George Karl: Latest News, Rumors and Speculation on Coach's Future With Kings
George Karl was hired as the Sacramento Kings' head coach in February, but recent rumors suggest that his tenure could be cut short because of disagreements between the veteran coach and upper management.
Continue for updates.
Report: Kings Considering Firing Karl
Thursday, June 25
The Kings hired Karl in hopes of turning around a moribund franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006. As it turns out, though, the 64-year-old coach may not get the opportunity.
According to ESPN's Chris Broussard (h/t SportsCenter on Twitter), Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is already considering parting ways with Karl less than five months after hiring him. However, Sam Amick of USA Today was told, "there's zero chance of it happening anytime soon".
Per Broussard, the tension between owner and coach stems from Karl wanting to trade All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings front office, including Ranadive and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac, reportedly has no desire to make such a move.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the primary displeasure with Karl comes from Divac rather than the Kings' owner. Regardless of who is most upset with Karl, he is now reportedly being left out of the Kings' draft discussions, per Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
One source told Broussard that the Kings are in a difficult position since firing Karl so soon would empower Cousins:
"If you fire Karl, now you can't control Cousins because he'll know he's running the place," the source said. "Now he'll feel like he's telling you what to do."
Despite that, ESPN's Skip Bayless is among those who believe the Kings should do whatever it takes to keep Cousins in the fold:
The 24-year-old big man put up a career-high 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game this past season. He is among the most talented and productive centers in the game, and replacing him would be incredibly difficult.
Karl, on the other hand, made 22 playoff appearances in 25 seasons as an NBA head coach prior to taking over the Kings after the All-Star break.
He has an excellent track record of getting his teams to the postseason, but his reported demands may outweigh what he has accomplished over the course of his career.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
