George Karl

Basketball Hall Of Fame Announces Full Class Of 2022

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has officially announced its 13 honorees for this year, including former players and coaches from the NBA, WNBA and NCAA, along with figures from different basketball committees.

As we previously relayed, Spurs legend Manu Ginobili and former Heat All-Star Tim Hardaway headline the class. They are joined by longtime NBA coach George Karl, former referee Hugh Evans and two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year Bob Huggins.

On the women’s side, three-time WNBA champion Lindsay Whalen, two-time Olympic gold medalist Swin Cash and former WNBA Coach of the Year Marianne Stanley will be inducted.

“Year after year, we are constantly reminded of the extraordinary and transcendent efforts of the remarkable men and women who have impacted the game of basketball from a global perspective,” Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John L. Doleva said in a statement.

“The Class of 2022 is ripe with individuals who have had a significant historical impact on the game we love. We congratulate and thank them for everything they’ve done to better the sport and look forward to honoring them during Enshrinement this fall.”

Lou Hudson (Veterans Committee), Theresa Shank-Grentz (Women’s Veterans Committee), Radivoj Korac (International Committee), Larry Costello (Contributor Committee) and Del Harris (Contributor Committee) will also be inducted. The full class will be enshrined on September 9 and 10 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Hardaway, Ginobili, Karl Headed To Hall Of Fame

Tim Hardaway has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Class of 2022, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. He’ll be joined by two other NBA luminaries, former Spurs guard Manu Ginobili and longtime coach George Karl, according to Shams Charania (Twitter links).

Unlike Ginobili, who is gaining entry on his first year of eligibility, Hardaway had to wait several years before earning enough support to reach the Hall. Hardaway spent the bulk of his 13 NBA seasons with Golden State and Miami, averaging 17.7 PPG and 8.2 APG in 35.3 MPG.

He scored a total of 15,373 points while averaging more than 20 PPG for four consecutive seasons. He was a 1997 All-NBA First Team selection.

Ginobili spent most of his career as a sixth man for the Spurs and was a key member of four championship teams. He was a two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2011) and amassed 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, 3,697 rebounds and 1,392 steals in 16 seasons. He’s one of two players (Bill Bradley) to win a EuroLeague title (2001), an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal.

Karl spent 27 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, leading the Cavaliers (1984-1986), Warriors (1986-88), Supersonics (1992-1998), Bucks (1998-2003), Nuggets (2005-2013) and Kings (2015-2016). He owns a lifetime coaching record of 1,175-824 (.588), ranking sixth all-time in career wins.

Basketball Hall Of Fame Announces 11 Finalists For ’22

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 11 finalists for the class of 2022 Friday evening (video link). They are as follows:

  • Leta Andrews, the all-time winningest high school coach, male or female
  • Swin Cash, a three-time WNBA Champion, four-time All-Star and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (Cash is currently the vice president of basketball operations and team development for the Pelicans)
  • Michael Cooper, a five-time NBA Champion and eight-time All-Defensive team member, who was Defensive Player of the Year in 1987
  • Hugh Evans, a former NBA referee who officiated over 2,200 games, including 35 in the NBA Finals
  • Manu Ginobili, a four-time NBA Champion, two-time All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Tim Hardaway, a five-time NBA All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist
  • Bob Huggins, a longtime NCAA coach with more than 900 career wins, whose teams have made 25 NCAA tournament appearances
  • Marques Johnson, a five-time NBA All-Star and NCAA Champion
  • George Karl, the 2013 Coach of the Year who’s sixth all time in wins for NBA head coaches
  • Marianne Stanley, the 2002 WNBA Coach of the year who led Old Dominion to the NCAA National Championship in 1985
  • Lindsay Whalen, a four-time WNBA Champion, five-time All-Star and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist

The selections will be announced on April 2, at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in New Orleans, per a league press release.

The Hall of Fame also announced that the ’22 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award went to Reggie Minton, who coached Air Force Academy from 1984-2020.

Finally, the three recipients for the ’22 Curt Gowdy Media Award were Dick Ebersol (Transformative), the former president of NBC Sports who created the NBA on NBC; Mechelle Voepel of ESPN (Print), a longtime women’s basketball writer; and Walt Frazier (Electronic), the longtime color commentator for the Knicks, who’s already in the Hall of Fame as a player.

George Karl Open To Coaching Again

Longtime NBA coach George Karl has a desire to coach again, Pat Graham of the Associated Press reports.

