The Sacramento Kings made a wildly rash and ultimately debilitating decision to fire coach Mike Malone in December. If these latest rumors prove true, though, they’ll also have atoned for that mistake with surprising aplomb. According to a report from ESPN, Sacramento is on the verge of hiring future Hall-of-Famer and current ESPN analyst George Karl as Malone’s permanent successor.
The news is courtesy of ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Broussard. Though final negotiations are ongoing between Karl and the Kings, the parties have already agreed on the framework of a potential contract:
Only a dramatic and unexpected collapse in the final stage of negotiations can prevent George Karl from becoming the next coach of the Sacramento Kings, according to league sources.
Although the Kings have yet to formally announce a done deal with Karl, sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the organization is already operating under the premise that Karl will take over the team after the All-Star break.
The parties, sources said, were still working Tuesday on the finer deal points of an expected four-year contract…
[ESPN]
ESPN also reports that part of Sacramento’s efforts to keep the news quiet is out of respect for interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who took the reins upon Malone’s abrupt dismissal two months ago. Why Vivek Ranadivé and company are affording Corbin decency that they didn’t Malone is anyone’s guess, but still commendable nonetheless – the former Utah Jazz head coach inherited a tumultuous and unenviable situation.
News of the Kings’ talks with Karl broke over the weekend shortly after the 2013 Coach of the Year expressed public interest in returning to the sidelines. Though the Orlando Magic opening seems a better fit for Karl given the team’s roster construction and his penchant for uptempo, free-wheeling play, getting the chance to guide a talent like DeMarcus Cousins surely contributed to his choice to leave the television studio for Sacramento.
However, it was Boogie’s supposed reluctance to play under the former Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Seattle Supersonics head man that was reported over the weekend as a potential roadblock to the Kings inking Karl. As Cousins tells it, though, those whispers were unfounded.
Here’s Cousins via ESPN:
“…I’m not involved in any coaching decisions right now. I’ve heard that George Karl is a great coach. If that is the direction that the organization chooses, I’ll support it.”
“Out of respect for Coach Corbin, I hadn’t planned on making any comments about what is rumored out there. But at this point I felt some things needed to be clarified.”
Karl has enjoyed consistent success at each of his stops on the sideline for a reason – he’s a damn good coach. But chief among reasons Cousins’ reported displeasure with playing for him were believable is because the two seem an odd fit schematically.
Boogie is the most dominant post scorer in basketball and prefers a pace that allows him to establish deep position and take his time with the ball. He’s frequently in the backcourt as Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, and the rest seek transition opportunities, too. Cousins just isn’t a runner. But Karl stresses uptempo basketball first and foremost, and has never coached a marquee player of Cousins’ hoops id. His star big men have been the likes of Kenneth Faried and Shawn Kemp – hyper-athletic power forwards that thrive in space.
That’s not Cousins, but Karl is smart and seasoned enough to tweak his systems to get the best out of Boogie. Unlike some other coaches, we doubt he’ll try to force a square peg into a round hole.
If so, there’s no reason to believe that Karl can’t be successful in Sacramento, especially should Ranadivé and GM Pete D’Allesandro – who was in the Denver front office during Karl’s last coaching stint, by the way – give him the time it takes to build a winner. They didn’t allow Malone that luxury, but the reported terms of Karl’s contract and his standing as a coaching giant theoretically makes them more likely to do so this time around.
For the sake of Karl and Cousins plus the Kings’ loyal fan base, here’s hoping Ranadivé now better understands the value of patience. This partnership could be great – we just won’t know for sure one way or another until Karl is given the chance make Sacramento just that.
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