The 50-year-old five-time Olympian and NBL legend has signed a three-year deal with the struggling club, which has come under new ownership from venue operator AEG Ogden and is projecting the image of starting with a clean slate.

The most pressing task is to build a side that can vastly improve on a last-placed finish last season, in which they won just six from 28 games. Only three players have so far committed to next season, though one of them is two-time MVP Kevin Lisch, who has gained Australian citizenship and will push for a place on the Boomers list for the Rio Olympics.

It means that Gaze still has three import spots available, after a new competition rule increased the quota from two, and he has promised his search will go global, including Australians playing in the US, Europe, and the free agent market.

"I don't care where they come from. If they can play, they come from anywhere. For us it's about getting the best talent possible," said Gaze, who most recently coached the Melbourne Tigers in the South-East Australian league.

Forwards Julian Khazzouh and Jeromie Hill, from last season's list, are locked in and talks are ongoing with guard Jason Cadee.

"There's a number of other players on the team we're talking to," Gaze said. "But they've gone through some pretty tough times and I can appreciate and respect that they might be looking for new beginnings.

"This is a new beginning and it's going to be something different. But they might be looking for a completely different new challenge."

The raised import quota added both a challenge and opportunity for the Kings, whose big name overseas player in 2015-16, former NBA star Josh Childress, was injured for most of the season.

"We need to get better and then some in order to catch up to the rest because everyone's got another resource that they can lean on now, to go and get better talent," Gaze said.

"We're certainly grateful that Kevin's got his citizenship because it does provide us with a little bit more flexibility. But even last year, you look at Kevin's team [Illawarra Hawks], there was a two import restriction and they only had one. It may be that we don't even use that quota, but it's certainly nice to have there for us.

"We are looking at every single possible option. You may say that's pretty broad, but it's the truth."

Lisch, an American-born 29-year-old who has also played for the Perth Wildcats, said he was keen to learn from Gaze, who he said "has an MVP award named after him, so I think that says a lot".

"And, just as a player, unbelievable all over the world. As a player myself I'm looking forward to learning under him. What better teacher could you have? It's a great opportunity."

A successful Kings is vital for the NBL as it would help the league capitalise on the nation's biggest commercial market.

"There is a lot of expectation, just with the population base and what that means from a commercial standpoint, from television, all those other factors that come into play, the sport is enhanced with a successful Sydney Kings program," Gaze said. "That comes with great responsibility. You welcome those opportunities because the rewards for success are so great as well."