George Karl's Wild Ride

[Padrino]

The Spurs example is so far off as the Grizzlies example was last season, to describe a playstyle, that fits the Kings roster.

1. The Spurs have great floor spacing even when playing "big". We don't have that.
2. Every player on the Spurs roster with the exception of Marjanovic is a scoring threat, that needs to be respected by the opponent. We have Rondo, Koufos and Willie as three key contributors, that a competent defense will dare to shoot from certain spots on the floor most of the time.
3. With Leonard and Green the Spurs have two upper tier wing defenders. And their interior D is not bad. We have no average wing defender up to this point.
4. Aldridge and West will punish smaller opponents on the glass
4. and let's not forget about the fact, that the Spurs core can create a shot with pick&rolls and ball movement every time it's needed and therefore has no trouble at all to score even against a tough half court defense. We on the other hand seem to struggle once our first screens or set plays fail, resulting in contested jumpers by Rondo, Gay or Belli pretty often.

With all due respect to your opinion, but I don't think that slowing it down at all costs, will resolve the issues the Kings are facing right now.
We yet have to find a balance, between offense and defense. That's the major problem.
From my point of view the most balanced lineup we have right now is Cuz, Gay, Casspi, Ben, Rondo because we have the space to play Cuz inside, can score in transition and are mobile enough to play defense against most teams with less physical PF's.
I would love to play bigger and add a true rim protector to that lineup for Gay or Casspi, but right now this would mean less space for Cousins, who is our main weapon.
As long as CUz is able to hit 3's, the spacing issue is not that big. But when his jumpshot is off, we run into trouble while playing big.
And I don't think, that our questionable perimeter defense is perfectly fitted for a playstyle, that relies on beating the opponent with D and an inefficient offense, which would be the case, when you try to feed Cuz close to the basket with bad spacing.

In the offseason I hoped the Kings would somehow manage to add a solid wing defender and that Willie would be able to shoot the ball in games, like he did in the video clip posted here a while ago.
But sadly none of this happened and Karl seems to struggle to get things working, because of this.
At least I think he struggles because of this and not because he is stubborn and wants to run at all costs no matter which roster he is actually coaching.
But I'm in the minortiy with this line of thought on KF.com.

to be clear, i absolutely was not comparing the kings' roster to the spurs' roster. i just took issue with the assertion that one must "adapt or die" when it comes to the pace and space stylings of contemporary nba basketball, and the spurs strike me as an excellent example of how to eschew what's trendy in pursuit of maximizing the talent on their roster. as a coach, popovich has no political agenda. he's not interested in trying to reshape the game. he's not out to prove anything to anybody. he's only out to win, and you'll never see him trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, because that makes it harder to win. the last couple of seasons, it made sense for the spurs to play fast and hoist three's. it makes less sense this season, so you're seeing a slower pace and fewer three's. that is true adaptation, when you're not just hitching your wagon to whatever fad is spreading across the league. pop is a no-nonsense personality who will seriously push his players, but you can be sure that he'll devise systems on both sides of the ball that maximize those players' natural gifts...

as for my philosophy of how to structure a roster's play style, i'd say it's rather simple: determine who your best players are, and mold a play style around those talents. the kings' "core" is a trio of demarcus cousins, rajon rondo, and rudy gay, and all three happen to excel in a more measured half court system. demarcus cousins is an outright superstar, and outright superstars tend to succeed in any system, but his decision-making is at its best when he's not attempting to rush things. rajon rondo is a genuine floor general who loves to patiently free lance in the half court. and rudy gay is an above average wing player with considerable length who finds his greatest offensive success in post-up situations. this doesn't mean that these three talents can't succeed in karl's preferred up-tempo dribble drive offense, but perhaps they would be best utilized in a considerably less frenetic system...

