Tyrone Corbin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Intensify Coaching Search, Eye Karl

February 7th, 2015 at 10:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:56pm: Cousins didn’t confirm or deny his behind-the-scenes role in the Karl situation after Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, Bruski reports. (Twitter link). “I’m waiting just like you guys,” Cousins told reporters. “There’s gonna always be allegations, there’s always going to be he said/she said.” The Sacramento center wasn’t surprised to be the target of rumors, saying, “Of course my name is being thrown into it. (I’m) franchise center piece…” (Twitter link).

10:22pm: There is opposition to Karl inside the Kings organization from minority owners, Amick reports (Twitter link). There was hope that Karl could talk to Cousins on Sunday — either in person or by telephone — but it’s uncertain now if that will occur (Twitter link).

9:34pm: The resistance from Cousins’ camp has slowed negotiations between Karl and the Kings, Wojnarowski confirms (Twitter link). He adds that the two sides were closing the gap on money and contract length this afternoon (Twitter link).

9:12pm: It seems less and less likely that Karl will be the Kings’ next coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), who says representatives of the team, Karl and Cousins all share that belief. He adds that a resolution is expected Sunday, and the Kings are willing to finish the season with Corbin behind the bench. (Twitter link).

5:27pm: There is a significant gap between the two sides when it comes to salary and length of contract, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. D’Alessandro, who’s pushing for the team to bring on his former Nuggets colleague, has traveled to Denver to talk about the job with Karl, Amick also writes. The two agents for Cousins have opposed a Karl hiring, Amick hears, pointing out that Karl reassigned Jarinn Akana, one of those agents, from the coaching staff to a scouting position when Akana worked for the Nuggets. Karl’s son, former NBA player Coby Karl, once was a client of Dan Fegan, the lead agent for Cousins, before replacing him with another representative, according to Amick. D’Alessandro is prepared to forge ahead without the support of those agents, but there’s concern within the Kings organization about the conflict that would engender, and the GM would prefer to convince them Karl is the man for the job, as Amick explains. Karl has told the Kings that he likes Cousins quite a bit, Spears tweets.

2:10pm: The Kings are in “serious back-and-forth” discussions with Karl, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! sports.

SATURDAY, 11:22am: Talks between the Kings and Karl have intensified, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee reports. The combination of Karl’s innovative coaching and immediate availability has won over team officials, Voisin notes. While it was previously reported that Sacramento wished to wait until after the season to make a change, the Kings’ ongoing slump and “jarring absence of competitiveness” has prompted principal owner Vivek Ranadive and D’Alessandro to move the search along more rapidly, Voisin adds.

3:57pm: Kings officials want to see whether Tom Thibodeau or other desirable coaches become available this summer, giving them further motivation to stand pat for now, Jones tweets.

3:47pm: Sacramento’s front office is not pleased with the play of the team but is nonetheless concerned about firing another coach during the season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter links). In addition to Karl, Alvin Gentry and Nate McMillan will also be candidates for the Kings’ coaching slot, Jones adds.

FRIDAY, 2:37pm: The Kings are picking up steam in their search for a long-term solution at head coach, as Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com hears (Twitter link). There’s a decent chance that the team will make a hire at the All-Star break, Bruski adds, cautioning that Sacramento has no definitive timetable to make a move. Bruski suggests that the Magic’s coaching search has spurred the Kings into action, and George Karl, who’s openly campaigning for the Orlando job, remains a candidate, according to Bruski (Twitter links). Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has said that Tyrone Corbin, who took over for the Kings when they fired Michael Malone in December, would remain in charge of the team until season’s end. Still, another report indicated that owner Vivek Ranadive wanted to bring in someone else in the immediate wake of Malone’s dismissal before the team’s front office talked him into keeping Corbin.

Sacramento is just 6-18 under Corbin, and sits in 12th place in the Western Conference at 17-31 after a strong start under Malone that ended when an illness knocked DeMarcus Cousins out of 10 games. Cousins, who was a supporter of Malone, told reporters after Thursday’s blowout loss to the Mavs that this has been his most frustrating time as a King, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).

