George Karl has wondered before whether his son might win an NBA championship before he does.There's now another chance of that happening.
The Denver Nuggets coach told FanHouse on Friday his son, guard Coby Karl, will go to training camp with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and thinks he can make the team. Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry confirmed to FanHouse that Coby Karl will attend Cleveland's camp.
"He's been in (Cleveland working out), and I think it will happen,'' George Karl said of his son going to Cleveland's camp, which starts Tuesday. "If you look at the roster, I think it's a good chance (of Coby Karl making the team). Everybody always is trying to maneuver and get someone, but I think Coby felt pretty good about how he's played there (in Cleveland).''
Coby Karl averaged 1.8 points for the Lakers as a rookie in 2007-08, when they lost in the NBA Finals to Boston. He was a late cut last fall by the Lakers, and then played in Spain.
"I feel I have a pretty good opportunity to make the (Cavaliers),'' said Coby Karl, who said he has been working out the past two weeks in Cleveland and said he got his invitation to camp last Friday. "It's exciting because they're a really good team and are looking to win a championship.''
George Karl never has won an NBA title, although his Nuggets are coming off an appearance in the Western Conference finals. The Cavaliers are the favorite of many to win the Eastern Conference.
"That was tough, being one of the last cuts by the Lakers and then seeing them win the championship,'' said Coby Karl. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but it would be great to make a team that has a chance to get to the Finals.''
George Karl pushed for his son to be invited to training camp with the Nuggets, but it didn't end up happening. The Nuggets on Wednesday traded for swingman James White and they soon will sign swingman Joey Graham, as was previously reported by FanHouse, to a nonguaranteed contract after Masai Ujiri, a Toronto executive once with Denver, provided the Nuggets with a good recommendation.
"He was good enough to come to our camp,'' George Karl said of his son, who will sign a one-year non-guaranteed deal with Cleveland for the minimum of $736,420. "I thought he was one of those players that deserves guaranteed attention. Not (fully guaranteed), but pay some money to come (to camp). But the jobs (in the NBA) are shrinking.''
Coby Karl believes he deserved an invitation to Denver's camp after averaging 15.0 points for the Nuggets in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
"I feel I played well enough in the summer league to prove myself to even the last doubters,'' said Coby Karl. "But I think the way the economy is right now and with the way (Denver) ownership is right now in cutting costs, it would have been a tough situation (in Denver). It would have been a tighter fit than in Cleveland. But I'm trying to develop myself as a player away from my father.''
In 2007-08, the Karls faced off once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. The only other coaching fathers to face their playing sons in NBA history are Butch Van Breda Kolff going against Jan Van Breda Kolff in 1976-77 and Mike Dunleavy Sr. regularly facing Mike Dunleavy Jr. this decade. But neither of those father-son combinations ever battled in the playoffs.
No doubt George Karl would love to face Coby Karl again in the playoffs, especially if it's the NBA Finals.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I was hoping the kid could be an unofficial assistant coach under his dad, on the tazi squad. I`m glad for the kid he got an invite. And even more glad it is to potentially the leading championship contender. But his chances of making the team are small, even if they make some more trades, which I think is possible. The Cavs have too little perimeter shooting among their bigs, not enough size among their smalls. Cleveland may want to keep Varajao, due to the age of O`Neal, and their are conflicting reports whether Ilgauskas is a free agent this summer or next, but he is a 13 year vet either way. The Cavs need a young big, and Varajao may not be much else, but he IS that. That leaves their most valuable trade asset Williams or West, to lead a package for a big who can shoot from the perimeter. Wild West`s value has been undercut by his recent arrest, which since it was in Maryland may not hurt much with Ohio fans, but may hurt, depending on what, if anything, is proven, with GMs. A two or three for one trade including a small guard would increase room for Karl, as maybe a third stringer. If he can make the team, then he has to show well in practice, because coach won`t hesitate to ignore him in close games. A lot of marginal players not on a regular season roster, like Karl, are at least as good as guys in the nba, but teams are looking for potential starters, not adequate reserves, so guaranteed contracts for overrate kids fresh from college routinely beat out slightly better guys who`ve already been passed over. Kirilenko is not much in favor in Salt Lake City anymore, but is mainly a defender, not a perimeter shooter. He would still be good bench fodder for Cleveland, who are suspect at back up power forward with Wallace gone. Don`t know his being Russian would help him with Jersey, at least, maybe not this year. No one else there speaks Russian yet. But if the new owner is confirmed, at the management level, he has allegedly said he will set up communications between his Jersey team and his Moscow team. He is 6`7, and has played some Russian basketball himself, and young, by owner standards, so it will be interesting how the team receives him over the course of the season. Some owners, like Miller was in Salt Lake, like Cuban is in Dallas, are more active in team affairs than others.
I don't know much about Coby Karl,but the Cavs are definitely looking for another Guard.Somebody who can handle the ball,pass and play good Defense.If Karl is not adept at those 3 things,he need not apply.The Cavs absolutely want to keep Varejao,and they proved that by signing him to a new 6 year contract.He may not be a good perimeter shooter,but he's a double/double threat as a starter.(12ppg - 7.5rpg)Much has been said about Clev. "needing" a stretch PF,I just don't buy into it at all.The last thing this team needs is another shooter who can't play Defense and Rebound.James will be playing more at the PF spot anyway with the additions of Parker and Moon.The team also wants to work 2nd year player JJ Hickson into the rotation as well.They are also hoping that Leon Powe returns toward the end of the season,which would be a huge addition to the front court.Ilgauskus DOES have a monster expiring contract and could be dealt at the deadline if they are still having matchup/injury problems.Mo Williams will not be going anywhere this year,period.West could be dealt,but only in a severely lopsided/salary dump trade which is unlikely at best,but you never know.As for Kirilenko,his contract is a 30 ton anchor that I can't believe any team would be willing to acquire.
The age of Shaq and El Zyd may suck Varajao into being an undersized center. Less difficult to find a decent power forward than a decent center. Can`t count on injured players coming back as well as before, and Powe was a reserve to begin with. So Hickson will get opportunity to prove himself. I doubt the Cavs want James banging at power forward, though he is certainly strong enough to play there, and it suits his limited shooting range, but especially if they feel they have to go small at center, they`ll want size helping Varajao when the old guys are gone. Parker and Moon can play guard, giving them much needed size there, it is Parker`s usual spot, and Moon`s been tried there, but defense is more their game than offense, which is usually at a premium at wing forward. Obviously, they`d hate to give up either starting small guard, but if they continue to play both together they will continue to be outsized. But if they are okay with losing to teams like Orlando and the Lakers, they can stay pretty and small, and give points up on the other end. But sure, those hoping for a stretch forward are hoping he can rebound and shoot, too. Defense wins games. Especially in the playoffs, when repeated defensive efforts can wear shooters out. Love your initial!
The lack of young quality 7'0" Centers around the league is very apparent.You can count em' on 1 hand with fingers left over.There are a few guys who have potential to be,but until they are able to stay healthy on the court,I won't count them as any long term solution either.Bynum and Oden included.Just about any team not located in Orlando is forced to play a true PF to fill that position on a nightly basis.For Cleveland,it has to be all about THIS year, and Shaq gives them their best chance to fill their glaring front court deficiencies from last year.Considering the salary cap limitations and their options,not re-signing Varejao would have been a monumental mistake.He may be unappreciated outside of Cleveland,but Cavs fans KNOW the intangibles he brings and what that means to this teams chemistry.Powe was a risk/reward type of signing,but all indications are that he will be available at some point in the regular season to provide major front court depth.Ideally,James will start at the SF,but will play whereever he's needed the most in certain matchups,the 2,3 or 4 position.The additions of Parker and Moon can not be overstated.They are both long and very good wing defenders that allow the team to matchup at several positions where needed.Don't be surprised to see Delonte West coming off the bench for Mo at PG.Cleveland is not "ok with losing to Orlando or the Lakers" or Boston or anybody else in the playoffs.Give Danny Ferry some credit,he's done everything in his power to correct the teams weaknesses from last year,and he still has a massive expiring contract to work with by the deadline.So,this team is probably not a finished product as yet,and who knows what else they may be able to add to it,but 1 thing is for certain,they are already a much better team than they were last year.
Yes, Mr. G., I agree completely. Coach Brown has a tendency to go small, and "coach" James has already disgreed with him, during games, about it. When things got tough against Orlando, he went to Andy, LeB, and three point guards, Dan, Wild, and Mo. Just way too small. That is why Parker and Moon are on the team, to Gibson can sit. If they keep both starting little guards, one ought to come off the bench, they just can`t afford to pair them for long stretches. Even though it will be hard to bench or trade either. They are good little guards. Adding Shaq was a nice bonus, but did nothing to address their real problems. Moon and Parker helped with those, but I think Ferry has more work to do. I think Cleveland should be favored in the east this year, and if Shaq is healthy, I think he should be favored as the second all star from Cleveland this year, though I doubt he can maintain his comeback, as a former has been, many more seasons. Losing Turk weakened Orlando, but Toronto is a bigger market, and needed him more. And yes, Ming, when healthy, and Shaq, are the only quality, true centers, left right now. Bynum only wants to play offense. And with Gasol having filled out, he may shift primarily to center. Oden is a kid who still has time to live up to the hype, but is still just injuries and hype, not production, so far. Power forward style centers have their good points, so except when Shaq is on the court this year, we will probably just have to try to content ourselves and try not to think how a young Shaq would be vastly superior to the old one, and anyone else now playing the center spot. Really, the true quality over 7 foot centers all time can be counted on one hand. Wilt, Kareem, Artis, Shaq, in order of age, Shaq is better in quality than Artis Gilmore. Can`t rank Ming up there in fifth, but Parish was only 7, not over, Bellamy under, Thurmond under, Moses Malone under, Russell under, Issell, under, etc.
