As King leans towards wanting a move to Hawthorn, the Suns coach insists it "won't be the end of the world" if he does go.
After seemingly being set to re-sign at Gold Coast, the 26-year-old appears to have had a change of heart and wants to move back to Victoria with his partner.
"We'd love for him to stay, but we have some things in place if he does leave," Hardwick told reporters on Thursday.
"That's the art of list management - you can't have all your eggs in one basket. We've got things in place if he does happen to explore that option.
"We'd love for him to stay. It is important, but it won't be the end of the world if Ben leaves."
Hardwick pointed to the acquisitions of Christian Petracca and Daniel Rioli as proof the Suns can attract players, not just lose them.
"You've got to be prepared to lose a couple every now and then, as much as we'd love for them to stay," he said.
"We're very capable of bringing players in."
Hardwick's comments come after Hawthorn forward Mitch Lewis inked a new four-year deal, his signature official less than 24 hours after veteran teammate Jack Gunston committed to playing on in 2027.
If they bring in King, the Hawks will have the most stacked roster of tall forwards.
Lewis received strong interest from Collingwood, but chose to stay with the club that drafted him back in 2016.
The 27-year-old has battled injury issues across his career, but has managed to kick 30 goals in 18 games this season.
"I've always been under the impression that Mitch really wanted to stay, and that we wanted to keep him," Hawks coach Sam Mitchell told reporters on Thursday.
"These things take some time, particularly with someone who hasn't played a lot of footy.
"At the start of the year, he said, 'I want to prove I can play a full season and stay healthy'.
"To his credit, he's done that."
Fellow key forward Mabior Chol is already contracted for next year.
Young tall Calsher Dear, the son of late Norm Smith medallist Paul, remains without a deal for next year, despite showing some serious promise in his first 31 games.
Mitchell praised Dear's resilience to toil away in the VFL, declaring he had a bright future at the Hawks.
The Hawthorn coach joked he was unaware of speculation linking King to the Hawks.
"There's so much water to go under the bridge between now and whatever that looks like for next season," Mitchell said.
"First and foremost, we'll be very heavily focused on the players that are within these walls right now and making sure we can get the best out of them for the the finals campaign in front of us."
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