George Karl in a Sacramento Swirl
Which former Tar Heel has the most impact on this year’s draft? It is looking like Sacramento Kings coach George Karl may well be the answer. That might be distressing news for those who were hoping the answer might be Hornets owner Michael Jordan or potential draftee JP Tokoto.
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Karl has been at the middle of a rather tense set of developments in the Kings organization. The first item on the agenda has been the Denver Nuggets trying to ship point guard Ty Lawson west to his former coach Karl. Their price for doing so was pretty steep, they wanted the sixth pick in the draft.
Karl apparently wants to get a bigger package, including Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler. Those rumors have yet to materialize into something substantive, and it might not take place until draft night or never.
Karl is looking at a roster with Darren Collison as his current starting point guard. Collison has the speed to run the up tempo parts of Karl’s system, but lacks the offensive punch. Lawson would be an offensive upgrade. Or the Kings could sit tight and draft Emmanuel Mudiay with the sixth pick.
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The Lawson rumors have not been the biggest development. The breach between Karl and star player DeMarcus Cousins seems to have moved beyond repair. Cousins and his agent are actively trying to find a trade that sends them to the Knicks or Lakers. Karl has reportedly been fighting ownership over trading Cousins. Team executive Vlade Divac said that Cousins is going nowhere and neither is Karl.
Another item to throw into the list is a report that the Kings are also shopping Rudy Gay and his 19 million contract.
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The Karl situation seems unresolved and I do not believe that both Cousins and Karl can remain with the team. Despite the protestations of the Kings, this does not seem likely.
A final piece to mention would be the possibility of connecting the Lawson and Cousins deals into one package. That could either be a deal between the Kings and the Nuggets, where Cousins’ previous coach Mike Malone presides or a three team deal to one of Cousins’ preferred landing spots.