Gaze departs Kings on his terms

ANDREW Gaze will leave the Sydney Kings at season’s end, but he walks away with his reputation intact.

Gaze shocked the basketball community yesterday morning when he confirmed he had mutually agreed to part ways with the Kings as head coach.

The club had originally planned to wait until after the team’s playoff campaign before addressing Gaze’s future.

However, Gaze contacted Sydney officials on Monday night to inform them he wanted to publicly reveal his decision that he was departing.

The Australian basketball icon said the mental challenge of coaching and being away from his family in Melbourne took a toll.

Gaze had made his mind up not to continue weeks ago, but he felt the time was right to end the speculation around his Kings’ tenure.

“It is a decision I feel really comfortable with, because (of) the care and the way in which they (the club) approached the situation,” Gaze said.

“I’m extraordinarily grateful for that. The club wanted to go through a process at the end of the season about trying to evaluate who would be the best head coach option.

“Given my family situation and where I’m at, and the process they wanted to go through, we mutually agreed to part ways.

“I’ve got a real strong desire to spend time with my family.

“But we are all comfortable with the decision, because we’ve known for some time.”

Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge is now favoured to take over from Gaze as Kings coach. Beveridge has been heavily linked to the franchise for weeks.