This may sound a little asinine, but could George Karl actually be the Coach of the Year at the end of this upcoming season? At first, you might be thinking “not a chance”. There is no way Karl can overcome the Steve Kerr’s and Gregg Popovich’s of the league, plus this Kings team has shown ineptitude for the last decade.
All those points cannot be debated against and are valid, however I do see Coach Karl being a strong candidate for the award, if everything goes right.
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Most Kings fans know Karl’s resume. He is one of the most winningest coaches in NBA history with 1327 total wins, and has made the playoffs every season in the last 21 seasons he’s coached (exception of 2001-2002/last season). It’s the first time the Kings have had a solidified coach really since Rick Adelman, and he is a big reason for Kings fans to be optimistic about their team heading in the right direction.
I also feel confident in making somewhat of a case for Karl because of the recent roster improvements on this Kings team. Whatever holes that the Kings had on their roster before were (at this moment) addressed this offseason. As a result, the team on paper has significantly has gotten better, and is now considered a dark horse for the playoffs this upcoming season.
Although the odds are against the Kings, let’s daydream for a bit. Let’s do say everything goes right with the purple and white. No serious drama between DeMarcus Cousins, Coach Karl, etc. The team gels right away in training camp, and finds themselves in the playoffs.
Last season, the 8th seed New Orleans Pelicans made the playoffs with 45 wins, which if the Kings were to replicate it would be a 16 win improvement. An uncommon achievement. If that scenario were to happen, I would expect Karl is to be at least considered a candidate for the award for sure. But honestly the chances of it becoming a reality seem bleak.
Unfortunately, my final thoughts on the matter are that I don’t think it will happen. Overall, I don’t think Coach Karl will be the next NBA Coach of the Year because for that to happen everything, and I mean EVERYTHING will have to go right. I do think the Kings will make some noise for the final playoff spot by recording around 35-45 wins this season, but I also think whoever does gain that final playoff spot will have more wins.
Also, because there are other coaching candidates that will be coaching playoff teams next season, most of them will surely surpass Coach Karl in the voting by default if the Kings come up short.
In the end, Coach Karl probably will not win another Coach of the Year Award this season, but there is a realistic case that he could, it just leans more towards being a dreamworld than reality.
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