Hot new George Karl rumor (Merged)

#2
He also just implied on his radio show that something is up too.. but cryptically. He said in reply to a comment by Keith Brooks about going 'full monty' criticizing coach Corbin... Dave said "I don't know that we're going to have to go full monty on coach Corbin too much longer"... then there were some knowing snickers.

I think it has happened.

I tuned into his show just as soon as I saw this twitter convo above. Today might be a good day in Kings land
 
#4
I will forgive this front office for everything if Karl is hired. You get a clean slate and gain a little respect through out the league as well. What are you waiting for?
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#5
I heard the same thing on the radio but.......I'm not going to go that far in regards to Karl as it could be Mullin, could be Jackson, could e anybody. But I don't think that comment and then everything surrounding it was about nothing.
At least it gives us something to think about. Watch them hire a guy like Keith Smart or the coach from Reno!
 
#7
I think you are reading too much into this. Nothing is going to happen THIS season. However, I hope I am wrong.
He changed his profile pic to Karl for two minutes. Then changed it back. Since then has only offered the most soft and cryptic denials.

I'm gonna believe its real and its spectacular - my dogs are happy this morning... it was incredible how the mood lifted in my house when I started believing the Kings have reached an agreement with George Karl.

So i'm gonna believe this till it is officially denied by Dave

On the other hand... I AM listening to Keith Brooks on the radio, which never ever ever happens... so maybe it was just a teaser to boost radio ratings lol. But for once I'm not feeling that cynical. This whole "cheering up" thing feels good - I should try it more often.
 
#9
I heard the same thing on the radio but.......I'm not going to go that far in regards to Karl as it could be Mullin, could be Jackson, could e anybody. But I don't think that comment and then everything surrounding it was about nothing.
At least it gives us something to think about. Watch them hire a guy like Keith Smart or the coach from Reno!
I think originally in their minds there was a quirky hire in the works. I think plans changed after the massive fall out.

Vivek seems like kind of guy that really cares what people think of him. You can almost see it in his face at the games nowadays. He knows he and the rest of this front office look like **** through all of this. They can't afford to miss again. Completely losing the fan base right before the new arena opens up would be devastating.
 
#10
I heard the same thing on the radio but.......I'm not going to go that far in regards to Karl as it could be Mullin, could be Jackson, could e anybody. But I don't think that comment and then everything surrounding it was about nothing.
At least it gives us something to think about. Watch them hire a guy like Keith Smart or the coach from Reno!
When reading this, I realized I may be falling into Vivek's plan. I'm so tired of this mess, I might actually be happy if we brough in Mullin or Jackson - just somebody who isnt a substitute teacher. We can actually begin moving forward.

But then again.. thats why I'm here, so you all can beat me up and make sure I'm thinking clearly :p
 
#12
I will forgive this front office for everything if Karl is hired. You get a clean slate and gain a little respect through out the league as well. What are you waiting for?
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.
 
#13
I think originally in their minds there was a quirky hire in the works. I think plans changed after the massive fall out.

Vivek seems like kind of guy that really cares what people think of him. You can almost see it in his face at the games nowadays. He knows he and the rest of this front office look like **** through all of this. They can't afford to miss again. Completely losing the fan base right before the new arena opens up would be devastating.
I doubt it. Vivek was part of the group that shipped out Monta Ellis, resting the hopes of the franchise on a perma-injured Steph Curry, a raw but promising Klay Thompson and a perma-injured Bogut. That REALLY did not go over well with G.S. fans at the time, though they are pretty happy with the situation at present.

I'm not saying that is what happened here, only that there is evidence against Vivek's giving two flips what the fans/media say.
 
#14
Replacing a substitute teacher with an inexperienced one wouldn't be any better. They do need someone like Karl. Unfortunately, if it were to come true, they waited too long. There's not enough time left this season to do anything other than end the season in basketball purgatory. Not enough time to cobble together enough wins, and, in the mind of the FO, not enough losses to keep that draft pick for one more year.

So yeah, it's about as ugly as you can get it, but if someone like JVG was brought in, then that to me says the FO is giving a mea culpa, and is willing to try and right the ship as soon as possible, regardless of draft/position fallout, which would earn back a lot of good will. Not all of it. But enough.
 
#15
I doubt it. Vivek was part of the group that shipped out Monta Ellis, resting the hopes of the franchise on a perma-injured Steph Curry, a raw but promising Klay Thompson and a perma-injured Bogut. That REALLY did not go over well with G.S. fans at the time, though they are pretty happy with the situation at present.

I'm not saying that is what happened here, only that there is evidence against Vivek's giving two flips what the fans/media say.
The circumstances are a little different. Vivek wasn't the guy taking the heat at the time. I mean, he went from hero to zero overnight, and his publicist didn't do him any favors.
 
