The Sacramento Kings problems are very profound, between their bad record and frustrations voiced by their franchise center piece DeMarcus Cousins or having lost 18 of 24 games since making the move to current coach Tyron Corbin, including 10 of their last 11, there seems to be an issue in Sac-town.
Some of it could be tied to the firing of former Head Coach Mike Malone after the Kings started the season a surprising 9-6 but some more of it could be a question of the players heart and effort.
It now seems like the team is looking to make a midseason change to help out their newest All-Star in Cousins and it could start with the hiring of a new Head Coach, the legendary George Karl.
Following from Pro BasketballTalk’s Aaron Bruski.
Kings ramping up their search for a new head coach, I’m told. No firm timetable, but the All Star break could be the time we see a switch.
— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) February 6, 2015
Sam Amick of USA Today sheds some light on the George Karl situation with the Sacramento Kings.
The Sacramento Kings are seriously considering making another midseason coaching change and bringing in longtime head coach George Karl, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
There’s the question in some minds, too, of whether the Kings would pay a different kind of price for taking this tact rather than conducting a thorough coaching search during the offseason. As USA TODAY Sports reported recently, the Kings would likely have interest in coaches like Tom Thibodeau (Chicago Bulls) or Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City Thunder) if they parted ways with their respective teams anytime soon. Golden State Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry, who interviewed for the Kings lead assistant job last summer, is also known to be on their list.
Karl’s personal past with a number of influential members in and around the Kings organization remains relevant as well, as he previously coached Kings advisor Chris Mullin and has history with the two agents who represent franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins as well.
Karl is undoubtedly the most accomplished coach available on the open market, as he currently ranks sixth all-time among NBA coaches in wins with a record of 1,131-756 and has the fourth-best winning percentage at .599 of the 8 coaches who have won more than 1,000 games in their NBA coaching career.
The big issue may be Karl’s contract and what he would get. Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro does have a history with coach Karl in their time they spent together in the Denver Nuggets organization but there probably won’t be a buddy discount. Consider the fact that 2 head coaches with no prior head coaching experience in Derek Fisher and Steve Kerr who were hired over the summer got huge 5 year, $25 million contracts. A guy with an established record like Karl’s could mean he commands some big change. Will the Kings be will to give that to Karl?
It remains to be seen but the majority owner of the team, Vivek Ranadinve who has the final say but is one of more than 30 owners within their ownership group, has said on more than one occasion that money isn’t an issue when it comes to improving the franchise.