Bruski wrote in December that Mark Jackson, another rumored candidate for the Magic job, had “no chance” of becoming the next Kings coach, in spite of his close ties to D’Alessandro and Kings adviser Chris Mullin. D’Alessandro denied that a meeting he had with Mullin and Jackson, as well as Cousins, had any connection to the team’s head coaching position. Ranadive became intrigued with the idea of Mullin coaching the team, but the Hall-of-Famer apparently has no desire to take over at midseason. Vinny Del Negro, whom multiple reports have connected to the Magic job, also heard from the Kings in December.

Amico On Nets, Lawson, Williams, Kings

February 3rd, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, many GMs from around the league are certain to be burning up their phone plan minutes while trying to improve their teams for a playoff run, or for others, trying to clear as much cap space as possible for the summer’s free agent signing period. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio ran down a number of rumors from around the league. Here are some of the highlights:

The Nets have been seeking trade partners for Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams, but they are looking to receive assets in return, and not to just dump salary in the deal, Amico notes. “I’ve talked to Brook about it, I’ve talked to Joe, I’ve talked to Deron,” Brooklyn GM Billy King said. “The players all know it’s part of the business, but we’re not looking just to get rid of these guys just because they’re saying they’re gonna do that. We’re exploring things that make sense as people call, but we’re not going to be making a trade to make a trade. That’s foolish.“
Brooklyn had originally spoken with the Kings regarding a possible deal for Williams over a month ago, but those discussions have since died out, Amico adds. The Nets had also discussed a trade with the Hornets involving Johnson and Lance Stephenson.
The Nuggets appear to be willing to trade point guard Ty Lawson, but Denver’s asking price is currently high enough that it is scaring away inquiring teams, the FOX Sports scribe notes.
The Timberwolves are willing to deal Mo Williams, and the Kings are interested, Amico hears. Other teams reportedly interested in the veteran guard are the Pistons, Heat, Cavs, and Clippers.
Barring a sudden turnaround in Sacramento, the odds are against Tyrone Corbin being retained as coach for next season, Amico notes. In addition to Kings executive Chris Mullin being a potential replacement, both Tyronn Lue and Larry Drew will be considered candidates as well, Amico adds.

Bucher’s Latest: Kings, Pelicans, Cavs

January 9th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Nets trio of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available on the trade market, and they’re among a long list of players that GMs say teams are open to trading as the February 19th deadline approaches, according Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Lance Stephenson, Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Goran Dragic, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Arron Afflalo and most of the other Nuggets are also on that list, with Bucher, in many cases, confirming earlier reports. Still, Bucher hears plenty of new rumbles, as he passes along in his piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive unilaterally made the decision to fire former coach Michael Malone, sources tell Bucher, even though GM Pete D’Alessandro claimed the decision as his own. Most of the Kings organization was pleased with the direction the team was headed in and believed the team was overachieving, though there were doubts that Malone was the long-term solution, Bucher writes.
Ranadive wanted to make a splash with Malone’s successor, but Kings front office executives prevailed upon him to keep Tyrone Corbin as head coach, according to Bucher. Ranadive would relish the chance to turn the screws on the Warriors, of whom he used to be a part-owner, by hiring Mark Jackson, the ex-Warriors coach, a source tells Bucher, who nonetheless believes that the team won’t hire Jackson during this season.
Talk “circulating around the league” suggests that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is eyeing former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson if he decides to make changes, Bucher writes. Still, Pelicans sources tell Bucher that the club hasn’t contacted either Dumars or Johnson, and that there are no signs that Benson is definitively displeased with either GM Dell Demps or coach Monty Williams.
Several executives from around the league don’t believe the pair of trades the Cavs made this week assure the team of any more than a second-round appearance, according to Bucher. One exec tells Bucher that the Cavs “overinflated” the market with what they gave up for Timofey Mozgov.

Pacific Notes: Corbin, Lakers, Wilcox

January 6th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro confirmed that Tyrone Corbin would indeed coach Sacramento for the remainder of the season, as the GM said in a radio interview Monday on KHTK-AM, Bill Herenda of CSNBayArea.com notes. When Corbin took over for the fired Mike Malone, it was assumed that he would merely be the interim coach, notes Herenda, but the team intended to have Corbin finish out the season all along. D’Alessandro did admit that he spoke with George Karl after Malone was fired, but D’Alessandro said the organization supports Corbin fully, Herenda adds.