now, i'm not suggesting that the kings need to retreat in the complete opposite direction, but i think there is merit to the idea that the pace karl wants to play at isn't a particularly great fit for this roster. i mean, jesus, cousins and rondo actually took initiative to schedule a meeting with george karl where they requested that he slow down the offense from time to time so that they're better able to maximize their natural gifts. that's not to say that star-level talents always know what's best for them, but it hardly strikes me as an unreasonable request from two talented and smart players who are forming considerable chemistry together on the court. and i share their belief that playing at a slower pace may help to get the best out of the kings' best players, and may also lead to a stronger team-wide emphasis on the defensive side of the ball...

if less energy is spent huffing it up and down the court at karl's rather chaotic pace, the kings stand a better chance of applying some of their energy to, ya know, actually stopping the other guy. a post-surgery rajon rondo will never be the defensive whiz that he was under a tom thibodeau-led boston celtics defense, but i have to believe that he can be better than he's been. darren collison will likewise never be a defensive stopper at the point of attack, but we saw much greater effort from him on the defensive side of the ball under mike malone. the same goes for ben mclemore. there must be a reason that these players are not playing up to their potential on defense, however limited that potential may be...

i'd suggest that george karl 1) doesn't value defense all that highly, and 2) has his team playing at so fast a pace on offense that they're not able to commit much focus or energy to the defensive side of the ball (and that's before we address karl's defensive schemes, which seem tailor-made for a roster with much more defensively-versatile players than the kings have). once again, this doesn't mean that a roster can't succeed at playing fast and playing good defense, but not every roster can be like the warriors' roster. in fact, no other roster in the history of the nba has been quite like the warriors' roster. perhaps the players that vlade has collected here in sacramento aren't well-suited to the trendy fast-paced small ball we're seeing so many teams adopt as if it were gospel. i say it all the time: there is more than one way to skin a cat on the way to a winning record...

the kings certainly aren't a complete or well-balanced team just yet, and i'm sure vlade would be the first to admit that he has more work to do. but these are the 2015-2016 sacramento kings for the time being, and i will continue to beat the drum that the kings would be winning more games if the coaching staff decided to coach the players they have, rather than the players they wish they had...

 

[ForlornKing]

George Karl DID in fact say something along these lines once on his weekly show with Grant.

Said he is in the belief that a good offense, will lead to a good defense, not the other way around. Grant asked him that exact question, does a good defense set up a good offense or a good defense set up a good offense.

I think his reasoning was if you are scoring well, the other team has to take the ball out of the inbounds more often or something stupid like that.

Of course Grant agreed with him.

 

[KingsFanGER]

George Karl DID in fact say something along these lines once on his weekly show with Grant.

Said he is in the belief that a good offense, will lead to a good defense, not the other way around. Grant asked him that exact question, does a good defense set up a good offense or a good defense set up a good offense.

I think his reasoning was if you are scoring well, the other team has to take the ball out of the inbounds more often or something stupid like that.

Of course Grant agreed with him.

He isn't wrong. A good offense does set up a good defense. It's way easier to defend 5vs5 in the halfcourt, than it is to stop a team in transition in todays NBA.
Now it would be concerning, if Karl wouldn't believe, that a good defense leads to good offense too. But he actually said this countless times.
Of course we can argue about Karls coaching decisions, but why must we act like Karl is some kind of idiot, that doesn't know basketball basics?
I honestly don't get it.

 

[Bricklayer]

He isn't wrong. A good offense does set up a good defense. It's way easier to defend 5vs5 in the halfcourt, than it is to stop a team in transition in todays NBA.
Now it would be concerning, if Karl wouldn't believe, that a good defense leads to good offense too. But he actually said this countless times.
Of course we can argue about Karls coaching decisions, but why must we act like Karl is some kind of idiot, that doesn't know basketball basics?
I honestly don't get it.

