The Urgent Race to Replace Chase

A level of urgency in the Sydney’s coaching hunt looms, according to ESPN Insider Olgun Uluc, who believes the Kings will be hoping to have a new head coach in place ahead of the NBA Summer League.

It was released on Tuesday the team option in Buford’s contract was declined by the Kings due to the coach electing to continue to explore potential opportunities in the NBA.

This is not the first time Sydney has lost a head coach to potential NBA opportunities. One of Buford’s predecessors – current Paris Basketball head coach Will Weaver – departed the club for an assistant coaching job at the Houston Rockets on the eve of the NBL21 season.

“The deadline was May 15,” Uluc said of Buford’s option on The Marketplace. “That was the date on which the option had to either be exercised or declined.

“Contextually it’s important to understand the Kings were in this situation a few years ago with Will Weaver. They went through an entire off-season with Weaver as head coach, an opportunity at the Houston Rockets opened up for Weaver to join as an assistant coach and it left the Sydney Kings with Adam Forde, who had a really limited off-season and then wasn’t able to really find his feet throughout the regular season.

“The Sydney Kings didn’t want to do that again.

“There’s two months until NBL teams travel to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League. You need to have a head coach in place, you need to have your systems in place, your protocols in place before you go and recruit these high-level imports.

“They need to be able to lock in this head coach – ideally before the Summer League – so they can travel to the Summer League with that head coach, they can recruit with that head coach in mind.

“He wasn’t able to give them that sort of peace of mind and commitment, so the Kings basically had to cut rope.”

Two of Sydney’s three most recent head coaches have been recruited from the NBA G-League.

Buford himself had led the Wisconsin Herd to a competition-leading record before the Covid enforced cancellation of the competition, while Weaver recorded Long Island’s best ever season – at the time – and was named as Coach of the Year prior to joining the NBL.

Given the NBA experience of key decision-makers within the club – including former NBA champions Luc Longley and Andrew Bogut and former Memphis Grizzlies executive Chris Pongrass – it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for the club to target another young and successful American coach.

“With those decision-makers in place you can imagine the search will be global,” Uluc said. “The Sydney Kings’ front office, their ownership group and their decision-makers are really unique … these contacts stretch far and wide.

“You’re looking at coaches in the NBA and the NBA G-League. Up and coming coaches.

“When this opening happened prior to Chase Buford, I called it the most coveted coaching job outside of the NBA. That’s the reality of what it is.

“Achieve success in Sydney with the Kings, with this ownership group and front office then there’s a chance you’ll be onto bigger and better things.”