OverDrive: George Karl: The NBA has moved away from continuity with head coaches #OverDrive
George Karl Rumors
While it might seem like an unprecedented move, it recently happened in June 2013, when George Karl was dismissed as head coach of the Denver Nuggets following a franchise-record 57 wins and an NBA coach of the year award. As such, Karl can sympathize with Casey’s situation. “Start a campaign to save Dwane, he deserves his job man,” Karl said on TSN 1050’s “Overdrive” on Thursday. “Remember Toronto, he’s not just a great coach but a very great person.”
Josh Lewenberg: George Karl (who was fired by the Nuggets 29 days after winning Coach of the Year in 2013) on his former assistant Dwane Casey: “He deserves his job. He’s a great coach, but he’s also a great person.”
Allen, then 27, already was a three-time all-star and had led the NBA in three-pointers made the previous two seasons. He’d won an Olympic gold medal in 2000. He was a fan favorite, liked Milwaukee and was entrenched in the community. For whatever reason, Karl didn’t care for him. “The funny thing is, I never had any confrontation with George,” Allen said. “We never had arguments. It was always, ‘George doesn’t like you.’ I was hearing this from other people. Why? I think he didn’t like the way I was, the type of person I was. There was a Sports Illustrated article about me that said I wore a suit to games, and Karl said I cared more about being cool than being tough. Ultimately, he just didn’t like me.”
In an interview to promote the book, co-written with Michael Arkush, Allen said the Bucks would have won a championship if he, Cassell and Robinson had stayed together. “Yeah, and it was broken apart in part because of George’s and my relationship,” Allen said. “It’s unfortunate. I felt like I was taking shots from him on a regular basis. There was always something he didn’t like about me. I was like, ‘Geez, there’s nothing I can do right for this guy.’”
Kenny Ducey: Gregg Popovich on passing George Karl for 5th on the NBA’s all-time coaching wins list: “I don’t remember scoring any points or getting any rebounds”