If you're actually going to carry that line of thinking through, and we've heard ot before in these parts, then here is your hieracrchy:

Best offense for your defense:

1) team that draws tons of FTs (and makes them).
2) team that draws tons of FTs, btu struggles (so long as they still hit them 50%+)
3) team that goes inside and shoots a highly efficient percentage of 2pt shots
4) team that bombs away from three point land.

because if the key factor is taking the ball out of the hoop, then TS% does not apply. You are looking for pure FG% (or FT%). 40% from 3pt land is worse for your defense than 50% from 2pt land whixh is worse for your defense than 60% from the FT stripe.

 

[KingsFanGER]

to be clear, i absolutely was not comparing the kings' roster to the spurs' roster. i just took issue with the assertion that one must "adapt or die" when it comes to the pace and space stylings of contemporary nba basketball, and the spurs strike me as an excellent example of how to eschew what's trendy in pursuit of maximizing the talent on their roster. as a coach, popovich has no political agenda. he's not interested in trying to reshape the game. he's not out to prove anything to anybody. he's only out to win, and you'll never see him trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, because that makes it harder to win. the last couple of seasons, it made sense for the spurs to play fast and hoist three's. it makes less sense this season, so you're seeing a slower pace and fewer three's. that is true adaptation, when you're not just hitching your wagon to whatever fad is spreading across the league. pop is a no-nonsense personality who will seriously push his players, but you can be sure that he'll devise systems on both sides of the ball that maximize those players' natural gifts...

as for my philosophy of how to structure a roster's play style, i'd say it's rather simple: determine who your best players are, and mold a play style around those talents. the kings' "core" is a trio of demarcus cousins, rajon rondo, and rudy gay, and all three happen to excel in a more measured half court system. demarcus cousins is an outright superstar, and outright superstars tend to succeed in any system, but his decision-making is at its best when he's not attempting to rush things. rajon rondo is a genuine floor general who loves to patiently free lance in the half court. and rudy gay is an above average wing player with considerable length who finds his greatest offensive success in post-up situations. this doesn't mean that these three talents can't succeed in karl's preferred up-tempo dribble drive offense, but perhaps they would be best utilized in a considerably less frenetic system...

now, i'm not suggesting that the kings need to retreat in the complete opposite direction, but i think there is merit to the idea that the pace karl wants to play at isn't a particularly great fit for this roster. i mean, jesus, cousins and rondo actually took initiative to schedule a meeting with george karl where they requested that he slow down the offense from time to time so that they're better able to maximize their natural gifts. that's not to say that star-level talents always know what's best for them, but it hardly strikes me as an unreasonable request from two talented and smart players who are forming considerable chemistry together on the court. and i share their belief that playing at a slower pace may help to get the best out of the kings' best players, and may also lead to a stronger team-wide emphasis on the defensive side of the ball...

if less energy is spent huffing it up and down the court at karl's rather chaotic pace, the kings stand a better chance of applying some of their energy to, ya know, actually stopping the other guy. a post-surgery rajon rondo will never be the defensive whiz that he was under a tom thibodeau-led boston celtics defense, but i have to believe that he can be better than he's been. darren collison will likewise never be a defensive stopper at the point of attack, but we saw much greater effort from him on the defensive side of the ball under mike malone. the same goes for ben mclemore. there must be a reason that these players are not playing up to their potential on defense, however limited that potential may be...

i'd suggest that george karl 1) doesn't value defense all that highly, and 2) has his team playing at so fast a pace on offense that they're not able to commit much focus or energy to the defensive side of the ball (and that's before we address karl's defensive schemes, which seem tailor-made for a roster with much more defensively-versatile players than the kings have). once again, this doesn't mean that a roster can't succeed at playing fast and playing good defense, but not every roster can be like the warriors' roster. in fact, no other roster in the history of the nba has been quite like the warriors' roster. perhaps the players that vlade has collected here in sacramento aren't well-suited to the trendy fast-paced small ball we're seeing so many teams adopt as if it were gospel. i say it all the time: there is more than one way to skin a cat on the way to a winning record...

the kings certainly aren't a complete or well-balanced team just yet, and i'm sure vlade would be the first to admit that he has more work to do. but these are the 2015-2016 sacramento kings for the time being, and i will continue to beat the drum that the kings would be winning more games if the coaching staff decided to coach the players they have, rather than the players they wish they had...

