George Karl Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Fallout From Pete D’Alessandro’s Kings Depature

June 10th, 2015 at 4:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that Pete D’Alessandro is leaving the Kings to accept a front office post with the Nuggets. He’ll be working in a supporting role under team president Josh Kroenke with both the Nuggets and the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche. D’Alessandro’s impending departure from Sacramento will end a tumultuous tenure that began with high hopes when new Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive brought him aboard back in June 2013, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. In the article, Jones relays a number of details regarding D’Alessandro’s tenure with the Kings. Jones’ meticulously reported piece is worth a full read, especially for Kings fans, but we’ll pass along some highlights here:

D’Alessandro fought for the firing of coach Michael Malone last December, Jones writes. Parting ways with Malone sent the team into a tailspin and angered a number of the players on the roster, as Jones details. Ranadive said it was D’Alessandro and former Kings adviser Chris Mullin, who is now head coach at St. John’s University, who insisted that firing Malone was best for the team. This conflicts with Wojnarowski’s report, which indicated that Ranadive forced D’Alessandro into firing Malone.
The GM alienated some Kings players when he publicly relayed that Malone would have been fired even if the team had a winning record, according to Jones. The players viewed the termination of Malone as a personal vendetta that D’Alessandro acted on regardless of the effect it would have on the team, the Bee scribe adds.
D’Alessandro told center DeMarcus Cousins that he was against the hiring of George Karl as coach, multiple sources told Jones. Cousins later became upset when reports surfaced indicating that he was the one who was against Karl being named coach because of his loyalty to Malone.
D’Alessandro was the primary reason that former director player pro personnel Shareef Abdur-Rahim left the team before this past season, Jones reports. Abdur-Rahim disagreed with the GM’s decision to select Nik Stauskas in the 2014 draft, and he believed that Elfrid Payton would have been a better fit for the team, Jones relays.
Ranadive hired Vlade Divac, against D’Alessandro’s wishes, in order to add a basketball voice whom the owner believed wouldn’t allow personal feelings to impact his professional decisions, Jones adds.

Pacific Rumors: Robinson, Kings, Bhullar

March 30th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nate Robinson‘s sore left knee is improving and he could return to the Clippers since coach Doc Rivers was pleased with what he saw from him, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Robinson was not signed for the remainder of the season after his two 10-day contracts expired because of the injury but he’s expected to be cleared to play by week’s end, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Rivers indicated to Bolch that Robinson’s return was a strong possibility when he’s ready to play. “I liked what Nate brought us,” Rivers said “I liked his energy.” However, Robinson’s return could be delayed until Lester Hudson‘s 10-day contract expires. Hudson was signed on Sunday to take the roster spot vacated by Robinson, whose last 10-day contract expired on Thursday. The 30-year-old Hudson was the Chinese Basketball Association MVP the last two years before joining the Clippers.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive wants to put an end to the discord in the team’s front office, league sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Jones writes about Chris Mullin, the Kings adviser who is reportedly expected to accept an offer to instead become the coach at St. John’s University and who, according to fellow Bee scribe Ailene Voisin, opposed the hirings of coach George Karl and new Kings exec Vlade Divac.
The Kings are also hopeful Sim Bhullar will eventually make their NBA roster as his conditioning improves, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee reports. Bhullar, a 7-foot-5, center, has been playing for the Kings’ D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, after getting waived by Sacramento during training camp. Bhullar came to camp at nearly 400 pounds and has since shed approximately 45 pounds, according to Voisin. Ranadive is intrigued by Bhullar’s skill set but feels Bhullar still needs to drop another 40-50 pounds, Voisin adds. “He needs to get in much better shape,” Ranadive told Voisin. “That will help him get up and down the floor, and he’s been working on that.”

