Hot new George Karl rumor (Merged)

[John Galt]

I think tanking to retain another draft pick is an old sad song that has the fan base weary. While it could be efficient strategy to do so, I think Vivek will feel more urgency to stop the malignancy now - in its tracks - rather than let the season burn down.

I have no way of knowing this, but I imagine the season ticket renewal numbers are shockingly bad and they are indeed desperate even if they won't admit it (I saw an article where Chris Granger said renewals were "brisk" - ha ha so is Lipton iced tea.

I received phone calls from Chris Granger and Pete D'Alessandro urging me to renew (was a hoot talking to both of them - both nice smart guys). That has never happened - neither the President nor the GM of the Kings has ever called me on my cellphone to urge me to renew my season tickets. This suggests to me that Vivek's co-owners are feeling a pinch even if Vivek isn't.

To hire Karl now instead of next season will cost Vivek and his buddies a PACE-ton of money, but I think they have gotten to the point where they don't give a PACE about another $3M this way or that way.. they have got to save the PACEing ship from sinking right PACEing now.

 

[Jeremy Fraser]

Can't get my hopes up.

I'll expect Jackson or D'Antoni...

... If it is Karl, I can be pleasantly surprised. If it isn't? I'll just stay indifferent and undisappointed.

Sacramento Kings would surpass Always Sunny as my favorite comedy of all time if Pringles was hired.

 

[SacKings384]

I don't understand. Why now? Why after we've lost so many games under Corbin? Why after legitimately coming on radio and saying that Corbin will be the coach for the rest of the season. Why not just have kept the interim title on Corbin? This just looks like management running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

But hell, if it brings us Karl then so be it.

 

[kupman]

If the FO has had enough of the Corbin experiment and they think that Karl might be the right long-term solution for coach then you hire him tonight. This is also consistent with the FO MO - "if you do not have the right guy for the long-term, make a move right now."

Hiring Karl now gives the team time to learn his ways now and build into the future. It takes months of work. We will continue to lose many games this season, even with Karl, because 1) it take awhile to bring a team together under new coaching and 2)we still are missing significant pieces of talent on this team.

So yes, if Karl is believed to be the next best choice for us, hire him today, continue to trade for upgrades in talent and make better draft choices. These 3 things could mean a future with more wins.

 

[pdizo916]

I give up all hope with regards to Sacramento Kings basketball. They take one step forward and three steps back on purpose....

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

Oh god. The Magic just fired Jacques Vaughn. Guess we know who our new coach is gonna be.

 

[kingsboi]

I just don't see them signing him right now....what is the point really? Give the new coach and the new a full offseason, training camp and preseason to implement a system and go from there. Not do it like this. Did they not mention too that Corbin will be coaching for the remainder of the year? I know their word isn't good for much these days but at some point you have to stick with what you are saying, otherwise you are going to be constantly ridiculed about changing your words around and having even more faithfuls jumping ship because you never know if what they say is going to be stuck in cement or there will be more "meddling" going on.

 

[Warhawk]

Well, first there was "this season is about wins" and then a coach is canned who is winning for the first time in almost a decade with a healthy roster and a VERY tough schedule.

Then they keep the "substitute teacher" (who they didn't choose as an assistant coach) to keep coaching the team into a horrendous record, while stating that he would be the coach until the end of the season and then re-evaluated.

I think it is the unanticipated (by the FO only, EVERYONE else saw it coming) train wreck of a record since Malone was fired, (likely) lack of STH renewals to date, and fan outcry that is pushing for a faster change than they wanted. I also wonder if the other owners are pressuring the FO to move more quickly, as they seem to be more on board with the fan point of view from what little I have heard informally (and it is very little).

Hopefully this FO is getting through their growing pains and starting to make smarter decisions???

I hope Karl is hired. Heck, 3-4 years with one coach would still be 2-3 times the stability of any coaching staff (measured in duration) in Sacramento since Rick!!! He is a HOF coach who tends to get the most out of his talent on the team. We need that desperately.

It is still inexplicable and mind-boggling that if this move is made it wasn't done immediately after Malone's firing. Just insane that they made that move without a plan in place (and Corbin doesn't qualify as a plan in my eyes). It wouldn't erase the damage done, but it would indicate that they truly are looking to win and get a culture change restarted after derailing it with Malone's firing.

 

[funkykingston]

Just to give a viewpoint from the (would be clearly unpopular) side A...

