What does a guy have to do to keep his job in Denver? After being named the NBA's Coach of the Year, George Karl was dismissed from the Nuggets and left to find a place for himself on this offseason's coaching carousel. The move did not go without criticism from fans and people inside basketball, and Nugs president Josh Kroenke addressed the media today to explain his decision. Here's highlights from that and more out of the Northwest Division..
- Kroneke had to decide between giving Karl the extension he was seeking or letting him go, and he told reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post, that there was only one way to go. "We talked about our future, we talked about our different desires for the organization," said Kroenke. "We both sat down and tried to figure out the best ways for both of us moving forward. My worst-case scenario that I kept coming back to was we're obviously going to start next season without (injured forward Danilo) Gallinari, and it would be a tough situation to put George in knowing that he might want to restructure his contract already."
- The Nuggets president added that he doesn't have a timetable for replacing Karl or outgoing General Manager Masai Ujiri, Dempsey writes.
- Dwight Howard might be the big name in free agency, but a number of teams would love to get their hands on Wolves standout Nikola Pekovic, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. While retaining Pekovic and having a healthy club in 2013/14 should go a long way for Minnesota, they would like to accomplish much more this summer.
- Cody Zeller told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) that it was his agent's idea to work out individually for clubs. The Indiana product auditioned for the Blazers earlier today.
- Earlier tonight, we learned that Kevin Durant has opted to change agencies and is expected to join Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports.