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George Karl will not be brought back as head coach of the Denver Nuggets.

Karl had been pushing for a contract extension and ownership wasn't planning on giving one to him. Karl was entering the final season of his contract.

The Nuggets also lost Masai Ujiri this offseason.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Attract an elite coach? You already have one...

YoungMoney23 wrote:Attract an elite coach? You already have one...

No doubt. After Popovich, Karl is probably the best coach in the league. Despite their "stacked" roster, it looks like the Nuggets will be out of the playoffs for a while.

enderwilson wrote:

YoungMoney23 wrote:Attract an elite coach? You already have one...

No doubt. After Popovich, Karl is probably the best coach in the league. Despite their "stacked" roster, it looks like the Nuggets will be out of the playoffs for a while.

Seriously? I'm not sure. I don't rate George Karl "that" high. IMO he's above average. But not up there with Popovich.

Elite coach??? I guess they're hoping to lure Phil Jackson out of retirement. I bet some of the teams that hired assistant coaches for head coaching vacancies are wishing they had waited a bit longer.

I don't know what elite means. I believe Karl got the most out of the Denver roster that anyone could have. Toward the end of the season and in the playoffs he didn't have everyone available due to injuries. Still, he did an excellent job and will find another coaching position if Denver does not want him. It just seems like Denver wants someone that can almost replicate Karl, but only cheaper.

YoungMoney23 wrote:Attract an elite coach? You already have one...

My thoughts exactly. They won't get anyone better.

Does this mean Iggy is gone? I don't see Denver's players being very happy about this decision. Will Ujiri ask him to come on board with Toronto now that they're both gone?

The coach of the year curse strikes again!

It seems as if Josh Kroenke didn't value Ujiri or Karl very much. Let's see who he replaces them with.

Don't they already have an elite coach? Ugh what a dumb decision.

who are they trying to attract? karl n pop are about the only active coaches,i can't see phil nor sloan coaching this team, only thing to top this off is to get isiah thomas a gm stint

huge mistake... one of the best coaches left in the league IMO

George Karl has got to be one of the most overrated coaches in the NBA. He made some crucial mistakes against golden state, letting Curry and Thompson just shoot 3 after 3. his defensuve match up decisions were very questionable. Denver has a tonne of talent, time to get them a real elite coach.

You guys do realize this is the same George Karl who plays JaVale McGee less than 20 mpg despite his 10M salary, right?

george karl is booooring.

(can't believe i'm first to say that.)

Rashidi wrote:You guys do realize this is the same George Karl who plays JaVale McGee less than 20 mpg despite his 10M salary, right?

eh, salary shouldn't dictate PT. javale mcgee is good in doses. that might be one of the smarter moves he's made, to platoon koufos and mcgee. javale needs a brain first. not sure if that maturity and BBIQ are ever going to happen for him.

ahahah cant blame this one on MELO

Ron Mexico wrote:george karl is booooring.

(can't believe i'm first to say that.)

Rashidi wrote:You guys do realize this is the same George Karl who plays JaVale McGee less than 20 mpg despite his 10M salary, right?

eh, salary shouldn't dictate PT. javale mcgee is good in doses. that might be one of the smarter moves he's made, to platoon koufos and mcgee. javale needs a brain first. not sure if that maturity and BBIQ are ever going to happen for him.

1. McGee isn't going to get a brain rotting on the bench.
2. It was a 3-way platoon w/ Mozgov in the mix as well for much of the year (and moreso last year).
3. McGee's talent/athleticism outweigh his lack of maturity and IQ.
4. We're talking about KOSTA KOUFOS here. Among players w/ 1K mins, McGee was 2nd on the team in scoring rate while Koufos was 9th (last).

Rashidi wrote:

Ron Mexico wrote:george karl is booooring.

(can't believe i'm first to say that.)

Rashidi wrote:You guys do realize this is the same George Karl who plays JaVale McGee less than 20 mpg despite his 10M salary, right?

eh, salary shouldn't dictate PT. javale mcgee is good in doses. that might be one of the smarter moves he's made, to platoon koufos and mcgee. javale needs a brain first. not sure if that maturity and BBIQ are ever going to happen for him.

1. McGee isn't going to get a brain... [fixed]
2. It was a 3-way platoon w/ Mozgov in the mix as well for much of the year (and moreso last year). [true that]
3. McGee's talent/athleticism outweigh his lack of maturity and IQ. [i never bet on the moron, especially in crunch time. you can't make a statement like this and be serious about winning.]
4. We're talking about KOSTA KOUFOS here. Among players w/ 1K mins, McGee was 2nd on the team in scoring rate while Koufos was 9th (last). [scoring isn't everything. and there's no lack of it in their first unit.]

i hear where you're coming from. maybe he should play more than he does. but i'm not second guessing a coach who limits the minutes of an absolutely maddening player. the worst part is, it's not even always lack of effort with him. i think his heart is usually in the right place, and his maturity is improving. but at this point, he is what he is. he ain't gonna ever be reliable. and that's what you need from a pro... a veteran, no less.

how long do you wait for a guy like that to pan out?

God Squad wrote:

enderwilson wrote:No doubt. After Popovich, Karl is probably the best coach in the league. Despite their "stacked" roster, it looks like the Nuggets will be out of the playoffs for a while.

Seriously? I'm not sure. I don't rate George Karl "that" high. IMO he's above average. But not up there with Popovich.

Seriously. Karl, Pop and Thibodeau I consider to be the best coaches in the league, IMO. And by this I mean they are the best at getting the best out of their players. The success of other coaches I would attribute to the talent they've had the fortune of working with.

I see it like this: Karl, after having a litany of superstars (Iverson, Anthony) whose value was limited to the amount of touches they got, was able to lead the the Nuggets through the playoffs year after year. After the superstars left, the Nuggets could have gone into rebuilding mode, but Karl was able to work with the pieces and talent that he had, get them to play as a team, and keep the Nuggets in the playoffs. If any other coach (not listed above) had been leading the Nuggets at this time, I believe the Nuggets would have been out of the playoffs. This is why I think so highly of Karl.

On the other hand, Pop has had the fortune of having a strong core of veteran stars over the years. Pop has been exemplary at taking the Spurs deep into the playoffs as the roster around his core of stars has changed and as the stars have aged while the league and talent in the rest of the West got younger (re Clippers, Grizzlies, Thunder). And yet, here's HIS (and I do mean his) team again in the Finals, taking the first game away from the Heat. Pop has been more successful than Karl over the years, but Pop also hasn't had to deal with the same level of change to his roster like Karl has.

Yeah, I'm fine with putting Karl and Pop in the same category. Both legendary coaches in their own right.

Ron Mexico wrote:george karl is booooring.

(can't believe i'm first to say that.)

Rashidi wrote:You guys do realize this is the same George Karl who plays JaVale McGee less than 20 mpg despite his 10M salary, right?

eh, salary shouldn't dictate PT. javale mcgee is good in doses. that might be one of the smarter moves he's made, to platoon koufos and mcgee. javale needs a brain first. not sure if that maturity and BBIQ are ever going to happen for him.

Coach of the Year. One of the most successful coaches in the NBA history. Cancer survivor.
I'll take that kind of boring to coach my team ANY DAY.