This season is almost certainly already lost, even with Karl coming in tonight. It is true that Karl has turned around two franchises midseason, but the '91-'92 Sonics were .500 at the time and only 40 games into the season. They got to .573, but would have made the playoffs at .524. Karl took over the 17-25 Nuggets in '04-'05 42 games into the season, and led them to a ridiculous .800 mark the rest of the way to get them into the playoff at .598 (would have been in at .549).

We're even deeper into the season (47 games) and even deeper in the hole (17-30) than the Nuggets were. And if we were to go on an .800 tear for the rest of the season - a miracle even for George Karl - we would end up at .549 but currently we'd need to get to .560 to get in (and the Thunder are making their expected charge which could raise the bar). The point being that even George Karl with his penchant for turning teams around would seem very, very unlikely to save this season now.

But what George Karl would do, almost certainly, is he would cost us our draft pick (as has been assumed above in Scenario B). We would be looking at only a 1-2% chance of keeping our pick (by jumping into the top three). Right now, we're looking at something more like a 4-15% chance of jumping into the top three, and if not, still keeping the pick. The top three in this draft (figure Okafor, Russell, Mudiay) would turn this franchise around, especially with a coach like Karl coming in during the offseason - and we'd have a fighting chance for that to happen at 4-15%. Even if not, it looks like a player like Willie Cauley-Stein (our dream defensive player) might be right in our wheelhouse about 7-8. And there are other interesting names in a draft that's very, very deep.

This season is already lost. Cousins is stuck here for three years. If we hire Karl (who has the history of turning around a team immediately) in the offseason, we start next year already good, we have three years to soothe Cousins, and we can do it with one additional (potential star) player on the cheap for four years. If we hire Karl now Cousins will be happier sooner, but Karl will have less to work with to get our roster into shape for a championship run.

It's a tough call. It's the difference between getting a head start (with a coach who is known to not need one) or picking up an asset that might be really huge. I have a hard time arguing against the asset. It's a long-term view. And no, I don't buy the idea that waiting until the offseason to hire Karl would permanently burn our bridges with Cousins. If I did, I'd toss that draft pick away. But I don't.

I can understand that viewpoint. There's a part of me that feels that way too. Sort of "as long as we're already tanking, let's tank to the utmost". And maybe a top 8 pick (maybe top 3 if the ping pong balls bounce our way) could become the player that takes the Kings to the next level and with a new coach next year the team really takes off.

But Joe Alexander, Thomas Robinson, Wesley Johnson, Jan Vesely, Tryrus Thomas, Johnny Flynn, Yi Jianlian, Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, Al-Farouq Aminu, Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Bennett, Nik Stauskas and probably a few I'm forgetting were all top 8 picks in the last few years. Personally I'd trade a team surging to finish the season and ending with the promise of hope over the the glittery appeal of another lottery pick. I'm not convinced that D'Alessandro has the talent evaluation skills to make the right decision even with a top 10 pick in an admittedly strong draft. I'm all for losing that pick if it means turning this season around in Sacramento. We have our franchise guy. We have his wingman. And we have a few other pieces (Ben, DC, even Thompson) that can be contributors on a winning squad. I'm all for hiring Karl.

 

[swisshh]

That's just Dave trolling a bit and trying to put more pressure on. He has no access to knowledge of that ilk. His connections are with the Sac community, and while some of those are involved with the Kings, he's probably not breaking any King news that isn't related to Sacramento itself.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Just to give a viewpoint from the (would be clearly unpopular) side A...

This season is almost certainly already lost, even with Karl coming in tonight. It is true that Karl has turned around two franchises midseason, but the '91-'92 Sonics were .500 at the time and only 40 games into the season. They got to .573, but would have made the playoffs at .524. Karl took over the 17-25 Nuggets in '04-'05 42 games into the season, and led them to a ridiculous .800 mark the rest of the way to get them into the playoff at .598 (would have been in at .549).

We're even deeper into the season (47 games) and even deeper in the hole (17-30) than the Nuggets were. And if we were to go on an .800 tear for the rest of the season - a miracle even for George Karl - we would end up at .549 but currently we'd need to get to .560 to get in (and the Thunder are making their expected charge which could raise the bar). The point being that even George Karl with his penchant for turning teams around would seem very, very unlikely to save this season now.