Popovich will adapt to the strengths of his roster. I agree with that. But actually there are very few coaches, that don't do that.
The whole narrative that Karl is just some wannabe small ball fanatic, that doesn't know a thing about a good big man is really cute but not realistic.
Why does Karl like to play fast? Well because basically a layup in transition is the easiest shot in basketball and even if the opponent gets back fast enough to prevent the layup, the defense will struggle to set up correctly. So yes - in theory it has advantages to get into the offense early.
Now of course you can slow it down and play in the halfcourt.
But the key to a good half court offense will always be spacing. Space makes otherwise only solid basketball players look like stars. That's why Green is so effective for the Spurs. That's why Bellinelli played great for them.
A lack of space, makes things tough and will cause a lot of out of control plays. As Kings Fans we saw this countless times.
The problem I have with the preference for half court basketball on this board is that the Kings struggle to space the floor while playing big.
How are we supposed to set up an efficient half court offense like this? The only way to do it, is to sub in as much shooting as possible around DMC or move him to the perimeter.
That's actually what Karl has been doing.
The problem is, that we can't field an upper echolon defensive unit, while getting as much space possible on offense. Hell we can't even field a good defensive unit, even if we sacrifice offensive spacing completely.
So Karl tries to get easy shots in transition and shuffles around the lineups in search for someone, who will defend and hit shots.
I'm not even a fan of Karl. I don't like small ball.
But this mess has nothing to do with Karl misusing our roster or trendy basketball, that for some reason a lot of KF users don't like.

We did play slower and did play Cuz inside more against the Mavs, but only with enough shooting around him. And that's the correct way to do it, if we want to go down that route.

 

[Padrino]

Popovich will adapt to the strengths of his roster. I agree with that. But actually there are very few coaches, that don't do that.
The whole narrative that Karl is just some wannabe small ball fanatic, that doesn't know a thing about a good big man is really cute but not realistic.
Why does Karl like to play fast? Well because basically a layup in transition is the easiest shot in basketball and even if the opponent gets back fast enough to prevent the layup, the defense will struggle to set up correctly. So yes - in theory it has advantages to get into the offense early.
Now of course you can slow it down and play in the halfcourt.
But the key to a good half court offense will always be spacing. Space makes otherwise only solid basketball players look like stars. That's why Green is so effective for the Spurs. That's why Bellinelli played great for them.
A lack of space, makes things tough and will cause a lot of out of control plays. As Kings Fans we saw this countless times.
The problem I have with the preference for half court basketball on this board is that the Kings struggle to space the floor while playing big.
How are we supposed to set up an efficient half court offense like this? The only way to do it, is to sub in as much shooting as possible around DMC or move him to the perimeter.
That's actually what Karl has been doing.
The problem is, that we can't field an upper echolon defensive unit, while getting as much space possible on offense. Hell we can't even field a good defensive unit, even if we sacrifice offensive spacing completely.
So Karl tries to get easy shots in transition and shuffles around the lineups in search for someone, who will defend and hit shots.
I'm not even a fan of Karl. I don't like small ball.
But this mess has nothing to do with Karl misusing our roster or trendy basketball, that for some reason a lot of KF users don't like.

We did play slower and did play Cuz inside more against the Mavs, but only with enough shooting around him. And that's the correct way to do it, if we want to go down that route.

see, the problem i have with your mindset is that it's the same mindset that has infected this franchise across the last decade. it is a mindset that always sacrifices defense at the altar of offense. but ya know what? i don't believe for a second that "we can't even field a good defensive unit, even if we sacrifice offensive spacing completely." prior to his firing, mike malone turned a starting lineup that featured demarcus cousins, rudy gay, darren collison, ben mclemore, and jason thompson into one of the strongest defensive units in the entire nba. it's fair enough to point out that it was a small sample size, but it was also almost exclusively up against stiff western conference competition. with focus and a culture that actually gives a sh*t about the less glamorous side of the ball, even poor individual defenders can learn to play above-average team defense...

