Report: Kings in serious talks with George Karl about head coaching job
Say this much for the offbeat, oft-maligned Sacramento Kings front office team: They're not ones to sit on their hands.
Less than two months after firing head coach Mike Malone 24 games into the season and replacing him with assistant Tyrone Corbin, the Kings are engaged in serious talks with George Karl about taking over on the bench, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee:
While a change is not imminent, multiple sources told The Bee late Friday that the combination of Karl’s innovative coaching and immediate availability has won over team officials who weeks ago expressed concern about a possible personality clash with All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins.
Karl, the sixth-winningest coach in NBA history, was linked to the Kings' coaching job in the immediate aftermath of the Malone firing, but the organization decided to ride with Corbin. Since then, they have gone 6-18, watching a promising start go up in a puff of smoke as an initially locked-in Cousins succumbed to his grouchiest impulses.
Karl has been open about his desire to land another NBA coaching gig, even nodding to the Orlando Magic position recently vacated by Jacque Vaughn. Considering his acumen and history of success, you'd expect Karl to be able to land a job simply by asking.
In 25 seasons coaching, between the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets, he made the playoffs 22 times, won 50-plus games 12 times and won nine division titles.
His playoff credentials, however, have always been a point of contention. Karl's teams have only been as far as the conference finals four times, and only reached the finals once. He has a career playoff record of 80-105.
There's a perception that his focus on the offensive end makes him a deficient postseason coach. No clearer was this crystallized than in his most recent NBA season, in which he coached the Nuggets to a franchise-best regular season record (57-25), won his first and only Coach of the Year award, and was promptly fired after his team sputtered out in the first round of the playoffs.
The major sticking point for the Kings, however, is said to be Karl's price tag. From Voisin:
The overriding factor at this point appears to be financial: Karl would command an annual salary upwards of $4 million, a major potential sticking point given that the Kings will continue to pay Malone through the 2015-16 season. Additionally, teams with more attractive rosters are expected to have coaching vacancies at the end of the year, and Karl, who maintains a high profile partly owing to his ESPN appearances, is thought to be heavily pursued.
The Kings are reportedly also looking at other candidates, including NBA assistants like Alvin Gentry and Nate McMillan, and head coaches who could soon be on the move, like Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks.