George Karl Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Jones, Snell, Gay

October 22nd, 2016 at 10:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Cleveland is likely to waive Dahntay Jones, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops (Twitter link). The Cavs currently have 16 players under contract after waiving John Holland earlier today.

Here’s more from around the league:

Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that an extension for Tony Snell may be in the works. Snell was recently acquired by the Bucks in exchange for Michael Carter-Williams.
George Karl writes in his upcoming book that upon meeting Rudy Gay, the forward warned him about the dysfunctional nature of the Kings, calling the franchise “basketball hell,” Stein relays in the same piece. Gay seemingly has no interest in staying with the team long-term, as he announced last month that he plans to opt out of his contract at the end of the season.
The Magic will keep Arinze Onuaku and Damjan Rudez on the roster, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports (Twitter link). Orlando has 15 players under contract after the team waived Nick Johnson and Ramon Galloway earlier today.

Pacific Notes: Karl, Kupchak, Suns

May 7th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Kings coach George Karl placed much of the team’s locker room woes on its star players, who never gelled this past season, the coach admitted, according to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. “There’s no question our locker room had tension,” Karl told Michelle Dapper of KCRA-TV. “There’s no question that our locker room had, whatever you want to call it — disconnect. How I tried to solve it or how we tried to solve it — to be honest with you, I think it’s more on the players as much as it is on the coaches. The stars of the team, I think got to take more responsibility sometimes for the leadership of your team. I think that’s probably where it broke down. I think the coach – me, and I think Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) were the three guys that we never kinda got together.”

Karl did admit that he didn’t spend much time in the locker room during his tenure, also adding that Sacramento trading away Cousins may be the best move for the franchise in the long run, Ham notes. “I can’t deny that ‘what if coaching this team without DeMarcus?’” Karl said. “It’d be exciting. Some roadblocks would be taken away.”

Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak indicated that he is entering the summer under the assumption the team will not have a first-round pick, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “That’s how you have to plan, yes,” Kupchak said. “And I’m fine either way. I would love to have the pick. I want to keep the 32nd pick. But you have to look at it both ways, and if it doesn’t work out where we get the [first-round] pick, we get the pick next year and we still have the ability to improve the team this summer.” If the Lakers’ first-round pick falls outside of the top three in the NBA draft lottery, it will go to the Sixers.
The Suns need to decide which combination of players will form their backcourt of the future with Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Devin Booker all likely to vie for starting slots, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes in his offseason primer for the franchise. Another upcoming decision the front office will need to make is regarding the center position, Marks adds. With Tyson Chandler signed for three more seasons and Alex Len set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, Phoenix may not want to pay both players big money and may need to make a tough call on whom to retain, Marks writes.

George Karl Speaks Out On Kings’ Situation

May 1st, 2016 at 10:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Brian Spurlock / USA TODAY Sports Images

Former Sacramento coach George Karl discusses his firing, his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins and the turmoil inside the Kings organization in a wide-ranging interview with Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. It represents Karl’s most extensive comments since the team dismissed him April 14th.

Karl says executive/GM Vlade Divac has a huge task ahead in trying to rebuild a team that hoped to be a playoff contender this season, but sputtered to a 33-49 record and finished tied for 10th in the West. Divac’s most pressing offseason decision will be whether to keep or trade Cousins. “The roster needs to be tinkered with,” Karl said. “[Divac] is going to be in for an NBA free agency unlike anything we have ever seen. If the decision is made to keep Cuz, you have to put the right players around him. But it can’t be about Cousins. You have to make basketball decisions.” Karl believes the Kings have too many guards and that Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore and Marco Belinelli are too similar to function on the same roster.
Karl said his relationship with Cousins was doomed from the beginning because Cousins’ agents, Dan Fegan and Jarinn Tasi Akana, lobbied hard to prevent Karl’s hiring. Former Sacrmento GM Pete D’Alessandro signed off on the move, but he was demoted weeks later and replaced by Divac. D’Alessandro left for a job with the Nuggets just before the draft, taking valuable information on the Kings’ strategy with him and leaving Divac with an inexperienced staff. Meanwhile, Karl was failing to set down new borders with Cousins and didn’t respond forcefully to early incidents of disrespect. “I never felt I got into a good place with Cuz,” Karl said, “and some of that was my stupidity when I said that no player is untradeable. I still believe that. But I should have been smart enough not to say it, and I in no way, at any time, thought DeMarcus was going to get traded.”
The situation escalated when Divac orchestrated a public handshake between Cousins and Karl on NBATV at last year’s Las Vegas Summer League. Cousins reluctantly shook Karl’s hand, then embarrassed his coach by quickly turning away. “Vlade thought he was helping me,” Karl said, “but that looked really bad.”
Their relationship became more poisoned when Cousins unleashed a profanity-filled tirade at Karl following a November 8th loss. Karl wanted to impose a two-game suspension, but Divac opted for an undisclosed fine. “When they supported Cousins instead of me, I felt, ‘OK, I’m in the compromise position. Cuz has the power,’’’ Karl said. “They sent that message many times, too many times sent it to the players. And the players wanted someone to stand up to Cuz, and they wanted it to be their coach. But at that point, I realized that you either compromise or you blow it up, and my job was to make us a better basketball team and get to the end of the year.”
Karl believes Sacramento’s front office expected too much too soon after an aggressive summer of trying to rebuild the team. He hopes a better atmosphere greets whomever the Kings select as their next head coach. “Whether or not they trade Cuz,” Karl said, “they have to empower their coach. They have to let him coach. It takes a few years to build a program. It becomes a culture, an energy force. [Owner] Vivek [Ranadive] wanted magic to happen, but in the NBA magic happens once in a while, and usually is associated with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan.”

Pacific Notes: Walton, Warriors, Belinelli, Metta

April 30th, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors plan to hire the replacement for assistant coach Luke Walton from outside the organization, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein notes that former Cavaliers coach David Blatt came close to joining Steve Kerr on Golden State’s bench in 2014 but adds that Blatt may not be willing to become an assistant now as he waits for his next head coaching job (Twitter link). The Warriors say they won’t look at candidates to take Walton’s place until they are finished with the playoffs (Twitter link).

There’s more news out of the Pacific Division:

Walton and Alvin Gentry, who left after last season to coach the Pelicans, could be the first of many Warriors assistants to land head coaching jobs, speculates Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com. Jarron Collins, another highly regarded Golden State assistant, could be next, and Strauss believes Chris DeMarco, Nick U’Ren and Theo Robertson may eventually follow. Kerr is a fan of all three, and their responsibilities in the organization are growing.
Kings swingman Marco Belinelli blasts the organization in an interview with Sky Sport Italy (h/t to Sportando). He believes the tension between former coach George Karl and star center DeMarcus Cousins created dissension on the team from the start of the season. Belinelli says executive Vlade Divac tried to broker peace between Karl and Cousins, but without much success. Belinelli adds that he saw “very bad stuff” in the Kings locker room and contrasts it to the atmosphere he was accustomed to in San Antonio. Belinelli has two years left on his contract with the Kings.
His improbable comeback with the Lakers this season has helped Metta World Peace find balance in his life, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The 36-year-old, who entered the NBA in 1999 as Ron Artest, was out of the league for a full season before earning a roster spot with L.A. last fall. “I always tell people there was only one black hole that was able to be a star again,” World Peace said of changing his reputation. “That was Ron Artest. There should be no turning back. Once you’re a black hole, you’re a black hole. But I was able to resurface and do what I had to do. And that’s something I’m proud of.”

Pacific Notes: Walton, Kupchak, Karl, Curry

April 17th, 2016 at 6:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors assistant Luke Walton has already interviewed for head coaching positions with the Knicks and Nets, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton pulled his name out of consideration with Brooklyn, which announced the hiring of Kenny Atkinson earlier today. Golden State is reportedly allowing Walton to talk to other franchises as long as there’s no conflict with its playoff schedule. A source told Berman that Walton may decide to remain with the Warriors for another season.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

The video controversy involving D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young may have brought bad publicity to the Lakers, but GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t believe it will scare off any free agents, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Kupchak said the incident “becomes less and less of a story” every day, and he complimented both players on the way they handled it. “We’ve dealt with players in this organization, on this team, that have made mistakes over the years,” Kupchak said, “and we’ve gotten through it and had great teams and won championships.” He believes Young and Russell can settle their differences if they are teammates again next year. However, the Lakers are rumored to want to part ways with Young, either through a trade or buyout. He still has two years and more than $11.1MM left on his contract.
UNLV has hired Marvin Menzies as its new head coach, passing on ex-Kings coach George Karl, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Menzies, who had been coaching at New Mexico State, replaces Chris Beard, who backed out of the UNLV job to go to Texas Tech instead. Karl had contacted UNLV about the opening and mutual interest was reported Friday.
The opt-out clause that the Kings included in Seth Curry‘s contract could help him land a much better deal, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. After an impressive summer-league performance, Sacramento signed Curry last July, giving him a two-year deal with a $1,015,696 player option for next season that he has to decide on this week. Curry’s performance over the second half of the season may cause someone to pay him a lot more, as he averaged more than 11 points per game after the All-Star break. “I think I’ve played pretty well and showed some different things in my game that will set me up for the future to show I can be a good player in this league for a long time,” Curry said.

Pacific Notes: Scott, Russell, Karl, Clippers

April 15th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Byron Scott struck a defiant tone in his end-of-season interview with the media today, lashing out at his critics, defending his approach with the team’s young players and saying that he “absolutely” believes he’ll be back to coach the team next season, even though he conceded GM Mitch Kupchak hasn’t given him any assurances. Skepticism has surrounded his long-term job security much of the season, but reports in recent days indicate Scott has a strong chance to stick around. Primary owner Jeanie Buss is making the case for Scott behind the scenes, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com heard. Scott said he thinks the team’s young players responded well to his communication style, which was often blunt and drew the ire of fans and the media. “To be honest with you, I‘m much smarter than all of them when it comes to basketball,” Scott said of his detractors. Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register and Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News relayed Scott’s remarks (All four Twitter links).

See more from the Pacific Division:

The controversy surrounding D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young hurt the Lakers, Scott said, citing the trust issues it created, and while he said the two players have to work it out among themselves, he also expressed belief that the passage of time will help smooth out the situation, as Medina and Los Angeles Times scribe Eric Pincus relay (Twitter links). Still, Scott is high on Russell, Pincus tweets. “We love that kid,” Scott said.
George Karl, whom the Kings fired Thursday, has already been in contact with UNLV about its coaching job, and mutual interest exists between Karl and the school, which initiated the dialogue Thursday night, reports Dan Wolken of USA Today. The UNLV job is once more open after Chris Beard left Friday for Texas Tech less than two weeks after taking the Vegas job, Wolken notes.
The Clippers are exploring the idea of starting a D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, California, for next season, sources tell Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. A void exists in Bakersfield, as the Suns this week announced they bought out the local owners of the D-League Bakersfield Jam and are moving their affiliate to Arizona, but the Bakersfield owners, Stan Ellis and David Higdon, are reportedly eager to partner with another NBA team. D-League president Malcolm Turner said the league would help them in that pursuit, Reichert notes. The Clippers are one of eight NBA teams remaining without a D-League affiliate. Startup costs would run an estimated $7MM, according to Reichert.

Kings Notes: Divac, Cousins, Coaching Search

April 14th, 2016 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings GM and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac will lead the effort to find George Karl’s replacement as head coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. Sacramento fired Karl earlier today after he compiled a disappointing 33-49 record in his first full season on the job. Divac said he will talk to former Kings coach Rick Adelman to get his opinion on possible candidates, and he plans to consult with Karl as well. “It’s a blessing to work with a guy [owner Vivek Ranadive] who is saving this franchise, building the new arena [that’s set to open in October] and letting me do my job the best I can,” Divac said. “So he has trust in me, and so far I’m so happy with my owner being behind me.” Along with hiring a coach, Divac is planning an addition to the front office, rumored to be former NBA executive David Morway.

There’s more news tonight out of Sacramento:

Divac is committed to keeping center DeMarcus Cousins despite ongoing disciplinary problems, Amick writes in the same story. Cousins clashed with Karl virtually from the time he was hired as coach, and the Kings suspended the center for a game in March, leading some to speculate that his time in Sacramento was nearing its end. “DeMarcus is our franchise player, and all heat is going to be on him,” Divac said. “Even my decision about George, [people are] all going to talk about DeMarcus. But it’s not true. He’s just one of the people we have, obviously the most valuable, and we are planning to build around him.” Cousins has two seasons and more than $32.5MM left on his current contract.
Divac wanted to fire Karl over the All-Star break, but opposition from minority owners stopped the move, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Sacramento’s “radioactive” coaching situation will scare big-name contenders away, predicts Chris Mannix of The Vertical. The columnist expects the Kings to contact Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks and Kevin McHale, but Mannix believes all three will steer clear of Sacramento. He adds that the Kings should have fired Karl in February and replaced him with Corliss Williamson. Instead, the front office got rid of assistant coach Vance Walberg, which further sabotaged Karl’s standing with the players.

Kings Eye McMillan, Ewing, McHale, Blatt, Others

April 14th, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:27pm: McHale appears unlikely to take the Kings job, and Del Negro is the most realistic candidate, Mannix suggests.

THURSDAY, 1:02pm: Nate McMillan is also in the mix, sources told Stein (Twitter link).

10:15pm: The possibility of hiring McHale is gaining traction within the Kings organization, Chris Mannix of The Vertical tweets. Sacramento is intrigued by the possibility of McHale working with DeMarcus Cousins, Mannix adds.

3:09pm: The Kings are also considering Patrick Ewing, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

12:40pm: Kevin McHale and Mark Jackson are also under consideration, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Kings do have strong interest in Thibodeau and Brooks but acknowledge they’ll be tough gets, Stein adds. McHale is just a few months removed from having been fired by the Rockets, while Jackson last coached in 2013/14 with the Warriors.

WEDNESDAY, 11:53am: The Kings, poised to fire George Karl, will consider a group of candidates that includes David Blatt, Vinny Del Negro, Jeff Hornacek, Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga and Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, who frequently draw mention as top NBA coaching candidates, are uninterested in the job, as Wojnarowski hears from league sources.

Blatt, whom the Cavs fired as their head coach in January, is also reportedly under consideration from the Knicks, though he’s reportedly a long shot for that job. The Nets have reportedly been eyeing him as well, and he has ties to the Brooklyn organization, having coached the Russian national team, which received significant financial backing from Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

Sacramento reportedly contacted Del Negro about its head coaching job in December 2014, when the team fired Michael Malone. Del Negro, a former Kings player, hasn’t coached in the NBA since the 2012/13 season with the Clippers, but Wojnarowski reported that he interviewed for the Pelicans job last summer.

Chatter about Hornacek has been quiet since the Suns fired him in February, though he earned respect around the league when he led Phoenix to a 48-34 record in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season during his first year as an NBA head coach. The Suns have regressed since then, and Hornacek wound up 101-112 overall in Phoenix. He was an assistant under former Kings coach Tyrone Corbin on the Jazz.

Wojnarowski wrote in February that Larranaga and Atkinson weren’t particularly eager to land the Kings job if it were to open. The assistants both reportedly interviewed for the Sixers job three years ago and have drawn frequent mention as a possible NBA head coaching candidate since. Larranaga was reportedly a contender for the recent opening at Georgia Tech that Josh Pastner ultimately filled.

Kings Fire George Karl

April 14th, 2016 at 12:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Jairaj / USA TODAY Sports Images

THURSDAY, 12:41pm: The Kings have fired Karl, the team announced.

“After evaluating the team’s performance this season, I determined it was necessary to move forward with a new voice from the head coaching position,” Divac said in the team’s statement. “I have a great deal of respect and admiration for George and his accomplishments throughout his nearly 30 years in the NBA. On behalf of everyone in the Kings organization, I thank him for the contributions made during his time in Sacramento and wish him good fortune in the future.”

Karl released a statement wishing the organization well, as James Ham of CSNCalifornia.com relays (Twitter link).

11:43am: Karl, who’ll coach the team against Houston tonight, is aware of the team’s plan to fire him Thursday, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who adds that Divac and ownership came to the decision jointly.