you say it's a problem that "we can't field an upper echelon defensive unit, while getting as much space as possible on offense." i say the problem is a system that would so willingly sacrifice any attempt to compete on the defensive end for the sake of a bit more efficiency on offense. yes, offensive spacing is important, but it is not the only thing that matters, and i'd argue that it's not even the most important thing. good defensive teams can win games despite an offense that might occasionally sputter. poor defensive teams, on the other hand, will find ways to lose games in spite of any advantage that superior offensive efficiency is supposed to grant them. the kings are second in pace this season and tenth in offensive efficiency, so why aren't they winning more? well, for starters, their defense rarely manages to stop anyone, and they consistently give up large runs at inopportune moments throughout the course of a game. beyond that, it's always a struggle for them to contain penetration, and they don't even make use of a defensive strategy that seeks to maximize their talent up front by funneling the opposition's rim attack to any of the three legitimate rim protectors in their active rotation...

the kings' offense is scoring 105.3 ppg, and they're doing so with above-average efficiency, but they've achieved this by sacrificing anything resembling a commitment to the defensive end. they're a bottom-five defense once again, giving up 108.5 ppg. 108.5!! that's the second highest opponent scoring average in the league. yes, yes, faster pace equals more points scored, blah, yada, etc., i don't give a sh*t. they're giving up 108.5 ppg. that's as bad as it's been since 2009. it should also be noted that playing small and fast isn't even translating to wins across the nba this season. only four of the top-ten teams in pace are actually posting a winning record, golden state and oklahoma city being the stalwarts among them. elsewhere among the top-10 are embarrassments like the philadelphia 76ers and the massively underachieving houston rockets, and mediocrities like the boston celtics, phoenix suns, and washington wizards. i'd rather the kings played a bit slower, sacrifice some of their efficiency on offense, and commit to playing defense with even a modicum of urgency...

 

[ForlornKing]

He isn't wrong. A good offense does set up a good defense. It's way easier to defend 5vs5 in the halfcourt, than it is to stop a team in transition in todays NBA.
Now it would be concerning, if Karl wouldn't believe, that a good defense leads to good offense too. But he actually said this countless times.
Of course we can argue about Karls coaching decisions, but why must we act like Karl is some kind of idiot, that doesn't know basketball basics?
I honestly don't get it.

He isn't wrong. A good offense does set up a good defense. It's way easier to defend 5vs5 in the halfcourt, than it is to stop a team in transition in todays NBA.
Now it would be concerning, if Karl wouldn't believe, that a good defense leads to good offense too. But he actually said this countless times.
Of course we can argue about Karls coaching decisions, but why must we act like Karl is some kind of idiot, that doesn't know basketball basics?
I honestly don't get it.

It's a philosophy. Great teams are based on good defense. A Good defense sets up a good offense. Much easier to get some transition points than strictly be a half court team.

 

[KingsFanGER]

see, the problem i have with your mindset is that it's the same mindset that has infected this franchise across the last decade. it is a mindset that always sacrifices defense at the altar of offense. but ya know what? i don't believe for a second that "we can't even field a good defensive unit, even if we sacrifice offensive spacing completely." prior to his firing, mike malone turned a starting lineup that featured demarcus cousins, rudy gay, darren collison, ben mclemore, and jason thompson into one of the strongest defensive units in the entire nba. it's fair enough to point out that it was a small sample size, but it was also almost exclusively up against stiff western conference competition. with focus and a culture that actually gives a sh*t about the less glamorous side of the ball, even poor individual defenders can learn to play above-average team defense...

