George Karl Will Mentor Sacramento Kings After The All-Star Break

The drama over the coaching hire of George Karl is finally coming to a close after sources revealed that the former Denver Nuggets mentor is set to be named the replacement for Mike Malone and interim coach Tyrone Corbin for the Sacramento Kings’ head coaching job. Karl and the Kings have agreed in principle and the former Coach of the Year winner (2013-2013 season) is in the process of finalizing his assistant coaches.

Karl is coming in with familiar allies on the team. General manager Pete D’Allesandro and assistant general manager Mike Bratz were part of the management think tank of the Nuggets while team adviser Chris Mullin played for Karl during his coaching stint with the Golden State Warriors. The shift in the coaching scene in the Kings’ organization has not been smooth sailing as franchise centre DeMarcus Cousins vented his frustration on how the team has handled the situation.

The Kings surprisingly fired Malone during an 11-13 start, despite the team showing signs of improvement and trying to cushion the temporary absence of franchise player Cousins to viral meningitis. Everything went downhill from there as the team under Corbin’s guidance lost 20 of the next 27 games and fell out of the playoff picture entirely. The team initially announced that it will not make a mid-season hire but surprisingly considered Karl before the All-Star weekend, a move that was not consulted with Cousins.

"I wasn't consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone and I'm not being consulted now,” Cousins told Yahoo Sports Last Feb. 10. "I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it.”

In the same interview, Cousins clarified that he was not opposed to the Karl hiring and that he respected the accolades of the coach who has more than 1,000 career victories, belonging in an elite group of just nine mentors. The Kings have considered bringing in Karl way back December who was able to revive losing causes in his stops at the Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks but decided against it as it evaluated the team owner’s desire to play a faster pace. Karl’s last team, the Nuggets displayed the run and gun mentality that the new ownership group is targeting but it is still unclear if the current roster is suitable to the style of play and if the potential hire of Karl will work the same magic for the Kings.

For concerns on this story, contact the author at v.hidalgo@ibtimes.com.au.