Outgoing Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze says the club won’t get in the way of Andrew Bogut if he decides to head to the NBA.
It has been reported that Bogut is set to return to the Golden State Warriors, with Philadelphia and Boston also interested in the NBL MVP.
Gaze says the Kings will always honour a player’s decision to pursue an opportunity in the States.
“Our club has a philosophy that we’re never going to stand in the way of players to go on to play in the NBA,” Gaze told SEN Breakfast.
“Although Boges (Bogut) is an NBA veteran, he’s been around a long, long time in the NBA, it’s one of those things where he will sign a new contract but he will still honour the existing contract that he has.”
However Gaze is surprised about the sudden multitude of offers for the star centre, as he was under the impression that he would remain in Australia for the 2019/20 NBL season.
“My understanding is that he’s still very much committed for next season,” Gaze said.
“This is something that has come as a bit of a surprise and rightly so got the attention of many, but this is something that he’s been grappling with for a considerable amount of time.
“In the middle of the season, I sat down with him and he had a number of offers to join NBA teams but he was highly committed to the Sydney Kings and beyond that, just the sport here in Australia.
“It was ironclad, his commitment that he was going to see out the season which was great.
“Now he gets this very privileged opportunity (to play in the NBA).”
Sydney was swept in the semi-final series against Melbourne and missed out on a spot in the NBL Grand Final.
Bogut was named the NBL’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year this season.
Hear Garry and Tim's full interview with Andrew Gaze on SEN Breakfast in the player below.