Voisin: George Karl reflective after firing by Kings

[LPKingsFan]

Voisin sits down with George Karl for an exit interview of sorts and... well it's not quite what I expected. I actually agreed with Karl more than I thought I would, although some of his concessions of responsibility are halfhearted, at best. Worth a read: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article74937347.html

 

[Glenn]

Perhaps it was a good interview. I got about half way through and then got ticked by Voisin's pontificating. If anyone was to pontificate, I wanted it to be Karl. I was curious as to his views but so often his views got smushed by Voisin's and in a sense, Karl's views were difficult to separate from Voisin's. That's not the way it's supposed to work, is it?

 

[John Galt]

Won't be popular to say this, but damn I think George Karl has a lot of class - just built in. He was wrong in a lot of ways he coached the team last year, but he is going to leave as somebody worthy of respect in my mind. I'm glad he's gone, but he's a gentleman and I wish him well.

But I have a question about this... Aileen sort of makes me angry and frustrates me when she keeps slipping in these remarks about DeMarcus' conditioning.

Is there an objective consensus - I mean is it TRUE that DeMarcus Cousins has an issue with getting and staying in proper game shape? It hasn't really been obvious to me - I mean Karl wanted him to run up and down the floor too often with his pace obsession I attributed his fatigue to that. But am I letting him off the hook?

Do most people agree that DeMarcus' commitment to conditioning is a problem? Because Aileen Voison can't hardly take a breath without mentioning this issue about DMC.

 

[Glenn]

Won't be popular to say this, but damn I think George Karl has a lot of class - just built in. He was wrong in a lot of ways he coached the team last year, but he is going to leave as somebody worthy of respect in my mind. I'm glad he's gone, but he's a gentleman and I wish him well.

But I have a question about this... Aileen sort of makes me angry and frustrates me when she keeps slipping in these remarks about DeMarcus' conditioning.

Is there an objective consensus - I mean is it TRUE that DeMarcus Cousins has an issue with getting and staying in proper game shape? It hasn't really been obvious to me - I mean Karl wanted him to run up and down the floor too often with his pace obsession I attributed his fatigue to that. But am I letting him off the hook?

Do most people agree that DeMarcus' commitment to conditioning is a problem? Because Aileen Voison can't hardly take a breath without mentioning this issue about DMC.

In Boogie's interview with Carmichael Dave, he said all year he had foot pain and was, I presume, limited by it. I can well imagine that a 270 pounder might look out of shape if he has to drag his huge arse up and down the court while his wheels hurt. A media person, if curious and wishing to do an accurate write up with ALL THE FACTS, might have known that, But, a columnist with an axe to grind, might not even want to know the whole truth especially if it would ruin her narrative. She gives all the appearance of being cruel and vindictive.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

In Boogie's interview with Carmichael Dave, he said all year he had foot pain and was, I presume, limited by it. I can well imagine that a 270 pounder might look out of shape if he has to drag his huge arse up and down the court while his wheels hurt. A media person, if curious and wishing to do an accurate write up with ALL THE FACTS, might have known that.

To be fair, the sentence in question was:

But the conversation always came back to Cousins, who, amid the negativity and his frequent, often visible resistance, was selected for the All-Star team, added a three-point shot and improved offensively and defensively, despite battling sore feet and chronic weight and conditioning issues.

So it's not like she ignored that - in fact she mentioned it before her comments about Cuz's conditioning.

 

[Suicide King]

This is something that seems to get overlooked a lot in some peoples criticism of Cousins and his defensive efforts. I am not singling anyone out in particular as it is a complaint levied on other sites and forums.

While I do hope (please) that Cuz sometime real soon curbs the complaining or letting calls deter him from 100% effectiveness, I don't think a lot of folks take into consideration the speed racer pace coupled with 270lbs and major foot pain when pointing to the fact he didnt get back on defense.

