Pacific Notes: Karl, Griffin, Cousins, Watson
The fast pace of the Kings under George Karl has perturbed players and management, and concerns exist over the effect of the two-time cancer survivor’s health on his ability to coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. It’s hard for players to hear Karl, who endured neck and throat cancer while with the Nuggets, over the din of NBA arenas, Amick writes. Owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly hired Karl in part to run an up-tempo offense, so it’s odd to see pace become an issue. Still, the Kings have apparently committed to keeping Karl, in spite of reports that they planned to fire him.
“If they let George do his job and coach this team like he’s done in the past, they will get what they are both always seeking, respectability as a team and organization,” Karl’s agent, Warren Legarie, said in a statement to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
See more on the always-entertaining Kings amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Blake Griffin has been suspended for four games without pay and fined him the equivalent of a fifth game check for reportedly hitting assistant equipment manager Mathias Testi, an incident that left Griffin with a broken right hand, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported and the Clippers shortly thereafter confirmed (Twitter links). It’s officially a team suspension, Amick reports (Twitter link), so the Clippers won’t reap any tax savings as they would have if it were an NBA suspension. The team suspension also allows the Clippers some leeway in determining whether it’ll start before or after Griffin is fully recovered from his hand injury, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times points out (on Twitter), though the team has no plan to do so, Woike relays (via Twitter).
- The Kings still aren’t seriously considering any DeMarcus Cousins trade before the deadline, but they’re expected to decide soon whether to use the months after the deadline to “lay the groundwork” for a later trade of the star big man, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That process could take a while, Deveney writes, pointing to Minnesota’s months-long effort to find a suitable Kevin Love deal in 2014.
- Interim Suns coach Earl Watson spent only one season with the Spurs organization, as a D-League coach last year, but San Antonio’s philosophy has a clear influence on the style he’s bringing to Phoenix, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Kings Reverse Course, Decide To Keep George Karl
2:26pm: Karl thought Divac was about to fire him when the GM called the coach at lunch today, but instead the two engaged in a conversation that lasted about five minutes and left Karl still in his job as head coach, Spears writes. It appears that brief dialogue constitutes the meeting between Divac and Karl that previous reports alluded to.
12:37pm: The Kings have scrapped plans to fire George Karl before the All-Star break and will keep the coach instead, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The about-face came after Karl met with GM Vlade Divac today, Stein adds (on Twitter).
“George is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues,” Divac said in a statement to ESPN, according to Stein, who initially reported the team’s plan to fire the coach.
It’s highly unlikely that the team will fire Karl during the All-Star break, at least, as he agreed during his meeting with Divac to make a renewed effort, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Improving the team’s defense was a key topic the two discussed, according to Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), with transition defense, guarding 3-pointers and a lack of energy among specific topics, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter).
The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski hears that the Kings had never made the decision to fire Karl, and that owner Vivek Ranadive had leaned toward canning him but Divac talked him out of it (Twitter link). That runs counter to Stein’s report that Divac was the one who was behind Karl’s impending dismissal. It’s Divac’s preference that Karl coach through the remainder of the season, Amick tweets. Divac said in November that Karl would remain coach for the rest of 2015/16, though former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro said the same of interim coach Tyrone Corbin last season before the team replaced in with Karl in February 2015.
Today’s news represents the latest turn of events in a back-and-forth saga involving Karl’s job security, which first came into question in June. The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reported Monday that the front office had lost nearly all confidence in the coach and that multiple players were upset with him. An “obvious disconnect” exists between the players and Karl, with many in the locker room not on board with the coach, Jones tweets.
Cavs Eye Korver, Evans, Asik; Kings Reject Mozgov
The Cavaliers are interested in Kyle Korver and also have Tyreke Evans and Omer Asik on their radar, while recent talks with the Kings about Timofey Mozgov have met with rejection from Sacramento, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said in a radio appearance today on ESPN Cleveland’s “The Really Big Show,” according to a series of tweets from ESPN Cleveland. The Cavs have also been showcasing Anderson Varejao for a trade, Windhorst said, nonetheless adding that it doesn’t seem he’s drawing much interest. It’s unlikely that Cleveland lands Korver, Windhorst also said, though the relatively likelihood of Evans, Asik and Mozgov changing teams is unclear. The Cavs and Pelicans had talks earlier that involved Mozgov and Asik, but the Cavs were reluctant to deal, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported last month.