you say it's a problem that "we can't field an upper echelon defensive unit, while getting as much space as possible on offense." i say the problem is a system that would so willingly sacrifice any attempt to compete on the defensive end for the sake of a bit more efficiency on offense. yes, offensive spacing is important, but it is not the only thing that matters, and i'd argue that it's not even the most important thing. good defensive teams can win games despite an offense that might occasionally sputter. poor defensive teams, on the other hand, will find ways to lose games in spite of any advantage that superior offensive efficiency is supposed to grant them. the kings are second in pace this season and tenth in offensive efficiency, so why aren't they winning more? well, for starters, their defense rarely manages to stop anyone, and they consistently give up large runs at inopportune moments throughout the course of a game. beyond that, it's always a struggle for them to contain penetration, and they don't even make use of a defensive strategy that seeks to maximize their talent up front by funneling the opposition's rim attack to any of the three legitimate rim protectors in their active rotation...

the kings' offense is scoring 105.3 ppg, and they're doing so with above-average efficiency, but they've achieved this by sacrificing anything resembling a commitment to the defensive end. they're a bottom-five defense once again, giving up 108.5 ppg. 108.5!! that's the second highest opponent scoring average in the league. yes, yes, faster pace equals more points scored, blah, yada, etc., i don't give a sh*t. they're giving up 108.5 ppg. that's as bad as it's been since 2009. it should also be noted that playing small and fast isn't even translating to wins across the nba this season. only four of the top-ten teams in pace are actually posting a winning record, golden state and oklahoma city being the stalwarts among them. elsewhere among the top-10 are embarrassments like the philadelphia 76ers and the massively underachieving houston rockets, and mediocrities like the boston celtics, phoenix suns, and washington wizards. i'd rather the kings played a bit slower, sacrifice some of their efficiency on offense, and commit to playing defense with even a modicum of urgency...

Which mindset? That an efficient half court offense needs space? That's not a mindset. That's basic basketball.
Malone won a few games with the lineup you mentioned. The thing is, that even with below average NBA players like JT in the lineup we had more space to work with, than with a lineup with Rondo, Ben, Gay, Willie/KK and Cuz.
To overcome a bad offense, that not only scores fewer points, but most importantly turns the ball over way too much, because thats what happens when you are playing in tight space, we need to be elite defensively.
And to be elite you need at least a few elite defenders. Right now our best defender is Cousins followed by Koufos. Both play the same position and struggle on the offensive and defensive side of the ball when paired together. Willie has all the potential in the world, but is a rookie and forces Cousins to play more outside than inside on offense. And our perimeter defense is crappy.
Well you can say, that we don't have the players, that fit the playstyle you think Karl wants to play.
But I doubt we have the players to play good halfcourt basketball with Cuz as an inside scoring threat, two full sized bigs and with a good to great defense to keep things running with our current personnel.
Now if we would start DC and/or would have drafted a player like let's say Myles Turner things would look a bit different.

 

[Im Still Ballin]

I'm not sure Seth is really PG... He's much more of SG in PG body. He had 24.3 PPG but only 2.4 APG in summer league. And in his best year in Duke it was 17.5 PPG, 2.5 APG... But with Belinelli not shooting particularly well (35.4% 3Pt, 38.7% FG) and Collison not pairing well with Rondo... he should get his chance.

Well I mean he's 6-2 and he's a 22 point 5 assist guy in the d-league and listed as a PG... Darren only has gotten around 6 assists per game at the most... I think Karl's dual PG lineup is more about having two small, quick guards who can shoot, make plays and defend.. Collison is only 6-0, I mean we are talking about guys in point guard bodies. As much as the lineup is about play style, it's also about speed

"The game of basketball has gone from size to speed, and to me, a lot of nights, I think I can win with speed," Karl says. "So I usually go that way if I can."

We know the hesitance of Darren not playing off-ball and tunnel vision.. He renders Rondo ineffective, which is the opposite of the Andre Miller-Ty Lawson pairing. Lawson was pretty much playing off-ball as a SG

"Anytime he wants the ball, I say, 'Here, you have it.' I just go on the wing," Lawson says.

