluc said their priority has to be adding a bigger guard next to Harvey in the backcourt.

“We know the recipe of success is there [in Illawarra with their core],” Uluc said.

“The key for that, though, is getting a bigger guard, who can organise the team and has some creation juice, like Trey Kell III had when they won the championship. It also doesn’t hurt them defensively, like having a smaller guard this year did.”

Fellow panellist Pete Hooley agrees the Hawks need to bring in an import guard, which would allow them to have Australian Boomer Will Hickey come off the bench once again.

“Davo Hickey is a guy who’s a triple-double threat, and who you can throw in there and play the 30 minutes, potentially even more every single game, regardless of starting or not,” Hooley said.

“If a point guard goes out, can he jump into the starting five and hold it down? Yes. But I think the way they showed that success when they had Trey Kell was there, and he [Hickey] was the backup.

“You can play all three [Harvey, Hickey and the import guard] together, because Hickey can and go down and guard a three-man.

“That's something that they should be looking forward to executing this year as long as they nail it.”

>> Championship Series schedule, tickets & how to watch

The other main question mark surrounding Illawarra is the future of three-time NBA champion JaVale McGee, who averaged 19.3 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocks this season.

“Based on this season, the answer [on if Illawarra will bring McGee back] is no,” Hooley said.

“It was a clunky season, especially when Sam Froling came back. You can’t play those two alongside one another if you want to win games.

“With them wanting to maximise their local core and play Froling 30 minutes a game, [I’d be surprised in McGee came back].”

Uluc also expects Harvey to play next season as an import, before being counted as a ‘local’ in NBL28.

The NBL26 Championship Series, between Sydney and Adelaide, continues on Friday from 7.23pm AEDT on Friday, live on ESPN and 10 Drama.