Western Notes: Gasol, Kings, Jazz, Messina

March 19th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

“The understanding is” that Marc Gasol will indeed be the No. 1 target of the Spurs this summer, depending on the fates of fellow soon-to-be free agents Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, a Western Conference GM told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Gasol has given plenty of signals that he prefers to stay in Memphis, and if he were to leave, he would likely move only to a team that would give him a better chance to win a title, sources also tell Deveney. The Spurs would conceivably fit that bill, but even if they don’t end up with Gasol, one GM expects San Antonio to make a surprise move this summer and hints that it’ll come at draft time, as Deveney details. There’s more on the Spurs amid the latest from around the Western Conference:

Kings adviser Chris Mullin, reportedly a candidate for the team’s coaching position earlier this season, resisted the recent hirings of coach George Karl and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac, high-ranking team execs tell Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. GM Pete D’Alessandro also resisted the hiring of Divac, who’s technically atop him in the organization, according to Voisin, though D’Alessandro said to Voisin on Tuesday that he and others are pleased to have the former center around.
The Hornets have three prominent former members of the Jazz, and Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams and Mo Williams all expressed fondness for their time in Utah when their new team came to Salt Lake City for Monday’s game, observes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Mo Williams will hit free agency again this summer, and Jefferson can, too, if he turns down a $13.5MM player option.
Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina would like to become a head coach in the NBA someday, but he’s content with the Spurs and said he’d ask Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford for advice before pursuing a head coaching job, as Messina told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

Pacific Notes: Karl, Cousins, Price, McAdoo

March 16th, 2015 at 5:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

George Karl acknowledged that he and DeMarcus Cousins started their relationship under trying circumstances and that it will take a while for them to truly build camaraderie, asthe Kings coach detailed in an interview with TNT’s David Aldridge for his NBA.com Morning Tip column.

“I’ve had some really good, serious talks about him,” Karl said of Cousins. “I think it’s hard, because of the skepticism of his agent and all that. It’s a process right now. I’m not saying the trust is with capital letters yet. But I think it’s on the page. That’s all I can ask for. I hope he understands that the process is not going to work coming in the middle of the season, taking a team that was basically a possession, defensive-minded team, and turning it into a running team. I think we’re getting a good pace, but we’re not doing it that well.”

Karl arrived in Sacramento amid Cousins’ frustration with the team’s frequent coaching turnover, and a person familiar with Karl’s thinking apparently told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that the Kings are open to trading Cousins this summer. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Ronnie Price was a revelation for the Lakers this season, becoming a starter after signing a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary in the offseason, and he’d like to come back to the team even if he’d only be a third-stringer, as he told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Price, who seems doubtful to play again this season because of a bone spur in his right elbow, will be a free agent this summer.
The Warriors have recalled James Michael McAdoo from the D-League, the team announced. The rookie scored 25 points in 29 minutes for Golden State’s affiliate Sunday the day after the Warriors sent him on assignment.
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob shared his thoughts on Draymond Green, David Lee and more with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, as we passed along earlier today.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Anthony, Bulls

March 3rd, 2015 at 7:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that the Sixers have waived JaVale McGee, the team is paying a total of eight players this season who are no longer with the franchise, John Smallwood of The Philadelphia Daily News notes. Out of this group that includes Jared Cunningham, Eric Maynor, Ronny Turiaf, Marquis Teague, Chris Johnson, Jorge Gutierrez and Andrei Kirilenko, only McGee has actually appeared in a game for Philly this season, Smallwood adds. “One of the ways we are trying to build our team is to transact with other teams,” GM Sam Hinkie said, “to try to help other teams to solve their problems and help other teams with the issues they have as a way to try to build our future.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

New Kings coach George Karl said that if he had had Phil Jackson‘s job with the Knicks, he would make it a priority to pair Carmelo Anthony, his former player, with an elite point guard, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I would go get a great point guard and then find some good big guys. I think you have a stud scorer [in Anthony] — get me a brain, get me a quarterback and then fill in the pieces with maybe second-tier big guys,” Karl said. “The efficiency of big men in this league, there’s only about five or six of them.”
Karl, who coached Anthony for parts of seven seasons in Denver, says that Anthony is at his best when paired with a strong point guard. Begley notes. “We had the most success when we had Andre Miller and/or Chauncey Billups — when we had a point guard that kind of orchestrated the rhythm of the offense,” Karl said. “And I just think, I’ve said for two years now, I think the NBA is a lot like the NFL. You get a quarterback and a good coach and you win games. And then the other pieces, you figure it out. I think Melo is still top three, top four, top five. I don’t know, some people put him in the top three. I personally wouldn’t put him in the top three. If he has a good orchestrator, he’s going to be a helluva scorer for you.”
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said that Chicago is still exploring its options regarding adding another player, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Bulls currently have 14 players on their roster.