Lawson finds playing off the ball makes life easier, not harder. Instead of becoming disengaged, Lawson says letting Miller do the heavy lifting actually engages him more. Driving lanes that otherwise might be tough to find suddenly become easier to spot when Miller draws defensive attention. For someone as fast as Lawson, that's all he needs to make an impact.

"For me, when he passes the ball, it's coming from something built out, so it's easy for me to get into the lane and make decisions," he says. "For him, he can post up smaller guards or go by two guards who are bigger than him."

 

[IfAt1st]

I think there's a strong possibility that George Karl is daring the Kings' ownership to fire him and eat his contract.

I think there's a strong possibility that there is a mini-revolt going on right now between the players and Karl about how they team is best suited to win.
(Has anyone else noticed the coded language Rudy and Demarcus have used during their last 2 postgame interviews? They both said "Defense wins games." Sound familiar?)

I think the ownership group has made it very clear to the players that they will not brook the open revolt that the players demonstrated in protest of Tyrone Corbin's head coachingship last year, so the players are forced to do it less publicly. This has led to their players meetings and DMC/Rondo meeting with Karl to talk things out. So they're being smarter and making it seem like they're reasonable.

Seriously, we're supposed to believe that Karl doesn't KNOW how bad his matchups/substitutions have been?
That he doesn't see what happens to the team as soon as he puts Collison in with Rondo and makes Rondo play off-ball?
That he doesn't see how the team isn't suited for pace pace pace and dribble-drive?
That he thinks the 3-pt-line is the best place to put Demarcus Cousins?
That he thinks 3 guard lineups and smallball is the way for this team to win?
That the video sessions don't use constructive criticism or point out mistakes Rondo/DMC make?

Things aren't adding up here, unless you start thinking that Karl WANTS to get fired and get his paycheck, too.

I'm thinking management is going to blink before Karl does here - he likely has the upper hand, given the absolute crap-storm that ownership caused by firing Malone last year, then the Corbin screwups (multiple), then they felt significant pressure to hire Karl and he likely got them over a barrel and got a sweetheart severance deal in his contract.

I expect Vivek to put his money where his mouth is and buy out Karl soon.
I just really hope they've been on the horn and lined up a suitable replacement before they pull the oozing, pus-filled bandage off this time.

 

[gunks]

I find myself subscribing to the "Karl wants free money" theory myself.

He's a future HOFer coach, known as an adaptable basketball genius, he's coached many different speeds during his career.... Now all of a sudden he doesn't get it?

He either wants to be fired...

Or he's gone senile...

Or.... Vivek is still being a little **** and pushing his armature ideas as gospel.

None of the options are that peachy

 

[VF21]

I find myself subscribing to the "Karl wants free money" theory myself.

He's a future HOFer coach, known as an adaptable basketball genius, he's coached many different speeds during his career.... Now all of a sudden he doesn't get it?

He either wants to be fired...

Or he's gone senile...

Or.... Vivek is still being a little **** and pushing his armature ideas as gospel.

None of the options are that peachy

Of your theories, I think the Vivek one is the least likely for the simple reason we aren't hearing ANYTHING from him at all in any social media or anywhere else.

 

[gunks]

Of your theories, I think the Vivek one is the least likely for the simple reason we aren't hearing ANYTHING from him at all in any social media or anywhere else.

I hope you're right.

He may have wised up about flapping his gums, but it wouldn't surprise me, given how we've been playing, if he's still pushing for jazz.

I just find it hard to believe that Karl could be so blind to the talents on his roster.

 

[jdbraver]

I hope you're right.

He may have wised up about flapping his gums, but it wouldn't surprise me, given how we've been playing, if he's still pushing for jazz.

I just find it hard to believe that Karl could be so blind to the talents on his roster.

He isn't. Where does the buck stop? You have your answer to why this team continues to suck.

