NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger cleared the air over recent rumors that LaMelo Ball and his business partner Jermaine Jackson purchased the Illawarra Hawks, calling Jackson's comments an "honest mistake."

Jackson announced the purchase of Ball's former club before the story was retracted by the Hawks' current sponsor Tory Lavalle.

"It was a bit of misunderstanding and a miscommunication and I don't think there was any malice intended. I don't think anyone was trying to leverage the situation. I think it just snowballed and it got a little bit out of control but we've all had conversations and there's certainly no bad blood out there between anyone," said Loeliger.

The NBL took back the license for the Hawks from previous owners Simon and Wendy Stratford.

Loeliger added that several people are in the mix to purchase the club, including Ball and Jackson.

"There are a number of parties interested in ownership, either in part or whole, including LaMelo Ball and his management, and Jermaine Jackson in particular. We're continuing to have discussions with them, which is great, but there are plenty of others in the background also."