Kings Open To Trading DeMarcus Cousins?

February 26th, 2015 at 10:20am CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings wouldn’t rule out trading DeMarcus Cousins or anyone else on their roster at the trade deadline, a person with insight into coach George Karl‘s thinking told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Karl, who also worked with Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro when they were with the Nuggets, has a level of control over personnel decisions in Sacramento, that source said to Beck. Karl would love to acquire Ty Lawson or any of the other members of the 2012/13 Nuggets, the last team Karl coached, Beck also hears.

There were conflicting reports about whether the Celtics were pursuing Cousins prior to the deadline, but most of the chatter surrounding the star center had to do with his frustration regarding Sacramento’s coaching situation. Cousins was an advocate of former coach Michael Malone and expressed frustration about the upheaval that saw Tyrone Corbin and now Karl succeed Malone this season. Still, Cousins has indicated that he’s enthusiastic about playing for Karl, one of nine NBA coaches with more than 1,000 career wins. The 24-year-old center is in the first season of a four-year max extension.

Tension surrounds Lawson and the Nuggets, and GM Tim Connelly recently exhorted the 27-year-old point guard to “grow up” after he was late returning from the All-Star break. The Kings were among the teams with apparent interest, but while the Nuggets reportedly received calls from numerous would-be suitors, they were turning them away. The team did engage in exploratory talks with the Celtics, several sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe, but it appeared as the deadline drew near that Denver hadn’t seriously considered any deal. Lawson makes more than $12.404MM next season and in excess of $13.213MM in 2016/17, the final season of his contract.

No trades can take place before the end of the season, since the deadline has passed. Teams are eligible to trade players as soon as the regular season is over if they’re not in the playoffs, but typically moves don’t happen until June.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Warriors, Green, Karl

February 24th, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Isaiah Thomas insists he didn’t verbally push the Suns to deal him to the Celtics last week, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald relays. Suns GM Ryan McDonough said Thomas’ desire to start was the catalyst for last week’s swap, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

“They said that? I did want to start, who doesn’t?” Thomas said. “I don’t get that. I was a team player, didn’t complain about anything. The guys who complain, you see it in the media. I didn’t say anything. For the most part, it was good. When we did play together it was positive and it worked, but it’s tough to do when you have three talented point guards who need the ball to be effective. It’s three point guards that want the ball.”

Thomas qualified that remark, saying that he would have liked to have played more, according to Coro. He called the Phoenix backcourt “a tough situation” that’s “not what I expected” in November, but later made comments indicating he was pleased with the setup. Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob reiterated that he’s willing to pay the luxury tax next season, telling Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard that the team has no choice but to do so barring “some massive deal.” “[GM] Bob [Myers] keeps saying I must have the only owner in the NBA who says, ‘Stop worrying about the luxury tax,’” Lacob said. “Even today I said, ‘I don’t care about the luxury tax.’ I don’t want to make decisions based on the luxury tax. We want to get better. Our job is to get better. Secondarily, we’ll worry about the money.”
Lacob wouldn’t address soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green directly but said to Ballard, “It would take a lot to not sign our core players. Does that answer your question?”
George Karl said he spoke with Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro about the idea of adding a point guard but added that he’d prefer not to make any more changes, observes Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee. Darren Collison has missed the last six games with a right hip flexor strain and doesn’t appear on his way back anytime soon, so Karl has turned to Andre Miller and is giving him a much greater role than he had with the Wizards, as Kawahara examines.
Karl’s reps impressed upon the Kings during negotiations earlier this month that the coach would likely have other opportunities in the offseason, putting pressure on Sacramento to hire him as soon as possible, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.