Following three bouts with cancer, the 69-year-old Karl feels healthy and energized.

“I love the game as much as I ever have,” Karl told Graham. “If the right situation came up, I might coach again.”

Karl is one of nine NBA coaches to notch 1,000 wins in his career. Karl racked up those wins with Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, Milwaukee, Denver and Sacramento. He hasn’t coached in the league since the Kings fired him in April 2016.

Karl’s son, Coby, is the head coach of the Lakers‘ G League team, the South Bay Lakers. George Karl attended a number of his son’s games this season after recovering from his latest battle with cancer, this time melanoma of the eye.

He admits he still has concerns about a recurrence.

“Once you have cancer, you have a higher risk of getting another cancer. I know that,” he said. “But my health is probably as good as it’s been in about 15 or 20 years.”

Kings Rumors: Ranadive, Cousins, Gay, Westbrook

Sources with “intimate knowledge” of the Kings insist that team owner Vivek Ranadive won’t entertain the prospect of trading DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Arnovitz writes in a lengthy and entertaining feature piece for ESPN.com. That’s something we’ve heard before, and comes as little surprise, considering the Kings and Cousins are reportedly on track for an offseason contract extension.

Arnovitz’s piece features many more fascinating tidbits about Cousins and about the Kings’ franchise though, many of which we haven’t heard before. The entire story is worth checking out, but we’ll round up a few of the highlights right here:

  • Although Ranadive insists that the only major player personnel decisions he has made were the ones to trade for Rudy Gay and to not hang onto Cousins, Arnovitz writes that “not a single league source for this story outside of Sacramento said that ultimate authority resides anywhere but with Ranadive.”
  • Arnovitz hears from one NBA insider that Ranadive told him “some months back” that he’d like to assemble a big three in Sacramento, with Russell Westbrook joining Cousins and Gay. It’s not clear if that declaration was made prior to Westbrook signing his extension with the Thunder, but either way, it seems extremely unlikely that the OKC star would end up with the Kings. Gay also seems likely to depart in free agency this summer, though Ranadive remains unconvinced of that, per Arnovitz.
  • Members of front offices that have dealt with the Kings say that Sacramento’s front office structure is confusing to navigate, according to Arnovitz. “There’s just so much ambiguity about how the decision-making process works [in Sacramento] and what information actually gets back to whom,” said one rival executive. By way of example, Arnovitz cites one Kings source who says that during the 2015 draft, there were as many as five team owners in the draft room, including one who was trying to make a side deal for a second-round pick.
  • One league source tells Arnovitz that Ranadive has an “unhealthy fixation on the Warriors,” having previously been a part of Golden State’s ownership group.
  • According to Arnovitz, communication between Cousins and Kings’ executives has sometimes created problems. Sources tell Arnovitz that Cousins was assured that George Karl wouldn’t be hired as the team’s head coach in 2015. Cousins was later told in February 2016 that the team was going to fire Karl that day, but it ultimately didn’t happen until two months later.
  • Be sure to check out Arnovitz’s full story for many more tidbits about Cousins and the Kings.

And-Ones: Booker, Embiid, Karl

The Nets landed Trevor Booker during the offseason by selling him on the opportunity to expand his role, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (video link). Booker said the Hornets, Magic, Suns, Mavericks and Wolves were among the teams to reach out to him, but his relationship with GM Sean Marks made him feel comfortable joining Brooklyn.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Joe Harris is enjoying the opportunity to play for the Nets, as he tells Scotto in a separate piece (video link). Harris, who signed with Brooklyn on a two-year deal during the offseason, is seeing a career-high 23.5 minutes per game this season.
  • Joel Embiid is the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, but it’s partly due to the struggles of the 2016 rookie class, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details. Kennedy notes that there isn’t a single 2016 draft pick who is averaging at least 10.0 points per game.
  • In his book, George Karl claims that the NBA has a steroid issue, suggesting that performance-enhancers are the reason that players have longer careers in today’s NBA, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. It’s worth noting that in the book, Karl doesn’t present specific evidence of any particular player using PEDs nor does the former coach even acknowledge the advances in league-approved medicine or the increased awareness in players’ dietary needs, both of which have been proven to increase the length of an average career.

Kings Notes: Karl, Lawson, Barnes

Not many in Sacramento seem to be surprised about the content in former Kings coach George Karl‘s forthcoming book “Furious George” nor to the reaction the book has received, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. Out of all the team’s six coaches over the past seven-plus seasons, no one ignited as much frustration and negative feelings throughout the organization like Karl did, Jones explains. Karl’s relationship (or lack thereof) with DeMarcus Cousins is well-known, but Jones adds that it was Karl’s poor treatment of quieter players that rubbed many the wrong way on the Kings.

