In this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore. AP
The Sacramento Kings fired coach George Karl on Thursday after his first full season with the team, setting the stage for them to hire their ninth coach since last making the NBA playoffs in 2006.
General manager Vlade Divac announced the move a day after the Kings wrapped up another disappointing season with a 33-49 record. Karl was given a four-year contract when he was hired in February 2015 to replace Tyrone Corbin. He finished with a 44-68 mark.
While the Kings won 30 games this season for the first time since 2008, they once again missed the playoffs as Karl failed to fix the problems on the court.
The defense was again a major problem with the team allowing a league-worst 109.1 points per game, and giving up an NBA-record 839 3-pointers. Karl had frequent run-ins with talented but difficult center DeMarcus Cousins, and faced questions about his status as far back as November.
Karl, who has the fifth-most wins all-time with a record of 1,175-824, said in a statement: “While I would have loved to continue on this journey, I am very proud of our work and I want to thank Kings management for the opportunity to have coached this exciting team with such a bright future.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards confirmed Randy Wittman will not be back as coach for failing to reach the playoffs.
Wittman was informed of the news late Wednesday, when the Wizards’ season ended with a 109-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. With a team built around All-Star point guard John Wall, and a roster set up to make a bid for Kevin Durant as a free agent this offseason, Washington finished 41-41 and 10th in the Eastern Conference.
The Wizards missed out on the playoffs after reaching the second round in each of the past two seasons.
“There were high internal and external expectations for this team coming into this season, based on the momentum we had generated over the previous two years,” Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said. “Unfortunately, the inconsistency of the team’s performance and effort, particularly on our home court, did not allow us to meet those expectations.”
Wittman went 178-199 in 4 1/2 seasons with the Wizards.
Also, New York Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson said he wants to work with a coach he knows, and he’ll take some time before deciding if that’s Kurt Rambis.
Jackson said Rambis will be interviewed for the Knicks job after he finished the season as the interim coach. He replaced Derek Fisher in February.
The Knicks finished 32-50, their third straight season out of the playoffs, and there were top candidates who would be available if Jackson opened a widespread coaching search. But he said “only people probably I know will be in the interview process.” Jackson gave no timetable.