George Karl had been on hot seat for a while, but the Sacramento Kings made it official Thursday, firing Karl the day after the NBA regular season ended.
“After evaluating the team’s performance this season, I determined it was necessary to move forward with a new voice from the head coaching position,” Kings GM Vlade Divac said in an official release on NBA.com. “I have a great deal of respect and admiration for George and his accomplishments throughout his nearly 30 years in the NBA. On behalf of everyone in the Kings organization, I thank him for the contributions made during his time in Sacramento and wish him good fortune in the future.”
Karl went 44-68 in one and a half seasons with the club, which wasn’t what the Kings were hoping to get from the former Coach of the Year.
Kings fire George Karl. His .393 win percentage with Kings was the worst of any of his six NBA coaching stops. pic.twitter.com/Bj1ulvST68
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 14, 2016
“While I would have loved to continue on this journey, I am very proud of our work and I want to thank Kings management for the opportunity to have coached this exciting team with such a bright future,” Karl said Thursday in a statement. “It’s my heartfelt feeling that the magnificent new arena will be hosting many playoff runs and an eventual championship, which the Sacramento fans, some of the most loyal and supportive people I’ve ever known in my many years in the NBA, very much deserve.”
“With a profound humility, moving forward, I wish nothing but the best for this franchise and its players.”
According to ESPN sources, Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson, Vinny Del Negro and Nate McMillan are among the names being considered to replace Karl as head coach. The Kings also have strong interest in Tom Thibodeau and Scotty Brooks, sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein.