 

[Glenn]

I'd love to know what his weight is supposed to be. I've never heard it stated. I also don't know what his weight is now. How do you stay in good condition when it hurts to run? I tried hard to read the full article but anything involving Voisin and Karl is doomed from the out set.

 

[SacTownKid]

Karl makes a lot of sense, but the reality after the fact is that his my way or the highway approach and complete disregard for making in game, and strategic adjustments sunk the team to the extent that in the end nothing other than designing the team around his vision would have worked. We saw plenty of adjustments from players, most notably Cousins who lived at the 3 point line this year.

To put a positive spin on it, hopefully what was gained from the cluster F of this season was that players got to learn new things and develop other aspects of their game that weren't refined previously and when the right coach is hired that's just another asset in the bag.

 

[Siranthony]

A good article. This was my sense of the situation just as a fan and common sense person. Karl is a hall of famer. Can he really be as bad as some Kings fans around here bash him? Cousins is Cousins. You are delusional not to see that. Some people on the team took a couple of things Karl did and took them VERY personally. Support the coach. Get over yourself.

 

[Blastoff]

Karl is a hall of famer.

So is Michael Jordan...I don't want him playing 2 guard for us either. Karl is simply past his time of usefulness; and Cousins aside he was a terrible minutes, X's, and O's coach THIS YEAR.

 

[Siranthony]

So is Michael Jordan...I don't want him playing 2 guard for us either. Karl is simply past his time of usefulness; and Cousins aside he was a terrible minutes, X's, and O's coach THIS YEAR.

Uh huh.

 

[Blastoff]

Uh huh.

Did you watch the games? He can draw up an inbounds play--that's about it.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

There are pieces in this article where Karl acknowledges that Cuz is a special player and yet he couldn't figure out how to work with him. Players are headcases all over the league, this isn't Karl's first rodeo. Why is it Malone could figure it out with a less talented roster?

 

[dude12]

I read the article......didnt change my perception of the jackwagon.

 

[VF21]

A good article. This was my sense of the situation just as a fan and common sense person. Karl is a hall of famer. Can he really be as bad as some Kings fans around here bash him? Cousins is Cousins. You are delusional not to see that. Some people on the team took a couple of things Karl did and took them VERY personally. Support the coach. Get over yourself.

Mr. Pot? I'd like you to meet Mr. Kettle.

One more thing? The "Karl is a hall of famer" excuse got old a long time ago, as did George Karl himself. And, just to be perfectly clear, George Karl is a FUTURE hall of famer unless I missed the big announcement.

 

[VF21]

There are pieces in this article where Karl acknowledges that Cuz is a special player and yet he couldn't figure out how to work with him. Players are headcases all over the league, this isn't Karl's first rodeo. Why is it Malone could figure it out with a less talented roster?

Because Mike Malone's ego didn't get in the way of his decision-making.

 

[VF21]

Voisin sits down with George Karl for an exit interview of sorts and... well it's not quite what I expected. I actually agreed with Karl more than I thought I would, although some of his concessions of responsibility are halfhearted, at best. Worth a read: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article74937347.html

Voisin gets an interview with George Karl; CarmichaelDave gets an interview with DeMarcus Cousins AND we hear the whole exchange without Dave needing to spin it to fit his agenda.

 

[Siranthony]

Mr. Pot? I'd like you to meet Mr. Kettle.

One more thing? The "Karl is a hall of famer" excuse got old a long time ago, as did George Karl himself. And, just to be perfectly clear, George Karl is a FUTURE hall of famer unless I missed the big announcement.

It's really wierd having the moderator of a forum act the way you do. Do you own this place? You are not fair or unbiased by any means.

 

[VF21]

It's really wierd having the moderator of a forum act the way you do. Do you own this place? You are not fair or unbiased by any means.

You're the one who said people are delusional. It's a two-way street. Are you unfamiliar with the saying I used?

 

[Siranthony]

You're the one who said people are delusional. It's a two-way street. Are you unfamiliar with the saying I used?