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

The Clippers have assigned C.J. Wilcox to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, the team has announced. This will be Wilcox’s first trip of the season to the D-League, and he is the first player that the Clippers have assigned this season.
Blazers guard Steve Blake still has warm regards for the Lakers, with whom he spent four years of his career before being dealt to Golden State last season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. Blake said that he “absolutely” had interest in re-signing with the Lakers this offseason, Medina notes. Blake also relayed that he and the Lakers talked at the beginning of free agency, though Los Angeles was waiting on the decisions of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. “As soon as the Blazers made me an offer, I took it pretty quickly,” Blake said. “There were a lot of questions for the Lakers to answer before they could get around to someone like me. I wasn’t the first option. A lot of those things didn’t clear themselves up until it was too late.”
In the same article by Medina, Chris Kaman, who didn’t mesh well with former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system, blamed himself for signing with L.A. “I can point fingers all day long. But it was my choice where I went,” said Kaman. “I made the call and thought it would work. I don’t think that Mike D’Antoni purposely tried to [expletive] anybody over. It’s just the way he wants to play people.”
Kaman also blames the Lakers‘ delay while waiting for ‘Melo and LeBron for why he didn’t return to Los Angeles, Medina notes. “Mitch Kupchak [Lakers GM] took forever trying to wait for Carmelo,” Kaman said. “I think that was [executive] Jimmy Buss. They lost a lot of opportunities personally by waiting that long. They lost a bunch of guys that went the other way. My guess is Jimmy said we want to wait for those guys so they can try to make a run at it.”

Kings Notes: Corbin, Heslip, Cousins

December 31st, 2014 at 4:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tyrone Corbin says the Kings have lifted the interim tag from his job title, as he told reporters from The Associated Press and other outlets today, essentially confirming an earlier report that he’s signed a new deal to be the team’s head coach for the rest of the season. However, the Kings didn’t use the term “interim” when they announced earlier this month Corbin would replace the fired Michael Malone.

Here’s more out of Sacramento:

DeMarcus Cousins hasn’t looked happy since the Kings fired Malone, and the Kings have asked Corbin to coach “essentially 14 angry men,” argues Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (All five Twitter links here).
The deciding factor for why Brady Heslip chose to pass on signing with Banvit of Turkey was that his agent had reached out to a number of NBA GMs and had received enough positive feedback about his client to warrant remaining in the U.S., Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). The Kings and Clippers have reportedly held interest in adding the sharpshooter to their NBA rosters.
The Kings neglected to inform their players that Corbin would coach the team for the rest of the season, something that may not sit well with the team’s star, Cousins, DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News writes. “I didn’t know,” Cousins said. “I didn’t know officially until [Monday] night, either. That’s when a lot of us found out.”
If Sacramento hopes to keep Cousins for the long term, the team will have to show marked improvement, Prince adds. Contrary to some of his past statements, Cousins said that he believes that the responsibility for turning around the franchise rests with the players, not with the head coach, Prince notes. “Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s on us no matter who the head guy is on the bench,” Cousins said. “At the end of the day, we go out there and play the games. It’s time for us to stop looking for excuses, stop trying to make excuses. We’ve got to man up and play basketball. We know what we need to do on a nightly basis. We know we need to defend and we know we need to share the ball and come out and play hard. I believe with those three things that 70% of the job is done. It doesn’t matter, we’ve got to go out and do our jobs.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nets, Kings Discuss Deron Williams Deal

December 30th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Chuck Myron

DECEMBER 30TH: The Nets also expressed interest in acquiring Nik Stauskas as part of a deal, but the Kings were reluctant to give him up, reports Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.

2:27pm: The talks aren’t completely dead, Broussard cautions in a full story, and a source tells the ESPN scribe that he expects the teams to continue their conversation until the February 19th trade deadline.