WEDNESDAY, 10:53am: The Kings plan to fire George Karl on Thursday, multiple league sources indicated to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who relays the news in the middle of a blog entry. The news comes as no shock, as The Bee’s Ailene Voisin wrote in March that the overwhelming sense in the Kings organization was that Karl would soon be gone, shortly after The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the Kings didn’t appear to want the coach beyond season’s end. Karl nearly lost his job in February before the team apparently changed course. Questions surrounding the coach’s job security emerged as early as last June, just four months after the team hired him, and his tumultuous relationship with DeMarcus Cousins has been a matter of close scrutiny.

The front office failed to tell Karl the team’s top players wouldn’t be going on the team’s season-ending road trip, according to Jones. That’s the latest example of a disconnect between the coach and the team. Karl and GM Vlade Divac‘s front office have struggled to communicate, as Jones details, pointing to Divac’s dismissal of assistant coach Vance Walberg in February and the GM’s refusal to suspend Cousins for his tirade against the coach in November. The team later suspended Cousins for one game after another tirade in March. Players didn’t trust Karl’s defensive game-planning and lacked direction on offense while privately complaining that Karl didn’t hold the team’s stars accountable, Jones writes.

Sacramento has a record of 33-48 this season heading into tonight’s final regular season game and 44-67 overall since Karl took the coaching reigns in February 2015. The team entered this season with playoff aspirations after a summer in which it acquired several veterans, including Rajon Rondo, but Karl is the eighth consecutive Kings coach to have failed to take the team to the postseason.

Karl’s up-tempo game bothered management and players alike, USA Today’s Sam Amick wrote earlier this season, also relaying concerns about the coach’s ability to perform given his health issues. A survivor of neck and throat cancer, Karl’s voice is sometimes difficult for players to hear in loud arenas, Amick wrote. Karl missed practice in March to undergo a minor cancer-related procedure.

Sacramento will be on the hook for the $6.5MM that remains on Karl’s contract. His salary for this season is $3.25MM, and it appeared as though that was a stumbling block to a dismissal earlier this season, with Kings minority-share owners reluctant to shell out money for a coach who would no longer be with the team.

The most significant controversies surrounding Karl had to do with Cousins. The coach reportedly negotiated potential trades involving Cousins this past summer behind the back of Divac, whom the Kings hired shortly after Karl arrived. That prompted Cousins to express his displeasure via social media, and while the sides appeared to patch up their differences heading into the season, Cousins continued to appear distrustful of the coach.

What was Karl’s worst mistake as Kings coach? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pacific Notes: Karl, Randle, Varejao

April 5th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl acknowledges that his team fell short of expectations but still sees quite a few positives about the 2015/16 campaign for the franchise, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays. “I am seeing this team in a positive light much more than anybody in the world,” Karl said. “I think I understand the bad times better than over-reaction, expectation, doom that we seem to live in. I don’t think there have been stretches this season where we’ve played bad basketball; I think we haven’t played winning basketball. And I’m not the one that sets expectations. I’m not a predictor. I laugh all the time in the summertime.”

“I was very positive we were going to be a better basketball team,” Karl continued. “I think we are a better basketball team. Now if you think we’re going to be a 45-win team, that’s not on me. That’s on you. I thought if everything fell into a good place, we could get to .500, but everything [didn’t] fall into a good place.” With a record of 31-46 entering play this evening, Sacramento is assured of its 10th consecutive losing season.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers power forward Julius Randle is optimistic that he and young teammates Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell can help turn around the franchise’s fortunes next season, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com relays. “I definitely learned a lot, but there’s no greater teacher than experience,” Randle said. “We know there are steps we have to take to get better individually and collectively. I think we’re doing the necessary things to get there. From the beginning of the season to now, I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress.“
Despite not seeing much action for the Warriors since being signed in February, Anderson Varejao provides the team with a much-needed veteran presence off the bench as the playoffs near, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. When asked how Varejao was adapting to being in Golden State, coach Steve Kerr told reporters, “He’s a great insurance policy for us. It’s been good to get him minutes and get him some rhythm. He’s exactly who we were hoping for — a big who is smart, knows how to play and can fill in if we need him. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs with the rotation. But he’s got a lot of experience; we know he can play.”