 

[Bricklayer]

Vivek's damage is of the lingering type. There is little evidence he's directly adding to it. He canned the coach we needed, and made a bad hire in his place. The lingering stench and known run like idiots preferences linger out there, but since Vlade took over there has been a safety wall there preventing further direct meddling. The danger is that if the damage runs too deep and we don't adequately recover, the Vlade wall will be broken down and the meddler will return thinking he can agitate things to a resolution.

 

[ockingsfan]

If and When Coach Karl is let go, I can see someone that Vivek will have interest in this summer.

A hot coaching candidate this summer will be GSW very own, Luke Walton.

I wouldn't be surprised if Luke Walton is the next coach of either the Lakers or the Kings come next summer.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

If and When Coach Karl is let go, I can see someone that Vivek will have interest in this summer.

A hot coaching candidate this summer will be GSW very own, Luke Walton.

I wouldn't be surprised if Luke Walton is the next coach of either the Lakers or the Kings come next summer.

That's an interesting point, which does seem like a possibility. As long as his dad doesn't come back around, with Jim Gray

 

[ockingsfan]

Serious question:

Is there any coach of the current kings assistant coaches that could possibly step in and do a competent job as an interim coach and try to turn this team around?

Because if the kings fire Karl, then no competent coach would ever accept the kings job mid-year in this dumpter fire.

Maybe Corliss Williamson?

 

[dude12]

I'd like to,see Doug Christie as head coach.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Serious question:

Is there any coach of the current kings assistant coaches that could possibly step in and do a competent job as an interim coach and try to turn this team around?

Because if the kings fire Karl, then no competent coach would ever accept the kings job mid-year in this dumpter fire.

Maybe Corliss Williamson?

I really don't think so. Haven't seen anything to indicate that there's another head personality on that bench

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I'd like to,see Doug Christie as head coach.

Now that would truly be entertaining, in a good way. If were ready to roll the dice with some new blood, I think Doug would be outstanding. He really "gets it"

 

[SacTownKid]

Serious question:

Is there any coach of the current kings assistant coaches that could possibly step in and do a competent job as an interim coach and try to turn this team around?

Because if the kings fire Karl, then no competent coach would ever accept the kings job mid-year in this dumpter fire.

Maybe Corliss Williamson?

Vlade would have to make an offer they couldn't refuse. (Cue Bricks Vladfather picture)

He'd have to ask Vivek for a blank check first though.

 

[ockingsfan]

I'd like to,see Doug Christie as head coach.

That would be an interesting hire, but the kings would have to hire him as their coach (not interim coach) and with no experience, this could turn very ugly, if that gamble doesn't work out.

 

[rekehavoc123]

I would actually love Doug Christie as head coach!

 

[VF21]

I really don't think so. Haven't seen anything to indicate that there's another head personality on that bench

Of course not. George Karl isn't going to sit his potential replacement on the bench with him. What's the best way to guarantee your job? Make sure the only possible replacements would be unacceptable.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Of course not. George Karl isn't going to sit his potential replacement on the bench with him. What's the best way to guarantee your job? Make sure the only possible replacements would be unacceptable.

Ironically, the best assistant coach we've had in several years, was Tyrone Corbin. He is a very good assistant

 

[VF21]

Ironically, the best assistant coach we've had in several years, was Tyrone Corbin. He is a very good assistant

And that's probably one of Mike Malone's biggest regrets. Had he not put Corbin on the bench, perhaps ... well, you know.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

And that's probably one of Mike Malone's biggest regrets. Had he not put Corbin on the bench, perhaps ... well, you know.

That's one of the things I like about Mike Malone. He doesn't think like that. He puts his best 'foot' forward with who and what he believes in...and lets the chips fall where they may

 

[VF21]

That's one of the things I like about Mike Malone. He doesn't think like that. He puts his best 'foot' forward with who and what he believes in...and lets the chips fall where they may

And, in that regard, he's about as rare as an honest man in politics.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

And, in that regard, he's about as rare as an honest man in politics.

Yup. Not afraid to say something like "defense wins games in this league" continually, while those 'above' him are shoving offensive analytics numbers in his face