Here is more on the Kings:

  • The Kings have flourished late in games with solid performances in the fourth quarters, leading to wins, Shahbaz Khan of NBA.com writes. The resurgence of Ty Lawson and the play of other Kings reserves have a lot to do with more scoring late in games and that speaks well for the Kings looking ahead to 2017, Khan notes.
  • Matt Barnes, 36, is the oldest player on the Kings, so coach Dave Joerger would like to give the veteran time off, but injuries have made that impossible lately, Jones relays in another piece. Barnes is averaging 24.8 minutes this season, four fewer minutes than he averaged playing for Joerger with the Grizzlies last season, Jones adds.

Pacific Notes: Buss, Lakers, Karl, Tolliver

Lakers president and part owner Jeanie Buss will face a major decision after the season ends, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Buss could signal a change of direction for the franchise by firing her brother Jim, who serves as executive vice president, and GM Mitch Kupchak. It has been nearly three years since Jim Buss promised to resign if the Lakers weren’t “contending for a championship” in three or four seasons. Coming off three of the worst seasons in franchise history, L.A. sparked some hope with a 10-10 start, but has lost 12 of its last 13 games. “We’re like every other team that we will play a season and we will assess that season when it’s over,” Jeanie Buss said. “No reason to speculate on any possible changes. It’s a waste of time to speculate.”

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

  • Nearly all of the Lakers‘ offseason signees are now eligible to be included in trades, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Power forward Thomas Robinson passed his deadline December 23rd, a day after Metta World PeaceMarcelo Huertas, Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov and Jordan Clarkson all became eligible on December 15th. The one exception is backup center Tarik Black, who cannot be traded until January 15th. League rules stipulate a later deadline for him because he received at least a 20% salary increase while re-signing with Bird rights.
  • Critical comments about the time he spent coaching the Kings were removed from George Karl’s new book, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears and Marc Stein. A proof copy of “Furious George” obtained by the network included negative passages about DeMarcus Cousins, GM Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive. Karl said he had “not authorized” those parts of the book to be included. Sources told ESPN that Karl agreed to refrain from critical statements about the organization in the settlement he reached when he left the team after last season.
  • Anthony Tolliver is earning more playing time with the Kings, relays James Ham of CSNBayArea. The well-traveled forward signed with Sacramento in July for $16MM over two seasons. He has been in and out of the rotation during the first two months of the season, but has found a larger role in the past week. “Professional — he can sit five games in a row and his name is called and he’s going to come out and play like it’s his last game,” Cousins said. “True professional. He’s always ready to play.”

And-Ones: Kenyon Martin, Will Bynum, 2017 NBA Draft

There have been plenty of headlines about George Karl‘s pending book release, but lost in the Carmelo Anthony barbs that have been heavily discussed in the media of late is the seemingly reignited feud between the ex-Nuggets head coach and his former power forward Kenyon Martin.

Marc Spears of The Undefeated explored the intricacies of the hostile relationship between Karl and Martin.

George Karl Blasts Carmelo In Upcoming Book

Carmelo Anthony was “addicted to the spotlight” and had no commitment to defense when he played for the Nuggets, his former coach George Karl writes in a book that is scheduled for release next month.

Excerpts from the book, “Furious George,” were published after an advance copy was obtained by the New York Post’s Marc Berman.

Karl coached Anthony for six seasons and clearly still has issues with the current Knicks star forward. Karl called Anthony “the best offensive player he ever coached” but Anthony drove him crazy with his self-indulgence and refusal to play hard at both ends of the court, Berman continues.

“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense,” Karl said in the book. “He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal — probably every coach’s ideal — is when your best player is also your leader. But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defense and compensating for his attitude.”

Karl admitted that he was happy when Denver traded Anthony to the Knicks in 2011, viewing it as “a sweet release for the coach and the team, like popping a blister.” Karl added that Nuggets got the better of the deal in the long run. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, two of the players acquired by Denver, are still rotation pieces there.

Karl also took current Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith and former NBA forward Kenyon Martin to task, calling them “spoiled brats.”

Martin responded on Twitter by calling Karl a “terrible person” (Twitter link).

Karl, 65, was fired by the Kings in April after a disappointing 33-49 season.