NBA Update: Denver Nuggets signs head coach George Karl for another three years
The 59 years old Denver Nuggets coach George Karl has extended his contract with the Nuggets to three years. The Nuggets have an option on a fourth season. Prior to this, Karl missed more than 11 months of action last season due
to a throat cancer ailment.
The Nuggets assistant coach Adrian Dantley took Karl’s place in the playoffs last season, but the Nuggets crashed out in the first round against the Utah Jazz.
During that chaotic period, Karl confessed there were some moments when he wasn’t sure whether he is going to stand with the Nuggets anymore, since he was about to become free agent after this season. But now everything has settled
down for Karl. He is feeling better than before, Anthony has moved to the New York Knicks in last month’s chartbuster trade and Karl has signed a three year extension pact to remain with the Nuggets. The Nuggets are 5-2 since Anthony’s departure.
Karl said after Wednesday’s practice session:
“There were many days that I said, ‘This can’t work out. This is not good for anybody,’ I tip my hat to Josh (Kroenke, Denver’s president) and Masai (Ujiri, Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations) for having
the trust in themselves to get something done that was good for me, for them. And it was a team decision, a unified decision. And right now, it’s got everybody pretty fired up.”
Karl, who has been with the Nuggets from the middle of 2004-05 season, now acquired three years extension 2013-14 season. He led the Nuggets in 2004-05 on a 32-8 run into the playoffs. Since then Nuggets has made the playoffs in
all seasons. This achievement is matched only by the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. His tenure was marked not just by good success ratio with Anthony, but also building a strong defence and probably the best home court advantage in the NBA. He is
on number seven on the all-time victories list, and is on number 11 in winning percentage among coaches who had at least 500 games under their buckle.
There are three one year team opportunities after this extension which can stretch his career to 2016-17. Karl, who has the third longest term of any active NBA coach after San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich and Boston Celtics’
Doc Rivers, will be 66 years old when his contract expires. As Karl said he wants to retire from the NBA with the Nuggets, but he is not sure whether he’ll able to fulfil the life of his contract or not.
Karl said about his contract:
“I don’t know there’s a part of me that says I hope I don’t fulfil all six of them. But then I say to myself, ‘What else would I do?’ I’ll probably coach somewhere else at a lower level” after the NBA.
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