What's next for United?

It was another agonising Game 5 Championship defeat for Melbourne United, who now look to the off-season and face some big questions on their roster.

“They have a lot of gaps to fill,” Pete Hooley said on NBL Overtime.

“But the key right now is what’s going to happen with Delly and Ian Clark?”

Matthew Dellavedova and Ian Clark are both set to be key names to watch ahead of free Agency opening on April 4.

While United are knocking on the door of another championship, the question beckons about what needs to be done to have them holding up a trophy in the near future.

“You talk about them being in back-to-back Championship Series, but in the end they have nothing to show for it,” Hooley added.

“That’s the harsh reality of pro sports. There’s one champion and there’s nine teams who didn’t win a championship.

“So how do they get over the line?”

According to former MVP, Derek Rucker, Melbourne United must address their aging superstars.

“Somehow you have to get younger,” he said.

United had six players over 30-years-old on their roster this year and every one of those was a key part of Dean Vickerman’s rotation.

That core involves Chris Goulding 36, Dellavedova 34, Clark 34, Rob Loe 33, Shea Ili 32 and Marcus Lee 30.

“They’ve got to get younger in the back court, we saw it in games four and five,” Rucker added.

“They just didn’t have the foot speed to go with Illawarra ... and one of the ways you can fix that up is getting younger in the backcourt.”

While the back-to-back Best Defensive Player in Shea Ili is out of contract, Hooley believes an extension with United is imminent for the dynamic defender.

“I fully expect Shea Ili to remain there. You know how important he is for their success.”

While another Championship Series defeat stings, United have always proven to have enough pieces to be contending each season.

“They’re right there, they’re knocking on the door,” Hooley added.

“But the other side of that is what pieces do they really need to go and load up with? I think it’s going to have to be some sort of dominant big.

“To me it’s very simple and it’s that they need a dominant interior presence at the five spot.”