GGGiles,I love that initial too. It's hard to say who the best in the East is.I guess we'll have a better idea in a couple months.Boston,Cleveland and Orlando are all very,very good.The 1 thing I like about Cleveland is,they are the only 1 that has a chance to become significantly better before the Playoffs arrive.Big Z's expiring contract could be very enticing to a non-contender in Feb. with this slow economy.Right now,it's impossible to even speculate who might become available in a salary slash move,or just a disgruntled player wanting out of a bad situation.Dan Gilbert has very deep pockets, and will not hesitate to take on a long term contract to keep LeBron happy and surround him with another star caliber player.I agree,this team has more work to do,but they do have some tradable assets, and an owner and GM that are working overtime to bring that city a title and keep LeBron at home where he belongs.Cleveland is far from being content with this roster as is, and they will be 1 of the more active teams on the trade market.
Yeah, the possibility James will leave if the team doesn`t win the championship this season seems to me to be low, but it is certainly there. He`ll get a max contract anywhere he goes, he`ll get too MUCH media attention anywhere he goes. He could go to Salt Lake, 50th market in the US, somehow with one of 30 teams in the nba, and STILL get way too much media attention. That may be a mistake Shaq may have made. He went to LA, the media got bored with him. Movie and rap recording deals dried up. He left, won a championship, became a has been, made a comeback, suddenly he has an UNreality TV show, the media got bored with being bored with him. James I think will definetly have summer homes in Akron and/or Cleveland, may well keep his winter home, too. Haven`t heard of him having a wife and/or kids, who might complain. He`ll be in cold weather on road trips if not at home, so I expect he`ll just cope with the cold, may even like it, some folks claim they do. And he is so far trying to be Jordan Jr. Jordan never DID feel the need to live with Spike Lee. Left Chicago for Birmingham, then DC, but not New York. Odds are Lames will be a constant as an all star from Cleveland the next decade, but things could change. Don`t know if it would help if billionaires in Cincy and Colombus bought teams. Looks like Cincy may pass Cleveland next census, Colombus is much smaller, but growing, and already bigger than some markets which DO have teams. I`m not a northerner. But Wild West wears Wilt`s number, and is Jerry`s height, so maybe it increases my focus on not wanting the Cavs. to have the match up problem the Lakers had in `73. I think the Lakers also need to replace Risher. He let Houston`s unknown guards run wild in the playoffs. Without Yao (or Mtumbo), they shouldn`t have been in that series. I was glad for LeBron he had that one good outside shooting game in Detroit a couple years back, won the series with that hot streak. But Shaq is my fave Cav., though I remember those guys LeBron blends into his Old Man on the tv commercials. I hope he adds characters which blend the Old Man and the three other characters, I haven`t gotten enough of his Old Man. He`s part Redd Foxx`s Sandford, like the bad back, but he`s also part some Nba greats. I tend to bash New York, sometimes in humor, sometimes not, sometimes even because I wish it would do better. But NYC does care, regardless. James seems much too sensible/intelligent generally, to go there (though I bash him sometimes, too, about his earrings, and the hype, though I know he doesn`t publish that himself). His summer camp is in San Diego, where he has no local nba rivals to his collecting the best campers. If they add an Nba team there, he might consider it, or either LA team, or any sun belt team with an all pro he could join, but I don`t see anyone in his life who might try to coax him to leave, so I think he`ll probably stay. Though that can change. A fight with the coach, for example, though I think Gilbert would get rid of the coach, like Earvin Johnson is blamed for Paul Westhead being fired. Anyone short of Gilbert himself would likely go if they couldn`t fit in with James. But other than being obsessed with wanting to win, be the best he can be, so far, I disagree with those who feel he is an egomaniac. He seems mainly fairly level headed, though of course very determined, to me.