George Karl can’t be too upset about the negative reaction to his upcoming book, “Furious George,” because it’s probably going to fly off shelves. Then again, based on the stories and opinions he was willing to publish in his coaching memoir, it’s safe to assume that Karl simply doesn’t give a sh*t about what his former players think. From his take on Carmelo Anthony’s selfish attitude to the NBA’s supposed PED problem, Karl held nothing back on anyone in “Furious George.” Well, almost nothing.
Karl’s last (and presumably final) run as an NBA coach came with the Sacramento Kings in 2014, when he signed a four-year deal worth $15 million. He was heralded as the man who would finally fix SacTown’s problems, but instead the team went 11-19 to close out the ’14-15 season and 33-49 in his first full season, leading to the big boot. The ridiculous story of Karl vs. DeMarcus Cousins is already well-known, and Karl touches on some of it in “Furious George.”
However, according to ESPN, some of the more critical passages have been removed from the final version because of the coach-turned-author’s “settlement agreement” with the Kings. ESPN’s Marc Spears and Marc Stein wrote that the missing parts include “some unflattering views… about Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, general manager Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive.” Even a story about Rudy Gay telling Karl, “Welcome to basketball hell,” upon his arrival in Sacramento, has been cut.
Fortunately for those of us who love the juicy details, the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones offered a little more:
Karl’s mentions of the Kings are relatively tame compared to his analysis of the mental makeup of Martin, Anthony and J.R. Smith.
In drafts seen by many, Karl said principal owner Vivek Ranadive cares more about keeping his star player happy than the team and that Vlade Divac is an inexperienced basketball executive. Also in drafts, Karl wrote that he likes Cousins personally but that he’s also “the most disrespectful” person he’s been around. He wrote that Cousins is not a winner, was out of shape and that he wanted to trade him.
Karl shared few opinions regarding his time with the Kings in the book’s published version because he’s still under contract with the team. (Via the SacBee)
The Kings could be upset about Karl’s storytelling, but they’ve won four straight, so DeMarcus Cousins is probably too busy daydreaming about the playoffs.