This deal has been brewing over the last week or so, but it has finally become official: George Karl is now the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
There were some questions at first about the possibility when a report surfaced that DeMarcus Cousins’ camp was not in favor of the move (for what reason is anyone’s guess), and that was kind of a big deal given Cousins’ status as the face of the franchise. Nevertheless, here’s Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports with the breaking news:
George Karl has reached agreement on a four-year contract worth nearly $15 million to become coach of the Sacramento Kings, a league source told Yahoo Sports.
Sacramento plans to make a formal announcement soon.
The deal will include a $1.5 million buyout provision on the $5 million owed Karl in the final year of the contract, a source told Yahoo Sports.
Karl will earn $1.25 million for the rest of the 2014-15 season, which will begin with his Kings debut after the All-Star break on Feb. 20 against Golden State. Karl is set to earn $3.25 million in 2015-16 and $5 million per season in the final two years of the deal, a source said.
[…]
After owner Vivek Ranadive insisted on the firing of ex-coach Michael Malone, the Kings struggled under interim coach Tyrone Corbin and turned toward Karl in the past week. Corbin plans to leave the organization and will not be a part of Karl’s staff for the rest of the season, a source said.
Karl is one of the most accomplished coaches in the NBA and should be able to bring out the best out of the roster he has. Of course, it will be difficult to implement things more than half way through the season, so expectations for this season should be strongly tempered. That said, he will have a chance to get through to some of his players with a general idea during the extended All-Star break, which was perhaps the perfect time for him to come in to replace Corbin if anything was going to happen this year.
Speaking of the All-Star break, the NBA announced that Anthony Davis will officially be replaced – that’s the third starter expected to miss the All-Star game due to injury – by Dirk Nowitzki.
Really? With all respect to Nowitzki, who at this point is a timeless treasure, there were other players who should have been ahead of him for the chance to play at the All-Star game. Assuming Davis had to be replaced by a forward, the immediate names that come to mind are Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers. Green is an incredible presence for a team whose record is currently 42-9, the Grizzlies only have one All-Star despite being the second best team in the West, and Jordan has been fantastic as usual for the Clippers (although naming three All-Stars out of the sixth best team in the West would have been a bit much). I would have been okay with any of those players over Nowitzki, who is putting up very good numbers once again on offense but is almost a non-existent presence on defense.
One player who isn’t ready to miss the All-Star weekend despite having knee issues is Carmelo Anthony, who wants to represent New York City in the starting lineup, from Steve Popper of The Record:
Carmelo Anthony sat out the final game before the All-Star break with soreness in his left knee. And while he has admitted the time is coming for him to undergo a surgical procedure, he said he expects to be ready to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game in New York.
“I’m going to try,” Anthony said. “Today’s Wednesday. The game is on Sunday. I feel better today than I did yesterday. As of now I’ll be there, I’ll be at the game. I’ll probably participate in the game unless something happens over the course of me rehabbing it in the next couple of days. It’s been since Monday [that he has rested] and the game is Sunday. So that will give me a whole week to at least see what happens and at least give it a try.”
Kyle Korver, who was announced as a replacement All-Star for Dwyane Wade, appreciates the honor but admitted making it to an All-Star was never actually a dream of his, from Chris Vivlamore of Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“It’s definitely been quite the story with me and basketball,” Korver said Wednesday morning before the Hawks played the Celtics. A lot of things have happened in 12 years. I believe that everything happens for a reason. There are good things that are fun and you enjoy. There are bad things that you learn from and try to get better because of. All those things have happened, for sure.”
“It was never my dream to be an All-Star. I just love the game and I love playing. It was never about making the NBA. It was about I love playing basketball and I love all of it. When you love something, you work really hard at it.”
“I’ve been very fortunate to be around good coaches and good teammates and people who have made me better. I just keep on working, you know? It’s cool that this happened. It’s not the end by any means. I feel like I’ve still got quite a bit left but I’m on the back half for sure. It’s cool.”
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
The Houston Rockets may still have strong interest in bringing back Jeremy Lin over the summer, perhaps without a poison pill in the contract this time, from Howard Beck of Bleacher Report: “Though he eventually lost his starting job to defensive ace Patrick Beverley, Lin remained a major part of the rotation, a valued player on a rising power. But the Rockets needed salary-cap room last July to make a frenzied, all-out bid for Chris Bosh. So they offloaded Lin’s hefty contract, along with a first-round pick, to the Lakers. It was purely a bookkeeping move. The Rockets remain high on Lin and are expected to be among his chief suitors this summer.“
According to Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Nets’ best bet this season is to move Brook Lopez, from Net Income: “So I think Lopez would be the one possibility. and Oklahoma City, I think they still have interest in Lopez but they have not re-engaged. That could start up again possibly, but Oklahoma City was pretty adamant on ‘here’s the package we want to do for him.’ They didn’t want to give up any more. Now, they may feel differently at the trade deadline but maybe they get the Nets involved in a three-way or maybe a four-way, a bigger deal but that stuff hasn’t started to develop yet. I’m sure it will here now. Over the weekend, you’ll see a lot of executives are here n New York. A lot of them will be over at Basketball without Borders, looking at the young international prospects and that triggers conversations again with people.”
- Is Karl Malone a bully or what?
Magic Johnson didn’t have anything good about the job Jim Buss has done with the Los Angeles Lakers, from Baxter Holmes of ESPN: “Jim is trying to do it himself and trying to prove to everybody that this was the right decision that [his] dad gave [him] the reins,” Johnson said Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “He’s not consulting anybody that can help him achieve his goals and dreams to win an NBA championship.”… “If Jim would say, ‘OK, Mitch. You run the show,’ I think it would be a lot better for the Lakers, too. Mitch Kupchak knows what he’s doing. He’s great. He’s smart. He’s hard-working. He’s at every practice. I think the fans would feel good [if he ran the team] as well,” Johnson said… “And I really believe this: [Kobe] should … say to Jim and them, ‘Look, if you don’t sign one of these free agents [this offseason], man, I’m just not going to play next year,'” Johnson said… “You almost gotta say that because if you come back with the same level of talent, you’re just going to have the same results,” Johnson said. “You know, so, look, Kobe, put pressure on Jim to say, ‘Look, man, you’ve got to bring me some talent, some help, so that this can be a great season for the Lakers and a great season for me, being my last season, and then I can retire.'”
Amare Stoudemire sounded like he may be done with the Knicks, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday: “Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t done playing for the Knicks, but he reflected on his time with the organization, saying he brought excitement and hope back and has no regrets. “I gave it all, man,” Stoudemire said after practice Tuesday. “I gave my heart, my body and my soul. I truly gave it all. I’m still giving. I’m still dedicated to the game of basketball. I’m still dedicated to New York State and the New York Knicks.” Stoudemire could be playing his final game with the Knicks Wednesday night against the Magic not far from where he grew up. He said he will use the All-Star break to decide whether to ask for a buyout. Teams headed for the playoffs such as the Mavericks and Clippers need big men and could have an interest in Stoudemire.”
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.