Former Wellington Saints and 13-year career assistant coach Zico Coronel was appointed coach, described by Price as "the young gun of New Zealand basketball coaching" who will go on to assume the mantle of Tall Blacks coach.
The 34-year-old Wellington high school teacher, who will start officially in January, was among 26 applicants culled to six for a Skype interview that Price deemed fair and equal to everyone.
It is the first time, since Price took over, that the job was advertised and protocol followed in employing the coach who is on a rolling one-year contract where the term will be extended if both parties agree.
"It's probably a bitter pill for him to swallow but the end result is it's the world of professional coaching," the chairman had said, adding he was hoping Hill would remain on the franchise board as a player representative.
Hill says he came away from the interview feeling he had done well.
"To be honest I'm over it now ... you know, Zico is definitely very knowledgeable and it's been all done now so ... "
The former Tall Blacks and Hawks forward says his assistants, Clifton Bush II and Kaine Hokianga, will be disappointed as well because they had channelled their time and energy to him to try to turn the Hawks' programme around.
While his credentials do not 'stack up" when juxtaposed with those of Coronel, the multi-NBL title-winning player, who retired as a Hawk in Napier in 2013, says he has championship pedigree and understands what makes the province tick.
Hill questions the merit of appointing coaches on a "one-off" deals "like where they come here for a year and do their thing and then bugger off again".
"Hopefully it's not like that," he says. "The season is really the cream of it so all the hard work is done leading up to it."
Hill says it's no secret that for the past few years, under numerous managements, out-of-town coaches were employed thus not guaranteeing that level of continuity and consistency required to provide a solid foundation for development and progress.
"I took quite a bit of leave this year for, I guess, the regular season stuff," says the son of former Tall Blacks legend Stanley Hill.
If Coronel offers him a role in the coaching stable Hill says he'll "probably not take it but I'll think about it, obviously, because it's his decision".
"I actually know him quite well so it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. He's obviously coming from that environment of where there is a shit load of money where if you have it then you can buy the best players," he says of Coronel, who was deputising under Kevin Braswell but also Fiba Hall of Famer and former Tall Blacks skipper Pero Cameron.
With ex-Hawks coach Tab Baldwin prompting his retirement as player over fitness, Hill says it's harder to come to terms with what's transpired as a coach because of not having the opportunity to see through a culture he had helped establish.
He believes, with the return of the Manawatu Jets to the NBL next season, home-grown talent will suffer, especially with the new rule allowing franchises to recruit three overseas imports.
"It's going to be harder for the local boys to get in. It'll kill all the development in the NBL."
Asked if he will remain on the franchise board, Hill says: "I'm not sure right now, we'll see. It isn't high on my priority list of things to do."
That simply means he has more time for his wife, Toni, and their two sons, 6-year-old Cooper and 2-year-old Parker.
In fact, Hill intends to put his hand up to coach Cooper and his peers now.
Coming off a winless winter in 2016 under Daly-Taylor, the Hawks finished fifth with a win-loss record of four from 15, with three of the victories coming under Hill's caretaking stint.