But what George Karl would do, almost certainly, is he would cost us our draft pick (as has been assumed above in Scenario B). We would be looking at only a 1-2% chance of keeping our pick (by jumping into the top three). Right now, we're looking at something more like a 4-15% chance of jumping into the top three, and if not, still keeping the pick. The top three in this draft (figure Okafor, Russell, Mudiay) would turn this franchise around, especially with a coach like Karl coming in during the offseason - and we'd have a fighting chance for that to happen at 4-15%. Even if not, it looks like a player like Willie Cauley-Stein (our dream defensive player) might be right in our wheelhouse about 7-8. And there are other interesting names in a draft that's very, very deep.

This season is already lost. Cousins is stuck here for three years. If we hire Karl (who has the history of turning around a team immediately) in the offseason, we start next year already good, we have three years to soothe Cousins, and we can do it with one additional (potential star) player on the cheap for four years. If we hire Karl now Cousins will be happier sooner, but Karl will have less to work with to get our roster into shape for a championship run.

It's a tough call. It's the difference between getting a head start (with a coach who is known to not need one) or picking up an asset that might be really huge. I have a hard time arguing against the asset. It's a long-term view. And no, I don't buy the idea that waiting until the offseason to hire Karl would permanently burn our bridges with Cousins. If I did, I'd toss that draft pick away. But I don't.

Even granting all that you said (and I pretty much agree with your analysis) What good is a draft pick if PDA is the guy picking? At least with Karl on board IF we keep the pick he can use it. Moreover I think that at this point the WORST thing the ownership can do is to sit back and do nothing. They are now a joke in the eyes of every sports writer, the fan base is furious and will not be placated and coach Corbin took away the only fig leaf they could hope for when he failed so spectacularly.

Sure I think the BEST answer is to can PDA PDQ but even the half measure of bringing in Karl NOW means that he will likely NOT bring back another weak shooter from the draft, and pressure is back on PDA to beef up the bench with trades and it will make a more attractive offer to FA's.

 

[GQ_Gabriel]

I'm reading the thread, OP's link or image seems to no longer display.

What's the rumor?

 

[BenThePizzaGuy]

Enough with the George Karl fetish!

 

[hrdboild]

The advantage of keeping the pick is more than just taking a chance on another youngster. Granted that is an option, and it certainly looks right now like there are going to be a lot of players on the board who could really help us. All of the guys in the top 10 this year are going to be types of players who we have no shot at in free agency (athletic bigs who block shots, physically dominant PGs, wing players with strong two-way potential). Even more important though is that having a pick in that range gives you a chance to trade for someone else. Consider the report that we've been offering Stauskas in trades to try to pull in an athletic shotblocking big. You make that trade Stauskas and the #8 pick and you might actually be able to get somebody.

I can see why a lot of people think this needs to happen now. The players look like they've given up. A lot of fans have stopped watching the games. A new coach would give us a reason to watch again but there are only 35 games left in the season at this point. 20 of those are against playoff teams. We're not just bad right now, we're awful. What we're talking about here with hiring Coach Karl now is giving up a very real shot at a 6-8 pick in the draft to maybe win 30 games and finish 20+ games short of a playoff spot in the West with no pick at the end of the season. Sure there's a tangible benefit to building something positive in the locker room as soon as possible, but essentially throwing away a key rotation player is not to be taken lightly.

To make it even more clear, look at where the standings are right now ... if we were to win 3 more games in a row we lose the pick. Lose 3 more games in a row we might be #6. I'm as sick of the constant tanking as everyone else but there's a huge difference between having the 6th pick in a pretty strong draft and having no pick at all.

 

[notoriousBEN3]

The advantage of keeping the pick is more than just taking a chance on another youngster. Granted that is an option, and it certainly looks right now like there are going to be a lot of players on the board who could really help us. All of the guys in the top 10 this year are going to be types of players who we have no shot at in free agency (athletic bigs who block shots, physically dominant PGs, wing players with strong two-way potential). Even more important though is that having a pick in that range gives you a chance to trade for someone else. Consider the report that we've been offering Stauskas in trades to try to pull in an athletic shotblocking big. You make that trade Stauskas and the #8 pick and you might actually be able to get somebody.

I can see why a lot of people think this needs to happen now. The players look like they've given up. A lot of fans have stopped watching the games. A new coach would give us a reason to watch again but there are only 35 games left in the season at this point. 20 of those are against playoff teams. We're not just bad right now, we're awful. What we're talking about here with hiring Coach Karl now is giving up a very real shot at a 6-8 pick in the draft to maybe win 30 games and finish 20+ games short of a playoff spot in the West with no pick at the end of the season. Sure there's a tangible benefit to building something positive in the locker room as soon as possible, but essentially throwing away a key rotation player is not to be taken lightly.

