Report: Karl to take over Kings after All-Star break, Cousins wasn't consulted
The Sacramento Kings' coaching saga may soon finally come to an end, as ESPN's Marc Stein and Chris Broussard reported Tuesday night that the Kings are operating under the assumption that George Karl will take over as head coach after the All-Star break.
"Only a dramatic and unexpected collapse in the final stage of negotiations can prevent George Karl from becoming the next coach of the Sacramento Kings," the report states, citing league sources.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported on Monday that Karl and the Kings were closing in on an agreement on a four-year contract worth $4 millino to $5 million per season.
Earlier reports claimed that DeMarcus Cousins and his camp were holding up the hiring of Karl and now the All-Star center has broken his silence, via Stein and Wojnarowski.
"I wasn’t consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone and I’m not being consulted now," Cousins said, as tweeted by Wojnarowski. "I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it. George Karl is an experienced, proven coach and if that is who they chose to coach this team, I will support it. I do not like all these discussions in the media while we have a coach in place. It is a distraction and not fair to Coach Corbin and this team."
"I don't fire coaches or hire them. Everyone knows I liked and respected Coach Malone," Cousins told ESPN, as reported by Stein. "I didn't want that to happen. I'm not involved in any coaching decisions. I've heard that George Karl is a great coach. If that is the direction the organization chooses, I'll support it. Out of respect for Coach Corbin, I hadn't planned on making any comments about what is out there. But at this point I felt some things needed to be clarified."
Tyrone Corbin took over on an interim basis when the Kings abruptly fired Mike Malone.
Karl hasn't coached since being fired by the Denver Nuggets following the 2012-13 season, despite leading the Nuggets to 57 wins and winning the Coach of the Year award.
Of the 57 coaches with at least 600 regular-season games coached, Karl's career win percentage of 59.9 ranks ninth. Though he's never won a championship, Karl's teams made the playoffs in 23 of his 25 seasons, placing him sixth all-time in playoff games coached with 185.
His 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics team advanced to The Finals, while he also took the Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks to the conference finals.