Kings Consider Firing George Karl Over Potential DeMarcus Cousins Trade
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has considered firing head coach George Karl, who was hired just four months ago to help turn around the struggling franchise.
Ranadive’s displeasure with Karl stems from Karl’s desire to trade all-star center DeMarcus Cousins, reports say.
However, no replacement has been mentioned if Karl were to be fired. While removing Karl would appease Cousins, it would not necessarily end the dysfunction that is crippling the Kings, said a source.
“If you fire Karl, now you can’t control Cousins because he’ll know he’s running the place,” the same source said. “Now he’ll feel like he’s telling you what to do.”
No firing seems to be imminent, but the idea has been brought up in discussions with Kings’ basketball department. Ranadive broached the subject.
“He’s brought up the possibility of getting rid of George over the last few days,” the source said.
ESPN’s Marc Stein has reported the Vlade Divac, the Kings vice president, is the person who is upset.
If both Divac and Ranadive, two leaders of the front office, are both upset, this does not bode well for Karl. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the only thing that is clear is that Divac and Ranadive are on the same page, although a firing is not necessarily near.
The Kings may think about this idea for a while. They might not make a big DeMarcus Cousins trade at Thursday’s NBA Draft, and maybe they won’t part ways with George Karl before free agency commences. I doubt anyone wants to fire a coach after just 30 games, so hopefully things can be sorted out. Nevertheless, it seems inevitable that either Cousins or Karl must leave the Kings’ franchise. Karl does not think he can win with Cousins on the team, and Cousins does not think he can win with Karl as the coach. It is rare that a team would have to choose a coach over a franchise player, which DeMarcus Cousins is.
When Ranadive was attempting to hire Karl in February, multiple members of the organization tried to tell him that he was making the wrong move. Ranadive has recently told at least one of those members that she was correct in trying to dissuade him from the hire.
DeMarcus Cousins has now said he would like to remain in Sacramento, making the firing of Karl seem unavoidable.
When Karl was hired in February, he signed a four-year contract worth $14.5 million. Karl is guaranteed $11 million. This would be a very expensive firing.
[Image Source: Brian Bahr/Getty Images]
