According to numerous reports (Sacramento Bee, Yahoo!, USA Today) the Kings are prepared to fire head coach Ty Corbin over the All-Star break, and want to hire former Nuggets coach George Karl in his place to be their third coach this season. Sitting at 11-13 in the brutal West two months ago, the Kings fired head coach Mike Malone and elevated his assistant Corbin because Malone reportedly did not meet the win-loss expectations of owner Vivek Ranadivé. Since Corbin took over the Kings have gone 6-17 and dropped from "very fringe playoff contender" to "at least we're better than the Lakers." It has all made DeMarcus Cousins so, so sad:
According to the Sacramento Bee, the original plan was for Corbin to stick around through next year:
Assistant Tyrone Corbin replaced Michael Malone on Dec. 14 after the Kings faltered to a 2-8 record during DeMarcus Cousins' absence due to viral meningitis. The plan was to have Corbin complete the season, conduct an extensive coaching search, and give the incoming coach the benefit of an entire offseason and training camp.
But their timetable got screwed up when the Orlando Magic fired head coach Jacque Vaughn and began making eyes towards George Karl, who last coached the high-flying Denver Nuggets. For his part, George Karl is retweeting Magic fans on Twitter who want him as their coach, and posted this:
Now that the Magic might want George Karl—who has been an ESPN analyst since being fired in 2013 and was on the market two months ago when the Kings handed their open job to Corbin—the Kings have decided he's actually the guy to implement Ranadivé's wacky ideas. This is a very similar thought process to what my dogs exhibit when I give each of them a bone, but they decide they would like the other bone.
To be fair to the Kings, Karl is almost certainly a better coach for them than Corbin. At the very least, he would probably design an offense around Cousins that works a lot better than whatever they're running right now. What's baffling here isn't what would be a defensible decision to fire Corbin and hire Karl—or any of the other rumored candidates—but the process involved.
If the Kings wanted Karl so badly, why not just hire him two months ago? And if their playoff chances are already sunk, why not tank for a better pick and make a run at one of the proven coaches that could be fired—Tom Thibodeau, Doc Rivers, Frank Vogel—or at top assistants that deserve a chance at a head coaching gig? It just doesn't make any sense, which is about the only consistent in Sacramento these days.
Photo via Ezra Shaw/Getty