Pacific Notes: Dragic, Crawford, Karl, McAdoo

February 20th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby and GM Ryan McDonough had stern words for Goran Dragic following the trade that sent him out of town at his request, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. McDonough said of Brandon Knight, whom the Suns acquired in a separate trade, that “We feel like we got the best player in the trade, coming or going,” Coro notes, though that’s conceivably a shot at Dragic nonetheless. Babby said he wasn’t concerned with Dragic’s feelings when he struck deals with Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas this summer and that, contrary to a report, Dragic hadn’t let the front office know about his feelings about a future with the club, according to Coro. McDonough also said he didn’t receive a list of preferred destinations, which counters another report, and expressed frustration with Dragic’s agents at BDA Sports, Coro writes. There’s more from that piece amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Babby called Dragic’s statements about a lack of trust in the front office “unfair and unwarranted,” as Coro notes. McDonough responded to the notion that the Suns had traded their best player, saying “Our response to that, I think, is that Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms,” as Coro also observes.
The Clippers looked into trading for Gerald Green and Perry Jones III but never came close to a deal, reports Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
Clippers brass reportedly dangled Jamal Crawford in trade talks, and he seemed glum about it, as Woike adds in the same piece. Crawford, who was reportedly eager to commit to the team in the summer, didn’t jump at the chance to express his those sentiments Thursday, Woike notes. His contract is partially guaranteed next season, the final year of the deal.
Stamina is an issue surrounding new Kings coach George Karl, but the 63-year-old tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that he’s up for the test, in part because he thinks he might get a chance to rest if there’s a work stoppage in 2017.
The Warriors have assigned James McAdoo to the D-League, the team announced. McAdoo just re-signed Thursday with Golden State on a deal that includes partially guaranteed salary for next season.

Kings Remove Tyrone Corbin, Hire George Karl

February 17th, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

FEBRUARY 17TH: The team has followed with a formal announcement of Karl’s hiring after acknowledging the agreement earlier.

“We’re fortunate to be taking a step towards returning this franchise to prominence with one of the best coaches in basketball on our sideline,” D’Alessandro said in the statement. “George knows how to win, as evidenced by a lifetime track record of success and ability to maintain consistency throughout his three decades in the game. We’re excited to welcome him to Sacramento.”

FEBRUARY 12TH: The Kings have acknowledged that they’ve reached an agreement in principle with George Karl for their head coaching position, as the team announced in a statement. Sacramento has reassigned Tyrone Corbin, who had occupied the position since the Kings fired Michael Malone in December, the team also announced. Corbin will serve as an adviser to the front office, the Kings say.

“I have the utmost respect for Tyrone as a coach and person,” D’Alessandro said in the statement regarding Corbin. “He’s a man of great integrity, a consummate professional that managed a difficult situation with class and professionalism. I look forward to continuing to work with Tyrone moving forward.”

D’Alessandro didn’t address Karl in either of the team’s statements. Sources told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday that Karl had struck a deal to become the team’s next head coach, at about the same time that Bee colleague Ailene Voisin indicated the deal was done (All Twitter links here). Sources later that day insisted to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that there was no deal as the sides haggled over terms including potential compensation in case of a lockout in 2017 (Twitter link). A source told Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press that there was an agreement in principle even though the sides were still negotiating, and Wojnarowski reported early Thursday that the sides had finally struck a deal.

Karl will make his debut when the Kings return from the All-Star break on February 20th, and he’ll receive $1.25MM for the rest of this season, according to Wojnarowski. The contract calls for him to make $3.25MM in 2015/16 and $5MM in each of the final two seasons, with the last year of the deal partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, Wojnarowski hears.

It’s the second coaching change in two months for the Kings, who fired Michael Malone in mid-December. GM Pete D’Alessandro had said that he would keep Corbin, whom the team elevated from assistant coach to the head coaching position upon Malone’s dismissal for the season. The abrupt turnaround alarmed Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, the agents for DeMarcus Cousins, though Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that they weren’t opposed to the idea of bringing Karl aboard. Still, Cousins seemed upset with the turmoil as he spoke with reporters on Sunday, and issued a statement Tuesday saying that he would support Karl but hoped the team would quickly resolve the situation. Still, Jones heard Monday that multiple Kings players would oppose the hiring of Karl.

