This unintentional "diversionary manoeuvre" by the usually well-informed basketball portal "Sportando" probably suited the Hardtbergers just fine. Because they could work undisturbed on a much bigger coup. The search took a long time, "now everything went almost by itself and in the shortest time," says Baskets sports manager Savo Milovic. The new guy is an old one: Javontae Hawkins is coming back to the second-placed team in the Basketball Bundesliga.

Hawkins was one of the central players in the Telekom Baskets' last successful season. But also one who could not be kept after the season. As with Parker Jackson-Cartwright, the competing offers were too strong. Both opted for the first French league. Jackson-Cartwright for Asvel Villeurbanne, Hawkins for CSP Limoges. Neither became happy. PJC moved to Besiktas Istanbul in January, Hawkins now comes back to Bonn and gets a contract until the end of the season.

Only on Friday, Milovic had confidently explained at a lecture in the Vip Room of the Telekom Dome how much the Bonn location and its employees are worth when it comes to the pros and cons of contract negotiations: "We may offer less money than some competitors, but we have for players - and their families! - the all-round carefree package. And that's a real asset."

That proved true for Hawkins, who was not entirely comfortable with his small family in Limoges. On Monday morning, the French first division club tweeted that Hawkins had asked to be released. By then Milovic was already on his way to Bonn's team doctors with the 29-year-old, where Hawkins successfully underwent his recruitment examinations.

"I am very happy with this signing," says Tuomas Iisalo. The Baskets head coach admits he was a little surprised when the call from Hawkins' agent reached him last week. "Basketball Europe knew we were looking," Milovic says. "And we were waiting for some feedback as well, but when this option came up, we sat down and quickly agreed: it doesn't get any better than this.“

Hawkins already proved to be a team player last season despite his individual qualities. The Baskets don't have to fear catching a problem for team chemistry and get a player who has already mastered the intricate Iisalo basketball that players get better at the longer they practice it.

"Everything comes to him who can wait," is something similar in Finnish, says Iisalo, who is pleased that the solution has, in a sense, flown to him after the long search. "Hawk knows his way around here, the integration process, which can otherwise be a bit stressful, will be easy," says the coach and adds: "It makes us proud that Hawk has said that he only wants to go to Bonn - even though he had higher-paying offers. The US-American and his wife Jessica, who might have been a Bonn advocate, are now parents of Javontae junior.

Whether Hawkins will be able to play on Thursday (7 p.m., Telekom Dome) against his and the coach's former club Merlins Crailsheim is still unclear at the moment. In any case, the signing comes just in time before the double burden of European competition begins again with the game next Wednesday (8 March, 8pm, Telekom Dome) against Rytas Vilnius. "Should we qualify for the Champions League play-offs, we have a brutal programme ahead of us," the Finnish head coach points out.

So it's good that the minutes can be spread over more shoulders - especially since it's still unclear when Morgan will be able to return after his neck injury and how long it will take him to return to his old form. After the exhausting weeks before Carnival with five away games in a row, the batteries needed recharging and everyone was looking forward to four days off between the Carnival game and Rose Monday.

On Monday morning, Iisalo had informed the team about the personnel changes. The reactions? "Everyone who knows Javontae was smiling. I had also spoken to the captains Karsten Tadda and Jeremy Morgan and they were very pleased." And to make sure the two internationals in the team didn't find out about their new colleague from somewhere, Leon Kratzer - with the German team in Finland - and TJ Shorts, who was away with North Macedonia in the World Cup qualifiers, were informed by phone. About a real coup.

(Original text: Tanja Schneider / Translation: Mareike Graepel)