Report: George Karl, Kings have mutual interest; other names being floated

If you want to run a frenetic, fast-paced offense, who better than George Karl?

That seems to be the thinking with the Sacramento Kings after the late-Sunday ouster of head coach Mike Malone. While assistant coach Tyrone Corbin has been installed as the team's interim coach, with some suggesting he could remain in the role all season, reports are already emerging that the Kings are interest in Karl.

Should that be the case, as Yahoo Sports, ESPN and Bleacher Report have all confirmed with varying degrees of emphasis, consider Karl intrigued.

"I'm humbled," Karl said on SiriusXMNBA radio Monday afternoon. "If they're interested in me, I'm interested in them."

Karl has made it no secret he wants to coach again after being let go by the Denver Nuggets following the 2012-13 season, one that saw him win the NBA's Coach of the Year award. Karl ranks sixth in all-time coaching wins with 1,131, just 204 behind Don Nelson for the league's all-time record. That's said to be a goal in the back of Karl's mind, one he still has time to reach at 63 years old.

There are two primary reasons Karl makes sense in Sacramento: he has ties to general manager Pete D'Alessandro from their days together in Denver, and Karl has traditionally employed an exciting brand of basketball, something Kings ownership wants to do.

A handful of other names have been rumored, as well. Mark Jackson has ties to Kings executive Chris Mullin, Mullin himself could take the job, Vinny Del Negro has been mentioned, and Alvin Gentry - who interviewed for an assistant coaching job but reportedly did not want to undercut Malone by taking it - remains an option. 

There's also the possibility the Kings play out the year with Corbin at the helm and do a more robust search in the offseason.