Atlanta has reportedly solicited offers for Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder of late and isn’t entirely certain that Al Horford will re-sign in free agency this summer, and Windhorst speculates that the Hawks could be sellers. They’re in fifth place in the Eastern Conference at 30-24, having already lost more games than they did during the entire regular season last year. Korver is under contract through next season, at more than $5.746MM this year and more than $5.239MM for 2016/17. His normally elite 3-point shooting is down to 38.3% this season, but that’s still better than most, and the Cavs have reportedly sought to add long distance shooting and defense to the wing.
New Orleans has reportedly sized up the market for Tyreke Evans and had discussions about trading him, though it’s unknown whether those talks were internal or external. The former Rookie of the Year is out until at least the All-Star break with tendinitis in his right knee. He’s once more been seeing time at point guard, where he’s matching his career high with 6.6 assists per game, though it would seem more logical that Cleveland would have interest in him as a wing player. His salary of nearly $10.734MM is just barely outside the bounds of the $10,522,500 trade exception Cleveland has as a vestige of Brendan Haywood. That’s true even though Evans’ salary for next season, the last year on his contract, is only about $10.204MM.
Asik’s numbers are off significantly this year, having suffered a right calf strain in the preseason that continued to bother him well into the regular season. The five-year, nearly $53MM contract he signed this past offseason looks player-friendly so far, though his more than $9.213MM salary for this year would fit within Cleveland’s exception.
He’d ostensibly offset the lack of production the Cavs have seen from Mozgov, who has also been slow to recover from injury, having undergone offseason surgery on his right knee. I examined Mozgov’s trade candidacy shortly after Wojnarowski reported that the Cavs had begun to explore the trade market for him. Sacramento would be an odd fit for him, given the presence of big men DeMarcus Cousins, Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein, though it’s unclear what the Kings would have relinquished in Cleveland’s proposals. Mozgov is making $4.95MM this season on an expiring contract.
Varejao saw 27 minutes of action against the Pelicans on Saturday, but his minutes have otherwise been spotty. The longtime confidant of LeBron James is making $9.638MM this season in the first year of a three-year extension.
Do you see a deal involving any of these names that the Cavs should make? Leave a comment to tell us.
Kings To Fire George Karl
The Kings plan to fire coach George Karl, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. After months of rumors, Stein said sources told him the team has made a decision and the move will be made in the “coming days,” most likely after the team’s final game before the All-Star break, which will be Wednesday in Philadelphia.
The move verifies a report earlier today by Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports that the front office has lost faith in Karl and the players have tuned him out. The Kings fell to 21-31 with tonight’s 20-point loss in Cleveland and are currently five games behind the Jazz for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
Stein writes that the decision to replace Karl is being made by GM Vlade Divac, and that former Kings player and current assistant Corliss Williamson is the “overwhelming favorite” to take over as interim coach. Sources tell Stein that Divac only wants an interim coach right now and wants to take his time with the coaching search.
Karl had been under fire even before he was formally hired to coach the Kings a little less than a year ago. Sources told Stein that discontent has been growing lately over Karl’s defensive schemes, his philosophy on practice and his overall leadership.
Point guard Rajon Rondo, who came to Sacramento as a free agent last summer and has been among Karl’s biggest supporters, appeared to jump ship earlier today, complaining about the coach’s decision to make this morning’s shootaround optional, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “With optional shootarounds, it’s tough … When three or four guys show up for shootaround this morning, how can you expect to win?” Rondo said.
Karl has $6.5MM guaranteed cash left on the four-year, $15MM deal he agreed to last year, not counting this season’s $3.25MM salary. The Kings will be seeking their ninth coach since 2006/07, the most in the league since that time. When the firing becomes official, Karl will be the sixth coach to be let go this season.
Was it time for a change in Sacramento? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Pacific Notes: Walton, Nash, Hill, Divac
Warriors assistant Luke Walton has hired the Wasserman Media Group to represent him in negotiations, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Walton is reportedly a top candidate for the newly created Knicks vacancy, but the prospect of Walton ending up in New York is a long shot, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. See more from the defending champs amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:
- Warriors part-time player development consultant Steve Nash said he wouldn’t be closed to the possibility of working for the Suns in the future, but he’s not willing to become the team’s coach for now, calling the notion of the team’s apparent interest in him for its head coaching vacancy “a moot point at this point.” The two-time MVP made his comments on J.J. Redick‘s podcast for The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (audio link, scroll to 7:45 mark).