I'm not a moderator. You seemed to take what I said as an attack against you. This is not the first time you have behaved this way. Usually moderators act more like adults.

 

[Glenn]

Cousins said he liked straightforward coaches. That's a personality trait. Malone was a wonderfully straightforward guy who would go to war for his players. With those qualities, he won Boogie over.

Now these traits aren't things you can turn on and off. You are either straightforward or you are not. Karl lacks the insight to realize he is not straightforward. He lacks the ability as would most people to recognize why he couldn't get along with Boogie.

 

[VF21]

I'm not a moderator. You seemed to take what I said as an attack against you. This is not the first time you have behaved this way. Usually moderators act more like adults.

Um... okay?

Your perception is not necessarily reality.

 

[Kingsgurl]

I'm not a moderator. You seemed to take what I said as an attack against you. This is not the first time you have behaved this way. Usually moderators act more like adults.

It's so weird when mods actually are people and have an opinion. Especially weird when they engage you in discourse rather than smacking you with the bat.

 

[Telemachus]

There are pieces in this article where Karl acknowledges that Cuz is a special player and yet he couldn't figure out how to work with him. Players are headcases all over the league, this isn't Karl's first rodeo. Why is it Malone could figure it out with a less talented roster?

How about the back-handed way he implied that the Kings would be better off trading Cousins at the end of the article.

 

[Hansel]

He said he didn't want to trade Cousins saying "no one is untradeable".
Then, at the end of the article, he said there are faster ways to win than with Cousins.
So... What did he coach for?

 

[Blob]

This assessment by George is spot-on and what I have been saying for 3-4 years:

His shot selection has to get better, and he has get down to three turnovers a night and get his assists up

Boogie has a TS% over the last 3 years of 54% and assist to turnover of 0.7 to 1.0. Our team had a higher TS% than his, which is analytical evidence he did not pass enough. His offensive efficiency ranks at the bottom of high usage guys, comparable to a guys like Melo instead of Brow and Blake. It is no coincidence Melo has led his team into oblivion and whose recent playoff appearance match Boogie's at zero.

55% to 56% plus is more aligned with where Boogie needs to be especially with a free throw rate that ranks Top 5 in the NBA. The thing that torpedoed our season along with the black hole at SG (before Seth) was the 5 for 20 games and the 7 for 24 games by Boogie with the carelessness with the rock and aloofness towards defending. If those games were instead 4 for 13 FGs and 6 for 15 FGs with hustle and prudence.....where 5 to 7 possessions are just not wasted then we could have competed on games Boogie does not put up monster stats.

This is what the hall of fame fast track crowd (population = dwindling) fail to recognize or admit. This is old ground but bears repeating as we look to field offers from suckers, er, suitors

His assist to turnover is a function of ego before winning, though Boogie got better as the season progressed, adapting to ball in his hands with live dribble and a slower footed man in front of him. This gives me some hope if we keep him around his game can continue to evolve (physically and mentally), though not as fast as I would prefer. George got a nice little dig in there at the end. Feisty to the end. That's That was our George.

I think you can win with him (Cousins), but my thing is, how long is it going to take to get there? Then, how long before you become a winning team? I think there are faster ways to go.”

 

[Blob]

He said he didn't want to trade Cousins saying "no one is untradeable".
Then, at the end of the article, he said there are faster ways to win than with Cousins.
So... What did he coach for?

You are talking about quotes almost a year apart. Irrelevant. The first quote he admitted was a mistake . The second quote was after a body of more evidence and a failed campaign.

 

[dude12]

This assessment by George is spot-on and what I have been saying for 3-4 years:



Boogie has a TS% over the last 3 years of 54% and assist to turnover of 0.7 to 1.0. Our team had a higher TS% than his, which is analytical evidence he did not pass enough. His offensive efficiency ranks at the bottom of high usage guys, comparable to a guys like Melo instead of Brow and Blake. It is no coincidence Melo has led his team into oblivion and whose recent playoff appearance match Boogie's at zero.

