4:35pm: Multiple players on the Kings roster oppose the would-be hiring of Karl, Jones hears (Twitter link). Karl’s social media campaigning has rubbed some the wrong way, Jones adds (on Twitter), though it’s unclear if that’s the reason why the players don’t want him to coach the team.
4:15pm: The Kings have not made an offer to Karl, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, which conflicts with Bucher’s report (below). Chances are good that the sides won’t reach agreement until after the All-Star break, the ESPN scribe adds.
2:52pm: People close to Cousins believe that the team will hire Karl soon, Voisin tweets.
2:43pm: Negotiations with Karl continue, but D’Alessandro hasn’t made his final decision yet, a source close to the team tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Corbin has been informed that he’ll stay on through the team’s final two games before the All-Star break, Spears also reports (Twitter links).
1:03pm: Ranadive and D’Alessandro are interrogating Karl about his health, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. The 63-year-old is a two-time cancer survivor, as Voisin points out.
12:47pm: The Kings have offered Karl a contract, a league source tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher (Twitter link).
12:39pm: Ranadive has granted D’Alessandro the power to make the hire he wants if he wishes to make a coaching change, Amick reports. Presumably, that’s further indication that a deal with Karl is forthcoming, as Amick writes, nonetheless noting that it’s unclear just when D’Alessandro would want to make a move. There were also indications Sunday that Cousins’ camp was warming to the idea of Karl as the team’s coach, Amick observes
11:28am: Some in the front office have reservations about Karl and have told Cousins about their concerns, but D’Alessandro seems prepared to forge ahead and reach an agreement with Karl, as Jones explains in a full piece.
MONDAY, 8:17am: The Kings front office has recommended that the team hire Karl, and they’re close on the terms of a deal, leaving the decision in the hands of ownership, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Tyrone Corbin met with the front office Sunday evening and remains the head coach of the Kings, Wojnarowski tweets, but it sounds as if the two games the Kings have before the All-Star break will be Corbin’s last in charge of the club, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter).
Meanwhile, Cousins seems perturbed with the whole affair and vented to reporters after Sunday’s game, saying in part, “This city done put me through so much and I stayed loyal to it the whole time,” as James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom relays.
SUNDAY, 7:39pm: There was was a sizable gap between the two sides on salary and the length of a potential contract, but that has been narrowed, according to Amick. D’Alessandro, meanwhile, appears willing to make the hire without the consent of Cousins’ camp.
Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (on Twitter) hears from a source that the discussions with Cousins’ camp have largely been to smooth things over from the Mike Malone firing and show that the team respects his place as a franchise player.
5:47pm: Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still pushing hard to hire George Karl as the team’s next head coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (via Twitter). As was rumored on Saturday, Karl is expected to talk with DeMarcus Cousins‘ camp later on today (Sunday). The meeting, Amick adds, will be crucial towards Karl’s candidacy.
A potential deal between the two sides is not dead, but there’s still plenty of work to be done if a deal is going to happen, Amick tweets. The idea that Karl must win over Cousins before getting the gig is also quite real. When asked if he was playing a role behind-the-scenes in whether Karl would get hired, Cousins didn’t exactly issue a denial:
“I’m waiting just like you guys,” Cousins said on Saturday. “There’s gonna always be allegations, there’s always going to be he said/she said.”
Cousins’ agent Dan Fegan told Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee (on Twitter) that his client is not “blocking” a deal and if the Kings want Karl, they should “make the move. We don’t run [the] team.” That could be exactly what the Kings are planning to do. The Kings aren’t saying much today and neither is Karl’s camp, according to Voisin (on Twitter), and that’s usually a sign that the parties are close to making something happen, in her view.