DECEMBER 23RD, 10:57am: The conversation between the Kings and Nets is “virtually dead,” since Plumlee, and not Williams, was Sacramento’s primary target and Brooklyn is unwilling to give up Plumlee, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 20TH, 8:24pm: Talks aren’t ongoing for now, according to Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). The Kings made the initial inquiry, according to Raskin and Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game (Twitter link). Still, the discussion is liable to pick back up, since the Nets are listening to all offers, Raskin tweets, adding that Brooklyn considers none of its players untradeable, an assertion that would seem to conflict with the other reports indicating that Plumlee is off-limits. Sources “emphatically” told Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that Plumlee isn’t going anywhere, however.

5:49pm: The Nets and Kings are in trade talks about Deron Williams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who cautions that no deal is imminent. A source confirms the talks to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, who nonetheless hears that the sides aren’t at all close to a deal that this point (Twitter link). The discussion involves Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson from Sacramento’s side, according to Wojnarowski. The Kings would like for Mason Plumlee to be a part of any transaction, and that’s a stumbling block from the Nets’ perspective, Wojnarowski adds. Plumlee is virtually untouchable as far as Brooklyn is concerned, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck tweets, and the same is true of Sergey Karasev and Bojan Bogdanovic, as NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem hears (Twitter link). The Kings are high on Collison and hesitant to give him up, but the Nets want to have a point guard to replace Williams should they give him up, as the Yahoo scribe details.

The relationship between Deron Williams and the Nets has chilled over the past two years, and there’s mutual appeal to parting ways, sources tell Wojnarowski. Conversely, Williams and Kings coach Tyrone Corbin have a relationship that’s persisted since their years together in Utah, where Corbin was an assistant coach while Williams played with the Jazz. The Kings are thrilled with Collison so far this season, Wojnarowski writes. Still, they’ve poked around for an upgrade at point guard since signing Collison over the summer, having asked the Timberwolves about Ricky Rubio before Rubio signed his extension with Minnesota in October, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Kings maintained interest in Rajon Rondo, though the Celtics’ demands for him were reportedly too high for Sacramento’s liking.

The Nets have had talks about moving Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson of late as they appear ready to make major changes. They also looked into the idea of trading for Lance Stephenson and spoke to Boston about Rondo before he went to the Mavs, according to earlier reports.

Deron Williams’ salary of more than $19.754MM for this season and the two additional years that remain on his contract make him tough to move, especially considering the decline in his performance since he signed the maximum-salary deal as the marquee free agent in the 2012 market. He averaged 20.1 points and 8.7 assists the season before he signed the max contract and is putting up 15.6 PPG and 6.8 APG this season. Those numbers are similar to the 15.6 PPG and 6.1 APG that Collison is putting up for the Kings this year, as Windrem notes (on Twitter). Collison makes about $4.798MM this season, less than Derrick Williams and his salary of more than $6.331MM and Thompson, who’s getting almost $6.038MM.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Corbin, Van Gundy

December 30th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been only one coaching change in the NBA so far this season, but stability has never been a hallmark of the coaching profession. The Cavaliers are reportedly concerned about David Blatt, and while there’s no sign that his job is truly in jeopardy, the rumors have already begun. Here’s more from around coaching circles:

Several GMs around the league believe that the Cavs coaching job is the one that Mark Jackson would like to have, as those execs have told Chris Mannix of SI.com, who passes along the tidbit in a video report. People around the league reportedly believe that LeBron James wouldn’t want Jackson to coach the team, though they are both clients of agent Rich Paul. Jackson over the summer denied reports that the Cavs had spoken to him about the job before they hired Blatt, and more recently Jackson said that a meeting he had with Kings brass didn’t have to do with coaching that team, either.
Tyrone Corbin has signed a new contract that calls for him to be the head coach of the Kings through the end of the season, a source tells James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. Corbin had been on a two-year deal as an assistant coach for the team. He took over head coaching duties earlier this month when the Kings fired Michael Malone.
Stan Van Gundy says the Pistons job will be his last coaching position and that he promised his wife he’ll retire at age 60, tweets John Denton of Magic.com. Still, the 55-year-old Van Gundy said he’s leaving the door open to coaching beyond his current contract, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). His deal with the Pistons runs through the 2018/19 season, and Van Gundy, who runs basketball operations for the team in addition to his coaching duties, will turn 60 in August 2019. Van Gundy also promised his wife that he won’t relocate again, Robbins adds (on Twitter). Still, he thought his job with the Magic would be his last, Denton notes (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: O’Neal, Suns, Rondo, Kings

