HAWTHORN admits it didn't want to trade vice-captain Jordan Lewis, but was not prepared to match Melbourne's three-year deal.
The premiership star has departed to the Demons for a swap of third and fourth-round draft picks.
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"We’re really disappointed, we didn’t want Jordan to go in the end," Hawthorn list manager Graham Wright told AFL.com.au.
"Obviously he got a three-year offer that was really exciting for him.
"As I said we would have much preferred that it didn’t go this way, but it has and we’ll move on."
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When addressing the media for the first time in his new club polo, Lewis denied he was forced out by the Hawks because of salary cap pressure.
Hawthorn has added Ty Vickery as a free agent, talented young Swan Tom Mitchell and is looking to close a deal involving Suns young gun Jaeger O'Meara before the NAB AFL Trade Period is out.
"It is a little bit unknown to the wider community but certainly 'Clarko' (coach Alastair Clarkson) and Graham Wright would have a plan in place," Lewis said.
"I know for sure that it wasn't salary cap reasons, as has been reported, and not once did I get asked to take a pay cut throughout this whole process.
"That was certainly not a reason and I believe Hawthorn had our best interests at heart."
Lewis said his relationship with Clarkson, with whom he has shared four premierships, remained strong.
"It's perfectly fine. I've heard that it's fractured and we don't get along," Lewis said.
"Clarko and I are as good a friends now as we were when we had our best and fairest two weeks ago.
"We've got so many memories together that we will share post-football that is so much stronger than what is happening now.
"He makes the tough calls and it's not an easy position to be in. We've come out of it – I'm happy, the club's really happy in the end and that's important."
Having repeatedly said the Hawks wouldn't want to trade the 30-year-old late last week, Wright explained his comments at the time came with a caveat.
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"I think we said at that time we didn’t want to trade him," Wright said.
"Jordan had a really lucrative three-year deal put on the table.
"We only had a year for him and we weren’t prepared to extend him at this stage, so that was where it was at.
"In the end it was a business decision and we have to move forward from here."
Lewis said the offer of a three-year deal at Melbourne, rather than the one-year extension Hawthorn had on the table beyond 2017, was a decisive factor in the move.
"If I was going to change clubs it would have to be for security reasons," Lewis said.
"I wanted to be at a club for a long period of time so that I could help them … so that was a real big part of the move."