#16
I think the arena fills up and stays full if Karl comes on - and phones ring off the hook for season tickets, priority in the new area, all that. They don't need to make the playoffs under Karl - people are realists. But, I bet they would rather play .600 ball the rest of the season for a full arena than play .250 ball the rest of the season and get a lottery pick.
 
#17
I doubt it. Vivek was part of the group that shipped out Monta Ellis, resting the hopes of the franchise on a perma-injured Steph Curry, a raw but promising Klay Thompson and a perma-injured Bogut. That REALLY did not go over well with G.S. fans at the time, though they are pretty happy with the situation at present.

I'm not saying that is what happened here, only that there is evidence against Vivek's giving two flips what the fans/media say.

Monta was especially an idiot in GS. Outside of their fans, the rest of the basketball world was ok with that trade.

No one has come out and supported this terrible decision.
 
#18
I think the arena fills up and stays full if Karl comes on - and phones ring off the hook for season tickets, priority in the new area, all that. They don't need to make the playoffs under Karl - people are realists. But, I bet they would rather play .600 ball the rest of the season for a full arena than play .250 ball the rest of the season and get a lottery pick.
sorry, i'd rather them see them flush the rest of the season down the drain than win a few extra games. with a lotto pick, we could get something out of suffering through another year.
 
#21
What is more important?

A. Another 7th-10th pick in the draft? (Keep in mind our success rate is hanging right around the Mendoza line)

B. New Coach to immediately get started in righting the ship for next season.


I vote for the latter, we really can't afford to burn another year of DMCs contract.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#27
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.
 
#28
Even if they do hire Karl, let's not forget two things.

1)He was available this offseason.
2)he was available the day Malone was fired.

To bring him in now would just hammer home the lack of a plan. It sure looks like a tank at this point (it's the only way to look at this as any kind of success). Hiring karl would be pretty strong evidence the freefall to irrelevance was absolutely NOT part of the plan. Which has to flip the script on the FO back to dumb and impulsive, not evil genius' knowingly throwing away a season for a draft pick. Which also, is very dumb. But at least it's a plan.

At this point, it's also a panic hire, and one they would have to live with. Firing Karl after a season, no matter what he does, would get backlash an order of magnitude greater than they saw firing Malone. They have to hire a coach, and they have to hit a HR. Can't be changing coaches again next season. Just can't do it.

The Malone firing backfired in ways they didn't anticipate. I think they knew the fans would be angry. What they didn't realize is the team itself would throw in the towel. They figured winning would smooth the waters, essentially saying the coach doesn't matter. But that didn't happen and still shows no signs of happening. So the FO just looks stupid. What they said and I really think thought would happen didn't. At all.

FO is desperate. They created a black hole of hopelessness that is sucking up the entire franchise and all neighboring communities (this one here included) right now.

I don't think Karl is the slam dunk hire people think he is. I realize anyone would look like an upgrade right now, and Karl certainly is that, but the shelf life there will be rather short. He's not a long term solution. Maybe 3-5 years. Maybe less. It's a lot riskier than I think people here like to admit. They better be damn sure the Karl/Boogie dynamic works. Jobs depend on it.
 
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#29
I don't think Karl is the slam dunk hire people think he is. I realize anyone would look like an upgrade right now, and Karl certainly is that, but the shelf life there will be rather short. He's not a long term solution. Maybe 3-5 years. Maybe less. It's a lot riskier than I think people here like to admit. They better be damn sure the Karl/Boogie dynamic works. Jobs depend on it.
I don't know that many of us think Karl is a slam dunk. I think that he's probably the best guy to potentially fill the FO's dreams of an up and down team, and I personally think Karl's gravitas will keep the FO from meddling. Do you think Vivek will text Karl to offer advice? The hell he would. Do you think the Gerbil would tell Karl to play DWill more? Hell no.
That is why I would want Karl here. Is he more Jazz band than Marching band? Oddly enough, I don't think so, and I think Karl is smart enough to say, "this is what I can run with this team", and the FO will have to listen. They'll have to just shut up and take it, considering how bad they messed up the Malone firing. In the business world, sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on.

You're right though, that he is a short-term solution, and maybe that's what we need here. A proven winner to stick with the team for about 2-3 years to elevate them into a 45-50 win team, just to get rid of the stench of losing. (Granted, I think Malone was also that guy, but that's a discussion for another time.) Man, the players were so excited to know what it felt like to be a feared opponent - I'd want to bring that back ASAP.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#30
What is more important?

A. Another 7th-10th pick in the draft? (Keep in mind our success rate is hanging right around the Mendoza line)

B. New Coach to immediately get started in righting the ship for next season.

I vote for the latter, we really can't afford to burn another year of DMCs contract.
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.