It was reported after the Sacramento Kings’ blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night that the Sacramento front office was so angry about the loss, they were seriously considering firing head coach George Karl.
Now, ESPN’s Marc Stein reports that the Kings will indeed fire Karl in the coming days:
ESPN sources say that the Sacramento Kings are going ahead with a coaching change and plan to fire George Karl in coming days
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 9, 2016
The Kings were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-100 on Monday night, and have now lost four straight games (and eight of their last nine). They’re a disappointing 21-31, despite a fairly talented roster, led by 25-year-old All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins. Karl’s relationship with Cousins is actually one of the reasons he’s been rumored to be on the hot seat, as The Comeback’s Harry Lyles Jr. explained on Saturday:
The veteran coach has not gotten along well with star center DeMarcus Cousins, to the point that his future as the Kings’ coach was questioned in the offseason. Cousins had some things to say about the team’s situation after the game.
“I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room,” Cousins told reporters in Brooklyn, via ESPN. “Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We’ve got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team.”
NBA front offices are usually going to choose to figure things out with their star player over a head coach in a situation like this; it’s a star’s league.
The 63-year-old Karl has been the head coach of six NBA organizations in his career, and was named the NBA Coach of the Year with the Denver Nuggets for his efforts in the 2012-2013 season. Karl signed a four-year, $15 million deal with the Kings in February of 2015, and has gone 32-50 (exactly a full season’s worth) over his two seasons with the organization.
As Sacramento Kings reporter Sean Cunningham of ABC10 says, the Kings should just fire Karl now — provided Stein’s report is accurate — rather than prolonging this:
If decision is to fire George Karl in coming days, they should cut ties tonight. No need in prolonging, if true. Should be before Wednesday — Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) February 9, 2016
Update: Or not…
The Kings scrapped plans to fire George Karl after lengthy meeting Tuesday in Philly between Karl and GM Vlade Divac, sources told ESPN
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 9, 2016
In a statement to ESPN, Kings GM Vlade Divac said: “George is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 9, 2016
Comments are closed.