December 23rd, 2014 at 1:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Family concerns will matter more than the relationships Jermaine O’Neal has with any city or team when the 36-year-old center decides whether to return to the NBA, and if so, which club he’ll play for, as O’Neal detailed today on his verified Twitter account (links here). O’Neal lives in Dallas and has reportedly long wanted to play close to home, and the Mavs are the apparent favorites to land him. The Warriors, for whom O’Neal played last, as well as the Clippers and Cavs are also said to be interested in the 18-year veteran. Of those teams, Golden State is the only one for which O’Neal has played previously, so it would seem that his remarks today are a harbinger that he won’t be returning to the Bay Area, though that’s just my interpretation. Here’s more news related to Pacific Division teams:

People around the league sense that the Suns would be more willing to deal Isaiah Thomas than Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Rival executives have picked up the impression that Dragic is the one among those three point guards whom Phoenix would most like to keep, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported this weekend.
The Mavs are “extremely confident” that Rajon Rondo will re-sign with the team, but the Lakers, among others, would love for the point guard to hit free agency, as Sam Amick of USA Today says in a video report. The Lakers were involved in trade talks with the Celtics about Rondo, and Chris Mannix of SI.com indicated last month that the Lakers are likely to pursue him in free agency.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro and former Kings coach Michael Malone weren’t on speaking terms during the months leading up to Malone’s dismissal, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Tyrone Corbin knows he’s only a short-term solution, according to Voisin, though Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears that Corbin will have a legitimate opportunity to coach the team (Twitter link), as D’Alessandro has publicly insisted. In any case, Voisin implores the team to hire George Karl.
Miroslav Raduljica and Shandong of the Chinese Basketball Association have agreed to a buyout in which the center gave up $300K of his $1.5MM deal, reports Nick Bedard of Basketballbuddha.com. The Clippers, in a series of money-saving moves this summer, acquired Raduljica from the Bucks and quickly waived him via the stretch provision.

Mullin Not Planning To Coach Kings This Year

December 16th, 2014 at 6:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:00pm: The Kings have contacted Vinny Del Negro about their head coaching vacancy, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link). If Sacramento is indeed still searching for candidates to take the reigns of the team it would conflict with the earlier report that Corbin would likely finish out the season as head coach. Del Negro’s last stint as a head coach was during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers. His career coaching record is 210-184.

1:44pm: Corbin would have to “fall on his face” not to survive the season as coach, Amick tweets, adding that Karl is not in the team’s plans. Mullin will take a more active role in practices, planning and other duties as he works to enhance Sacramento’s offense, but he has no plans to coach the team, Amick also reports (Twitter link).

1:30pm: Mullin won’t coach the Kings this season, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). If he does become Kings coach, he would start at the beginning of 2015/16, Broussard adds. Corbin will likely remain in the position for the balance of this season.

11:12pm: Mullin has expressed interest in coaching someday, but the Kings are concerned that it will be difficult to convince him to jump into coaching in the middle of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Karl, too, said it would be difficult to come in midseason when he spoke Monday to Tom Byrne on SiriusXM Radio, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee transcribes.

9:01am: The notion of Chris Mullin taking over as Kings coach continues to grow on owner Vivek Ranadive, leaving one-time front-runner George Karl as a secondary candidate at this point, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Mullin, who serves the Kings in a consultant’s role as advisor to the chairman, is far from sold on the idea of coaching, but he’d have the backing of ownership and GM Pete D’Alessandro if he chose to move to the bench, Wojnarowski hears. D’Alessandro and assistant GM Mike Bratz like Karl, but D’Alessandro would be on board with Mullin, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Some in the Kings organization consider Mark Jackson a compelling candidate, too, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. It’s unclear if the Kings have reached out to Jackson, but they haven’t reached out to Karl, Amick hears, adding that Sacramento doesn’t appear interested in doing so at this point.

