George Karl becoming the next head coach of the Sacramento Kings reportedly is "inevitable," despite the concerns DeMarcus Cousins and other Kings players supposedly have. If Karl were to be hired, the Sacramento Bee reports his first game as coach could come on Feb. 20 after the NBA All-Star weekend.
All reports to date indicate Karl will be the Kings' next coach - the only question is when. Jason Jones of The Bee and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders both referred to the hiring as looking "inevitable," with Jones reporting Karl would likely begin the job on Feb. 20 against the Boston Celtics.
Per Jones:
"The Kings arrived (in Chicago) Monday knowing (interim coach) Tyrone Corbin will coach the next two games while the team continued to negotiate with George Karl to become their coach, multiple sources told The Bee. Kings officials met with Corbin after Sunday's win over Phoenix and told him he will coach tonight at Chicago and Wednesday at Milwaukee.
"If the Kings and Karl reach a deal, he will coach his first game after the All-Star break, on Feb. 20 against Boston at Sleep Train Arena. The deal would pay Karl $4 million to $5 million per season for up to four seasons."
Yahoo Sports reported general manager Pete D'Alessandro is "determined" to hire Karl, and USA Today reported Monday that second-year owner Vivek Ranadive has given D'Alessandro "full clearance" to make whatever decision he wants.
D'Alessandro's faith that Karl, whom he worked with in Denver, is the right man for the franchise appears to be overriding the reported concerns of at least some of the Kings players, including Cousins, who feel Karl's brash personality - and history of feuding with star players such as Carmelo Anthony and Ray Allen - might not mesh with the locker room.
Reports have claimed Cousins and his agents have had the biggest objections to hiring of Karl, but Kyler's sources say the objections have less to do with Karl and more to do with the huge changes as a whole that the team has experienced over the last 12 months.