- Interim Suns coach Earl Watson told new assistant Bob Hill when Hill was Watson’s coach on the SuperSonics from 2006 to 2007 that he’d like to coach with him someday, and that longstanding desire brought Hill back into NBA coaching after a nine-year absence, as Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic details. Hill still has some bitterness toward Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich about Popovich’s decision to remove him as head coach of the Spurs nearly 20 years ago, Coro also relays. “I guess I didn’t do good enough. I don’t know. He wanted to be the coach,” Hill said of Popovich. “And as soon as he had an opportunity to get rid of me, he did it. It’s too bad. The league’s like that sometimes. You’re going to run into people like that sometimes and that’s part of life. It was a great experience. I’m happy I had that. It hasn’t affected my coaching. I continued to coach and always will.”
- Kings GM Vlade Divac is only willing to make a trade if it’s a significant upgrade for the team, in spite of a report indicating that Sacramento is actively shopping many of its players, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee wrote today in a chat with readers.
Latest On Kings, George Karl
Assistant coach Corliss Williamson is more likely to be the head coach of the Kings by season’s end than George Karl is, barring a surprise, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The front office has lost nearly all confidence in Karl and players have tuned him out, Mannix hears from league sources, echoing Vertical colleague Adrian Wojnarowski’s report from Saturday that once more cast Karl’s job security into public question. Many of the Kings players have heard through their agents that the team is actively shopping them, Mannix also writes.
It’s the latest round of upheaval in Sacramento, where team’s minority-share owners have looked into ways to seize control from owner Vivek Ranadive, sources told Mannix. They nonetheless have little means to stage a coup, Mannix adds. The turmoil surrounding the Kings has made the head-coaching job unattractive to potential candidates, the Vertical scribe writes, suggesting that well-regarded assistants Kenny Atkinson of the Hawks and Jay Larranaga of the Celtics aren’t particularly anxious to take the job if it indeed comes open.
Kings players are upset with Karl about ineffciency in practices and shootarounds, and about in-game moves that haven’t worked out, as Mannix details. Kings GM Vlade Divac said in November, amid the last round of rumors surrounding Karl’s job security, that Karl would remain coach through season’s end. Former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro said the same about interim coach Tyrone Corbin last season, but the team replaced Corbin with Karl over the 2015 All-Star break. That’s when the Kings gave Karl a contract that reportedly pays him $3.25MM this season and $5MM next season. He has a $5MM salary for 2017/18 that’s partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, as Wojnarowski also reported at the time.
The Kings have lost seven out of eight games and gave up 46 points in the first quarter Sunday in a loss to the Celtics. Sacramento is four and a half games behind the eighth-place Jazz in the Western Conference.
What’s the solution for the Kings? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Western Notes: Griffin, Kings, Durant
Blake Griffin wouldn’t necessarily welcome a trade that would bring him to his hometown of Oklahoma City, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. The possibility hasn’t been discussed within Griffin’s camp, but for Griffin, playing in Oklahoma City would be akin to playing in New York City because of the attention he would receive, Berger adds. The Clippers reportedly wouldn’t hesitate to swap Griffin for Kevin Durant. The Clippers will also reportedly strongly consider dealing Griffin this summer if they don’t make a deep playoff run. There have been rumors that the Clippers may think about dealing Griffin in the wake of an incident with an equipment manager that the team reportedly believes could keep him out of action for two months. However, Clippers executive/coach Doc Rivers said Griffin will remain with the team.
Here’s more out of the Western Conference:
- George Karl‘s camp expects him to remain coach of the Kings at least until the All-Star break, Sam Amick of USA Today Sports reports (on Twitter). The Kings’ final game before the break is Tuesday. It is worth noting that Rajon Rondo is particularly fond of Karl, but that may not matter, Amick tweets. The Kings are reportedly mulling whether to fire Karl.
- Durant told reporters recently that it’s tough for him not to think about his upcoming free agency, Michael Singer of USA Today Sports relays. “There’s a lot of uncertainty going on, because I haven’t really thought that far,” Durant said. “But I’m just trying to focus on playing basketball. Once that times comes, I’ll make that decision. I’ll sit down and talk to my closest friends and family and figure it out. But right now I’m just trying to be the best basketball player I can be every single day. I have to be at a high level, an elite level every day, at practice, shootarounds and games, and that’s a tough task so I can’t focus on anything else other than that.”