The action comes after the Kings formally dismissed Michael Malone on Monday, replacing him, at least for now, with Tyrone Corbin. The Kings front office was weary of Malone’s resistance on several matters, Amick writes. Malone was hesistant to support extensions for DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay and wanted the team to re-sign Isaiah Thomas, according to Amick.

“I don’t know if there was a point in time when you could say, ‘Yeah this isn’t [working],'” D’Alessandro said to Amick. “The respect always was there, but I just think we both knew that the vision for how to play wasn’t the same. … You start to see it evolve, and then you say, ‘Let’s just be honest about it then. Let’s just be honest, and agree to disagree.’ But then something has to happen. That’s the league we’re in.”

Kings Fire Mike Malone, Eye George Karl

December 15th, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:54pm: The Kings have formally announced that they’ve fired Malone and installed Corbin as head coach, though there’s no mention of the word “interim” regarding Corbin in the team’s statement.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward,” D’Alessandro said. “Michael made significant contributions to the organization on many levels and helped foster cultural changes that positively impacted our team. We’re thankful for the commitment he exhibited during his time in Sacramento and wish him and his family the very best in the future.”

4:19pm: The team hasn’t issued a formal announcement of the move, but D’Alessandro confirmed that Corbin has replaced Malone as he spoke to reporters in an impromptu press conference that the team is streaming on its website. D’Alessandro refused to answer whether Corbin would hold the job for the rest of the season, as USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (on Twitter).

8:30am: The Kings told coach Michael Malone on Sunday night that they’ve decided to fire him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin will assume the head coaching job on an interim basis and is likely to serve in that capacity for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski writes, though the team has yet to make any formal announcement of a coaching change. Many around the league strongly believe that Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will pursue George Karl, with whom he worked in Denver, but any such move probably wouldn’t take place until the offseason, Wojnarowski hears. Still, Corbin is expected to be replaced eventually, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.

The timing of the news is shocking, coming as it does with DeMarcus Cousins having missed the past nine games with viral meningitis. The Kings (11-13) were 9-6 before Cousins fell ill, and had wins over the Spurs, Clippers and Bulls during that stretch, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out (Twitter link).

Still, tension between Malone and the Kings brass has been building for the past year, as Wojnarowski details. D’Alessandro and owner Vivek Ranadive want a faster style of play, Wojnarowski writes, as does consultant Chris Mullin, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Mullin, who holds the title of advisor to the chairman, is an influential force within the front office, Amick notes. Management was disappointed with Malone’s player development, game plans and adjustments, a source tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Malone and D’Alessandro didn’t communicate much over the offseason, Amick hears. The front office interviewed candidates for the lead assistant coaching job, but it was Malone who decided to hire Corbin for that role, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Malone doesn’t believe Corbin attempted to undermine him.

Malone let Ranadive know he was no fan of the Kings’ pursuit of Josh Smith this summer, Wojnarowski reports. Still, Ranadive, who was involved in those talks with the Pistons, and D’Alessandro forged ahead, though Detroit wasn’t biting, as Wojnarowski adds on Twitter.

Karl, who’s been out of coaching since his tenure with the Nuggets ended in the summer of 2013, just weeks after he won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, is a major fan of Cousins, and the Nuggets attempted to trade for the center during Karl’s time there, The Bee’s Jason Jones tweets.

Wojnarowski identifies Vinny Del Negro as another possible candidate for the job, while Mullin and Mark Jackson are tight, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group points out (on Twitter). Still, it’s unclear if the Kings are seriously considering either Del Negro or Jackson.

Ranadive’s first move after assuming ownership of the team in 2013 was to hire Malone, as Jones notes via Twitter, even before D’Alessandro or Mullin came aboard, in a departure from normal convention in which the coach is hired after the management team. Malone, who had been an assistant under Jackson in Golden State before he joined Sacramento, has gone 39-67 in his time with the Kings. Sacramento had given the well-regarded assistant his first NBA coaching job. He’s in the second season of a four-year deal worth approximately $9MM, though the final season is a team option that hasn’t yet been exercised, Amick notes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.