The Denver Nuggets have already lost the Executive of the Year, and now they could lose the Coach of the Year. George Karl is reconsidering his status with the team, becoming “unsettled” in the wake of general manager Masai Ujiri’s departure, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
George Karl ‘unsettled,’ could leave Nuggets for Clippers
The NBA’s coach of the year could be on the move, as the departure of GM Masai Ujiri has made coach George Karl somewhat antsy with the Nuggets.
Karl is under contract for another season and the Nuggets don’t appear interested in firing him, but other teams might be interested in his services after Ujiri left the Nuggets for the Toronto Raptors. The Clippers, looking for a coach capable of convincing Chris Paul he should stay with the squad, have apparently talked to the Nuggets about potentially hiring Karl. However, they have yet to ask permission to speak with him, which they would need to do in order to hire another team’s coach.
The Clippers have also considered Jeff Van Gundy and Brian Shaw for their opening after they fired Vinny Del Negro.
Karl has the sixth-most wins ever as an NBA coach, and is one of only seven head coaches in league history to win 1,000 games. His current job in Denver is his longest-held position, as he’s been with the team since 2005, and he’s made the team a consistent contender, reaching the playoffs each season.
But he hasn’t brought tangible success to the franchise -- only once in those nine seasons has his squad made it out of the first round of the playoffs -- and after grabbing the No. 3 seed in the conference with a reshaped roster, his team lost again the first round this year. Constantly on the cusp, it’s understandable why both the Nuggets and Karl might be dissatisfied, even if he’s done incredible things for the franchise.
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