- Staying healthy is better than any move the Mavs could make at the trade deadline, opines Bobby Marks of The Vertical in the Dallas installment of his deadline guide series.
And-Ones: Trades, Clarkson, Pistons
The lack of enticing free agent options at the point guard position in the upcoming offseason should heat up the trade market prior to the deadline, Tom Ziller of SB Nation opines. Aside from Mike Conley, there isn’t another star-level point guard set to hit free agency this summer. Brandon Jennings and Rajon Rondo will be free agents and Deron Williams could join them if he turns down his player option after the season. Beyond those four players, there arguably isn’t another starting-caliber point guard on the market.
Ziller speculates that as many as seven teams, including the Knicks and Nets, could attempt to join in on the Jeff Teague sweepstakes. The scribe also names Darren Collison as a player to watch on the trade market, especially if the Kings get a sense that Rondo will re-sign with the team.
We’re 11 days from the trade deadline. As we wait to see what deals unfold, check out some notes from around the league:
- Jordan Clarkson has mostly played the two for the Lakers this year, but his past experience running the point makes Ziller, as he writes in the same piece, wonder whether another team will throw a substantial offer at him and look to make the 23-year-old a starting point guard. Clarkson will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but he’s subject to the Gilbert Arenas Provision.
- It might be worthwhile for the Pistons to trade away their 2016 first round pick in exchange for bench help, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports opines in a piece that examines all of the team’s trade assets. Detroit is clinging to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 27-25, which, if the season ended today, would give the team the No. 17 overall selection in the upcoming draft, as our Reverse Standings indicate.
- The Heat have recalled Jarnell Stokes from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. Stokes has averaged 20.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in five stints with the Skyforce this season.
Kings Rumors: Karl, Rondo, Cousins
The Kings will take on the Celtics today and coach George Karl remains focused on the game rather than the rumors of him being fired, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. “I have no control over what people think,” Karl said. “My job is to get prepared for Boston.”
Here’s more from Sacramento:
- Rajon Rondo appears to have a lax approach in dealing with the rumors, Blakely adds in the same piece. “It’s a part of the business; coaches get fired, players get traded,” Rondo deadpanned. Rondo did acknowledge that Karl has given him more freedom on the court which has allowed the point guard’s game to evolve.
- Karl believes the roster turnover is partly to blame for the Kings‘ 21-29 record, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Karl pointed out that the team entered this season with 10 new players. “The truth of the matter is I think this team has hung together pretty well through a lot of ups and downs this year,” Karl added.
- If Karl is fired, the DeMarcus Cousins trade talk will heat up again, Blakely speculates in a separate piece. Blakely adds that the Celtics would love to acquire Cousins, though the scribe admits that a trade is unlikely to occur.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Griffin, Russell
Rumors are again swirling of a possible coaching change in Sacramento, but firing George Karl now might not be the Kings‘ best move, contends Sam Amick of USA Today. The columnist warns that an immediate change could make it difficult for the team to conduct a thorough search for Karl’s replacement. He adds that Sacramento has been looking at former Thunder coach Scott Brooks, ex-Bulls mentor Tom Thibodeau and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson for a while.
There’s more news from the Pacific Division:
- The Kings should get rid of Karl right away because they have barely improved despite raising their talent level, argues Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Sacramento is just 21-29 and falling out of the playoff picture even though it signed Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Caron Butler in free agency and drafted Willie Cauley-Stein sixth overall. Ziller also slams Karl for trying to get rid of DeMarcus Cousins, for having an up-tempo game plan that doesn’t fit the team’s talent and for having a poor defensive team.
- Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn’t waste words when asked about Blake Griffin‘s future in L.A., tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “Blake’s ours,” Rivers said, “and he’s going to stay ours.” There have been rumors that the Clippers may consider dealing Griffin in the wake of an incident with an equipment manager that the team reportedly believes could keep him out of action for two months.
- Lakers coach Byron Scott has been trying to make rookie D’Angelo Russell feel like he’s earning his minutes, according to Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. In what he says was an effort to keep Russell’s ego under control, Scott pulled him and Julius Randle from the starting lineup on December 7th. “I didn’t want him to just feel, ‘This is who I am. I should be starting on the Lakers because I’m the second pick,’” Scott said. “No, you’re starting because you work hard and you earn it.”