55% to 56% plus is more aligned with where Boogie needs to be especially with a free throw rate that ranks Top 5 in the NBA. The thing that torpedoed our season along with the black hole at SG (before Seth) was the 5 for 20 games and the 7 for 24 games by Boogie with the carelessness with the rock and aloofness towards defending. If those games were instead 4 for 13 FGs and 6 for 15 FGs with hustle and prudence.....where 5 to 7 possessions are just not wasted then we could have competed on games Boogie does not put up monster stats.

This is what the hall of fame fast track crowd (population = dwindling) fail to recognize or admit. This is old ground but bears repeating as we look to field offers from suckers, er, suitors

His assist to turnover is a function of ego before winning, though Boogie got better as the season progressed, adapting to ball in his hands with live dribble and a slower footed man in front of him. This gives me some hope if we keep him around his game can continue to evolve (physically and mentally), though not as fast as I would prefer. George got a nice little dig in there at the end. Feisty to the end. That's That was our George.

Written as if it came from George Karl himself.

 

[lwc]

“Do you want my opinion?” Kim Van Deraa, his longtime companion, suddenly interjected from across the room. “I think DeMarcus needs to be loved. I kept telling George, ‘Go over and put your arms around him! He needs love.’”

Karl laughed.

“I don’t disagree,” he said, “but he needs players around him that are better fits. You could tell at the end of last year that Rudy (Gay) and Cuz didn’t work. We added some pieces last summer, but we had too many guards. I kept telling Mike (Bratz), ‘Darren Collison, Ben McLemore and Marco Belinelli are too similar. Trade one of them because you can’t keep three (shooting) guards happy.’ And I wanted to play Seth (Curry), but you can’t give a player seven minutes here, seven minutes there...

Two problems, the first highlighted portion shows that Karl is an egomaniac. This person points out that you have to love on Cousins and Karl basically says 'I know but I don't care'.

The second problem, and many of us were right all season long, is that he sees Darren as a 2-guard. This helps explain why the trash backcourt of Rondo and Collison was constantly played that kept Seth glued to the bench.

I did however find it interesting that he seem to have the notion that Rudy and Boogie can't play together. He even spoke in terms that made it sound as if everyone understands it. If this is true, I look for Rudy to be traded before the draft or maybe on draft day itself.

 

[pshn80]

Just read the nterviews in this morning's Bee. Interesting, well done. Certainly points up some of the major problems we had this year and some we need to overcome this summer and in the future. I didn't fnd this article to be about Voison as some have suggested bu lots of peeks into our problems with Karl, Cousins and Dvak. I think Vlade has a good handle on what these problems were and are and is working on them.

 

[bajaden]

To be fair, the sentence in question was:



So it's not like she ignored that - in fact she mentioned it before her comments about Cuz's conditioning.

People see and hear what they want. If you read the article with an established dislike of Voisin, then your likely to see everything from a slanted point of view, like forgetting that she actually mentioned the sore feet. Your being way to objective Capt... That said, I thought Karl was thoughtful in his remarks. He owned up to some of the blame as objectively as he could. A lot of what he said was true in regards to the team and the things that were wrong with it. He looked like a man that knew there were a lot of pieces on the team that didn't fit, but tried to the best of his ability to make it work. Of course it didn't, and he admittedly takes some of the blame for that.

I find it interesting that some people are willing to give Cousins a pass to some degree because of his sore feet, but not so with Karl who was recovering from cancer surgery, and a bad knee, which made it difficult for him to get up and pace the sidelines like he used to. One thing is clear. When Cousins blew up at Karl in the locker room in front of the team and apparently Vlade, and Vlade didn't back Karl with the suspension he wanted, Karl lost all power as head coach. They might as well have fired him right there on the spot. If a coach can't discipline his players, then he has little or no power. But it's a new day, and hopefully things are heading in the right direction.