That same day, owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly gave D’Alessandro the authorization to make whatever coaching move he saw fit. Ranadive wanted to bring in a coach other than Corbin at the time of Malone’s dismissal, but the front office talked him out of it, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher reported last month, and the owner asked D’Alessandro to meet with Karl last week, Jones reported within the past couple of days. Still, D’Alessandro and Karl have close ties from their time together with the Nuggets.

Karl has been connected to the Kings job since the time that Malone was fired, and D’Alessandro admitted that he spoke to Karl around that time. Still, he was seemingly a secondary candidate at that point, as Wojnarowski wrote when the team was apparently considering the idea of shifting adviser Chris Mullin to coach, a move that Mullin proved reluctant to make. D’Alessandro denied that a meeting he had with Mullin, Cousins and Mark Jackson, another rumored candidate, had anything to do with the coaching position, and Jackson apparently had “no chance” at becoming coach, as Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com reported in December.

Karl publicly campaigned for the Magic coaching job last week, and he’s kept a high profile as talks with the Kings have progressed, which perturbed some, according to Jones. It’s been a back-and-forth process for Karl and the Kings, spurred in part by the Magic’s opening, with opposition reportedly coming from owners who hold minority stakes in the team and negotiations seemingly petering out before picking up steam again. Alvin Gentry, Nate McMillan, Vinny Del Negro and Tom Thibodeau were other names connected to Sacramento’s opening.

Karl has been out of coaching since 2012/13, the 25th season that he spent at least part of as an NBA head coach and the only one in which he won the Coach of the Year award. He’s 63 and twice a cancer survivor, and Ranadive and D’Alessandro have sought assurances about his health. Still, Karl is one of only nine coaches to amass more than 1,000 regular season victories, compiling a record of 1,131-756 with the Cavs, Warriors, SuperSonics, Bucks and Nuggets. The Kings are expected to hire Sixers assistant Vance Walberg, who worked with Karl in Denver, for Karl’s staff, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported this week.

Corbin departs the coaching job after going 7-21 in his brief time in charge of the Kings. It’s the second time in less than 10 months that an NBA head coaching tenure has ended for Corbin, whom the Jazz elected not to re-sign after last season. The 52-year-old is 119-167 in parts of five seasons as an NBA head coach.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Karl, Thompson, West

February 13th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are poised for trade deadline action after resolving their coaching situation, while in Phoenix, suitors are lining up for Goran Dragic. We’ll run through the latest news and notes from a busy Pacific Division here:

DeMarcus Cousins praised new Kings coach George Karl to reporters at All-Star weekend in New York, saying he looked forward to working with him, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The center has expressed exasperation with the team’s coaching turmoil.
Karl was the right choice for the Kings, argues Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who also lists Scott Brooks among the names of coaches who would have been candidates for the Sacramento job if the team hadn’t hired Karl.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was largely responsible for halting a proposed blockbuster last summer that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Kerr and Warriors team consultant Jerry West talked ownership out of making the swap, which would have also sent David Lee to Minnesota and Kevin Martin to Golden State, Deveney adds. A source close the talks told Deveney that the trade was a done deal until Kerr, who took the job with the expectation of coaching Thompson, and West convinced management not to do it.
The jealousy that the Warriors worried might develop when they gave Thompson a more lucrative extension than Stephen Curry got a few years ago hasn’t developed, and Thompson doesn’t regret agreeing to contract terms that might give him less than the max, as Deveney writes in the same piece.
West, who made his mark as an executive with the Lakers, is confident the Lakers wouldn’t ask him back, as he said on 95.7 The Game, as station host Matt Steinmetz relays (Twitter links). West’s son, Ryan, is the Lakers’ assistant scouting director, notes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Trading Dragic would be a wise move because the Suns are not true title contenders, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should be acquiring trade assets in order to make a future move to acquire a superstar talent rather than adding short-term pieces such as Ray Allen or Amar’e Stoudemire. If the Suns can add a first-round pick by swapping Dragic while concurrently breaking their point guard logjam, they should not hesitate, Bickley concludes.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.