To make it even more clear, look at where the standings are right now ... if we were to win 3 more games in a row we lose the pick. Lose 3 more games in a row we might be #6. I'm as sick of the constant tanking as everyone else but there's a huge difference between having the 6th pick in a pretty strong draft and having no pick at all.

While your post certainly makes a lot of sense, my only fear about keeping the pick is that i would be very afraid about going into the draft without a long term coach in place. Thats not to say i want to fill the coaching spot right now, but i would be very fearful going into the draft where Vivek can pull the same BS he pulled last year and we could end up with another waste of space with that lottery pick. Granted, Bmac seems to be doing quite well and i'm far from writing off Stauskas as a bust this early, i just think someone like Karl in place before the draft is a must. Someone who will not just accept PDA and Viveks suggestions as orders.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Not getting my hopes up

 

[Glenn]

Why would management replace coaches now? I mean things are going so well!

Just when we are in a good pace, we need to adjust to another coach who might value winning. smh

 

[HereWeBoogie]

That's just Dave trolling a bit and trying to put more pressure on. He has no access to knowledge of that ilk. His connections are with the Sac community, and while some of those are involved with the Kings, he's probably not breaking any King news that isn't related to Sacramento itself.

not exactly. he just traveled around the country and to the Superbowl with some of the owners and DeMarcus' manager. He has connections

 

[Glenn]

I can understand that viewpoint. There's a part of me that feels that way too. Sort of "as long as we're already tanking, let's tank to the utmost". And maybe a top 8 pick (maybe top 3 if the ping pong balls bounce our way) could become the player that takes the Kings to the next level and with a new coach next year the team really takes off.

But Joe Alexander, Thomas Robinson, Wesley Johnson, Jan Vesely, Tryrus Thomas, Johnny Flynn, Yi Jianlian, Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, Al-Farouq Aminu, Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Bennett, Nik Stauskas and probably a few I'm forgetting were all top 8 picks in the last few years. Personally I'd trade a team surging to finish the season and ending with the promise of hope over the the glittery appeal of another lottery pick. I'm not convinced that D'Alessandro has the talent evaluation skills to make the right decision even with a top 10 pick in an admittedly strong draft. I'm all for losing that pick if it means turning this season around in Sacramento. We have our franchise guy. We have his wingman. And we have a few other pieces (Ben, DC, even Thompson) that can be contributors on a winning squad. I'm all for hiring Karl.

Of course I agree. Another factor is that hiring Karl right now might sell some season tickets. I had the pleasure of having season tickets in the first 1/3 of the franchise's time in Sacramento. It was not funny nor was it enjoyable. I will never buy season tickets again especially if it seems to be simply to watch a team lose. Maybe people are willing to spend thousands of dollars to look at a new arena but for me, that thrill would last a month and then be done. Bottom line is that I want a team that wins and if Karl or someone similar is hired now, I will have a reasonable feeling that a coach like that can build a winner out of the players we have. I suspect season tickets would be sold and if I understand the economics of small city pro sports, they depend on selling tickets. Right?

 

[jaysutton2003]

Why does my gut tell me they are going to hire Mullin after the season is done. I hope I'm wrong!

 

[rainmaker]

I'll believe when I see it. Enough of the mixed signals and the emotional roller coaster this incompetent FO and ownership put us fans through. I'm not getting my hopes up only to get slammed back down to reality.

This is basically like a single drop of rain landing on your forehead while trekking across the Sahara, offering just the slightest glimmer of hope but I'll need a decent amount more than that rain drop to not think I'm still stuck in the middle a ****storm.

And if it were to happen now, my first question would be why did you fools wait until this season had be driven off a cliff? Reminds me of school when the whole class was held up to cater to the slowest learner and PDA right now, you're the slowest learner holding this whole city up.

 

[IfAt1st]

I received phone calls from Chris Granger and Pete D'Alessandro urging me to renew (was a hoot talking to both of them - both nice smart guys). That has never happened -

Pete himself called you about season tickets?
WHAT
THE
****?!?!

Pete, the guy who is responsible for trades, drafts, etc wasted time out of his day to call you on the phone and ask for money?
This infuriates me - it shows this organization's obsession with ticket sales, and thinking that sales pitches are effective, instead of putting together a winning product on the floor. Excuse me - instead of not blowing up their winning product.
Pete should not be spending one second wooing one person to sell one ticket. That is not his job, and it's an absurdly ineffective use of vital time. He's a horrendous salesman, and he could have sold thousands of tickets if he had simply come on the air 6+ weeks ago (as was his request) and honestly addressed the fan's issues and answered them well.
Hell, if he called another conference with the fans today, and actually related what the FO's plans were, what their reasoning was, and apologized for blowing it so badly and committed to moving forward asap, it would sell thousands of tickets.

Why is he spending his time calling single ticket holders?!
I think this mental image now of the GENERAL MANAGER acting as a bush-league sales rep, hawking tickets over the phone for a sinking franchise while no one is at the helm directing the ship with a map through dark waters, is even worse than ever before.

 

[itzcoatl]

Having a stable coach will help us sign free agents in the offseason. We won't be big players but we will need to shore up our bench and having Karl or some other good coach can help in that regard.

 

[pshn80]

That ship has sailed for me. The smart thing to do would have been to hire him within a week of the Malone firing. There is nothing more to be gained this season by winning games, which makes Corbin a perfect coach for the Kings.

I clearly dislike this post.

A move of some positive kind right now would help me decide to renew my season tickets. They are emailing every day offering to meet me at my seats at my next game to sign a renewal. If they are smart businessmen they would make a significant move right now. I think they are smart business people.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

I don't know what's going to happen, so I'll just add my two cents:

Cent 1: I think Carmichael Dave really likes the "insider knowledge" thing, and he was The Man at the end of the Seattle spectacle with his smiley faces, so I'm going to cautiously believe that he knows things once again.

Cent 2: I'm a season ticket holder, in my second year, and I haven't renewed yet, specifically because of the Malone firing. If they hire George Karl, I'll renew. Maybe they're trying to show season ticket holders that there's hope.

 

[IfAt1st]

The advantage of keeping the pick is more than just taking a chance on another youngster.
All of the guys in the top 10 this year are going to be types of players who we have no shot at in free agency (athletic bigs who block shots, physically dominant PGs, wing players with strong two-way potential). Even more important though is that having a pick in that range gives you a chance to trade for someone else.

Oh, THIS will be the year that the Kings package their coveted draft pick and trade for a solid veteran that addresses team needs they've had for a decade?

Nope - not buying into that hope. I've seen this play far too often (just like the 1-4 flat) and I know they'll miss the shot (actually, not take it).

If the rumors were true, there were chances in previous years to pick up Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry and many others with our draft picks the past decade, and the Kings did NOTHING with it. (Oh, except trade down and give up their starting PG for John f-ing Salmons part deux).

I am not down with giving them another lost half of a season on the hope that this front office will do anything with the pick, unless it's a Top 3 one. And what are the chances of that? 8-14% chance?
What's the % chance that this FO will want to keep the pick, get their focus groups together, huddle together in their war room, and blow this pick just like last years?
Anyone think it's less than 8-15% chance?

 

[Glenn]

I clearly dislike this post.

A move of some positive kind right now would help me decide to renew my season tickets. They are emailing every day offering to meet me at my seats at my next game to sign a renewal. If they are smart businessmen they would make a significant move right now. I think they are smart business people.

Of course. Some people don't understand that the people who pay money to see games do NOT go to the games to root for losses. Now you need a clear sign that next year's team will win.

 

[Bricklayer]

Well, first there was "this season is about wins" and then a coach is canned who is winning for the first time in almost a decade with a healthy roster and a VERY tough schedule.

Then they keep the "substitute teacher" (who they didn't choose as an assistant coach) to keep coaching the team into a horrendous record, while stating that he would be the coach until the end of the season and then re-evaluated.

I think it is the unanticipated (by the FO only, EVERYONE else saw it coming) train wreck of a record since Malone was fired, (likely) lack of STH renewals to date, and fan outcry that is pushing for a faster change than they wanted. I also wonder if the other owners are pressuring the FO to move more quickly, as they seem to be more on board with the fan point of view from what little I have heard informally (and it is very little).

Hopefully this FO is getting through their growing pains and starting to make smarter decisions???

I hope Karl is hired. Heck, 3-4 years with one coach would still be 2-3 times the stability of any coaching staff (measured in duration) in Sacramento since Rick!!! He is a HOF coach who tends to get the most out of his talent on the team. We need that desperately.

It is still inexplicable and mind-boggling that if this move is made it wasn't done immediately after Malone's firing. Just insane that they made that move without a plan in place (and Corbin doesn't qualify as a plan in my eyes). It wouldn't erase the damage done, but it would indicate that they truly are looking to win and get a culture change restarted after derailing it with Malone's firing.

I think that is a lot of it if something happens. In fact I have been counting on it.

There is a good reason I have been relentlessly after the front office ever since they ****ed the season, and will continue to be so. They were deluded, ignorant, arrogant and foolish. They needed to be taught an absolutely brutally painful lesson, and I'm hoping the STH are in the middle of doing that right now. And it has been my hope that that lesson, that pain, would cause them to flinch, reassess, and make moves they weren't planning on doing.

As far as this season...I am done tanking. Cuz is done tanking. He's out there fighting and getting frustrated, has to go to the All Star game with all the guys going to the playoffs and he's the poor relation. Maybe even the poor relation getting whispered to. Enough. I have all kinds of questions about whether George Karl is actually a great fit. But he's a major winning coach. They want to bring him in here, turn this thing around back half of the season, then great. That's what we were trying to do under Malone. The point isn't to suddenly pop up and magically hop straight out of 28 wins into the playoffs in the Western Conference. Its to establish yourselves, get the traditions going. Enter the offseason with stability knowing what the future holds. And then go get the playoffs next year. And as I've said before, I WANT to lose that pick. Let's get it done. The instant we do, we are free to make trades again with future firsts, which could make all the difference

 

[John Galt]

I don't know what's going to happen, so I'll just add my two cents:

Cent 1: I think Carmichael Dave really likes the "insider knowledge" thing, and he was The Man at the end of the Seattle spectacle with his smiley faces, so I'm going to cautiously believe that he knows things once again.

Cent 2: I'm a season ticket holder, in my second year, and I haven't renewed yet, specifically because of the Malone firing. If they hire George Karl, I'll renew. Maybe they're trying to show season ticket holders that there's hope.

Same boat. If they hire Karl I will renew too.

 

[Glenn]

I think that is a lot of it if something happens. In fact I have been counting on it.

There is a good reason I have been relentlessly after the front office ever since they ****ed the season, and will continue to be so. They were deluded, ignorant, arrogant and foolish. They needed to be taught an absolutely brutally painful lesson, and I'm hoping the STH are in the middle of doing that right now. And it has been my hope that that lesson, that pain, would cause them to flinch, reassess, and make moves they weren't planning on doing.

As far as this season...I am done tanking. Cuz is done tanking. He's out there fighting and getting frustrated, has to go to the All Star game with all the guys going to the playoffs and he's the poor relation. Maybe even the poor relation getting whispered to. Enough. I have all kinds of questions about whether George Karl is actually a great fit. But he's a major winning coach. They want to bring him in here, turn this thing around back half of the season, then great. That's what we were trying to do under Malone. The point isn't to suddenly pop up and magically hop straight out of 28 wins into the playoffs in the Western Conference. Its to establish yourselves, get the traditions going. Enter the offseason with stability knowing what the future holds. And then go get the playoffs next year. And as I've said before, I WANT to lose that pick. Let's get it done. The instant we do, we are free to make trades again with future firsts, which could make all the difference

I am going to back you up not that you would ever think it is necessary. The players aren't tanking or at least I doubt it. They are beaten down by a FO that is lost. What good would another high draft pick do us? High draft picks are supposed to end up being stars. Not only doesn't it happen at an alarming rate, the Kings already have stars. Also, most high picks take a few years to evolve. I doubt if we can wait. The Kings should be fighting for what they have. They should be doing what Cuz seems to live and die for and that is winning. Any other approach is to turn your back on our stud. This increases the chance he turns his back on us although I am not as pessimistic as Brick. Why take a chance, though?

As to George Karl or any other coach, I don't know who fits us. I DO know the name "George Karl" and at this point I think the fans would be thrilled to have a well known coach no matter how well he fits the team. He sure as hell is better than Corbin.

The team needs to be fighting for wins or at least give that appearance. Get a coach. That's a start. I get the feeling that many players are simply looking for a guy who will tell them clearly what to do. They won under Malone and he was far from perfect.

The FO has a pre-written script on how to run a team. That's my impression. They will play out the season with Corbin and then make a decision whether to keep him. That's what they say. I wish they made sense and this is the most bothersome aspect to this FO. Until they do something that makes sense, I will hold my breath waiting for their next move. I suspect the players are holding their breath also.