In your head you'd think, "I know I have the new Gameboy but I want that kids handheld black and white Tetris game! Why? Because it's not mine."That stupid and illogical thought process is something a child should go through, not an NBA front office. But the Denver Nuggets just reacted out of spontaneous panic. After being knocked out of the playoffs by a lower seeded Golden State Warriors team (or should I say the Golden State Steph Currys), the Nuggets pressed the panic button because of something they thought they didn't have. A winning playoff coach.
When former Lakers coach Mike Brown was fired this season after a 1-4 start, George Karl was interviewed by ESPN for his opinion. "It's a bad day for basketball, it's a sad day for coaching. It's drastic and dramatic, and I'm sure we haven't heard the last of it." Karl was right. Unfortunately the drastic move was made by his own (former) organization. On the heels of losing GM of the Year Masai Ujiri, the Nuggets fired Coach of the Year, George Karl.
What does this firing mean for Denver going forward?
No one will trust the organization, including it's own players.
Immediately after the firing, players took to Twitter.
One example:
So we lost a GM now a coach what's next!?So the players, which I last remembered are kind of important to a basketball team, are already doubting the situation they are in. Trust is essential to team chemistry. Especially for a young team like the Nuggets. And that's been completely destroyed. I could go deep into how this completely derails the psyche of a young team but I think it's pretty obvious what it could potentially do.
— Kenneth Faried (@KennethFaried35) June 6, 2013
No coach will trust the organization.
In a statement issued by Nuggets president Josh Kroenke he said, "I could not have more respect for [Karl] as a person or a coach."
Ohhhhhhhh. So THAT'S how you treat coaches you "could not have more respect for"? That must make all the coaches absolutely thrilled to come work for you. Coaches will feel safe to play for the Nuggets after they fired a man who just won COY, made nine straight playoff appearances and owns a .622 regular season winning percentage, right? (hint: sarcasm)
No coach will feel safe with this job. They'll constantly be looking over their shoulders wondering how much they'll have to accomplish before they're safe from being canned.
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| My face exactly when I learned Karl was fired. |
Who is better?
Please, someone answer. Which available coach is better than George Karl? Who can put the Nuggets in a better situation than it's been in? I recently put out a Facebook post that the Nuggets should make a run at Lionel Hollins, the current Memphis Grizzlies head coach. I still mean that. But other than him and maybe Phil Jackson (who will decline an offer to coach the starless Nuggets), who is better? And even those situations I'm not sure about. I just don't see it.
Closing thoughts.
I can hear it already, "Justin, he was given NINE years and never made the finals! He had plenty of time and just couldn't do it. It's time for a change! Karl sucks!" Karl had about two seasons with this team. Only Ty Lawson is the remaining member of the Denver Thuggets team that made the Western Conference Finals. EVERYONE ELSE IS NEW! They were just starting to put it together. Yeah they got upset, but we just saw the Warriors make a VERY interesting series with the San Antonio Spurs as well. And where are they now? Oh yeah, the Finals.
So as he's just beginning to get things going with this team, Denver fires him. Some of you might say, "Even two years is too long. He didn't get out of the first round with this team." Well you know what I say to you? It's that kind of sick, twisted and spoiled win-now mentality that will never allow a team to develop without making ridiculous changes out of impatience.
Did the OKC Thunder magically just work out? No, there needed to be time for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to mature into the players they are now. They still haven't won it all yet.
It even took the Big Three in Miami a year to get it together! And that was with the greatest player in the world, LeBron James!
This move really scares me. It could be the first domino in many terrible things to come. I could see Denver going into a tailspin and eventually turning into the team that always "could have been" but always stuck to mediocrity. Always the 6 or 7 seed being knocked out of the first round. Sound familiar? What improvements can be made from firing Karl? What situation is better for right now or the future?
This knee-jerk reaction can haunt the Nuggets for many years to come.
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