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Sacramento Kings Making Right Decision By Maintaining Patience With Karl

By Garrett Hagan

Jan 7, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl speaks with guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the fourth quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 118-115. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl speaks with guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the fourth quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 118-115. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sacramento Kings have been a train wreck this season, but perhaps their best shot lies within staying put with head coach George Karl.

After reports surfaced this past Tuesday of the Kings’ front-office planning to fire Karl sometime during the All-Star break, the circus that lies within the team’s brass continued as news broke less than 24 hours later stating that the team intended to keep Karl as the head coach.

According to ESPN, after Karl held a meeting with Kings’ General Manager Vlade Divac, Divac soon stated that “George will remain our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”

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The Kings sit at a record of 22-31 on the season so far, which is good for the 10th-seed in the Western Conference and third in their division. This isn’t exactly the start that the King’s front-office and fans had anticipated during the off-season, as the Kings took Kentucky standout Willie Cauley-Stein sixth-overall in the draft and inked Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $9.5 million contract in free-agency.

On paper, this Kings’ roster looks like a roster that could carry its weight fairly well against some of the top teams in the West, having Rondo, Rudy Gay and arguably the best center in the league in DeMarcus Cousins.

In reality however, the Kings seem to consistently stay in the world of mediocrity and don’t appear to be leaving any time soon. Perhaps the problem lies within effort from the players? After all, we’ve seen throughout history in the NBA and sports all-together that constant losing often brings about a low amount of team chemistry and overall lack of effort. One would be a fool to believe that Karl is the root of all problems for this Kings team.

Perhaps the real problem lies within the front-office. A front-office that has cycled through five head coaches in the past four seasons, including three coaching swaps throughout the 2014-15 season. The Kings have also made some questionable picks over the last few years, being heavily criticized for picking Nik Stauskas eighth overall in 2014, as well as selecting Ben McLemore seventh overall in the 2013 draft.

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It would be simply wrong to point all fingers at Karl. Many can recall Karl’s 2012-13 season coaching the Denver Nuggets in which he lead the team to a 57-25 record after previously going 38-28 the season before. The coaching experience is there for this team and it would just feel like the smartest option for the Kings to ride out the rest of the year with Karl.

As stated earlier, this team has too much talent to be playing mediocre basketball on a consistent basis but it would be foolish to place all of the blame on Karl for the team’s miscues the last two seasons. Divac and the rest of the front office have made the right choice, for now at least.

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