Kosta Koufos pumped to play for George Karl in Sacramento

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/01/kosta-koufos-pumped-to-playing-for-george-karl-in-sacramento/



Kosta Koufos pumped to play for George Karl in Sacramento
Kurt Helin Sep 1, 2015, 4:30 PM EDT




Well, there’s one.

We’ll see how the relationship between DeMarcus Cousins and George Karl plays out this season, now that they’ve smoked the peace pipe (or whatever they did when they met). We’ll see how the relationship between George Karl and Rajon Rondo goes as well. Or if the Kings’ players all bond together over their hatred of Karl and that unifies them. Whatever works.

But at least one Sacramento King is pumped to be playing for George Karl: Kosta Koufos. The big man was on SiriusXM NBA Radio and talked about coming to the Kings.

SiriusXM NBA Radio @SiriusXMNBA
"He's one of the best coaches in the @NBA. He gets the best out of his players and I'm very excited." -@kostakoufos on @CoachKarl22
11:38 AM - 1 Sep 2015
  7 7 Retweets  3 3 favorites


It will be interesting to see how Karl balances the minutes between the veteran but slower Koufos and the raw but athletic Willie Cauley-Stein, and how that balance evolves over the course of the season.

As for the Kings, Karl himself called them “combustible.” I think that’s perfect. Combustible mixtures can become jet fuel, or they can blow up. If feels like the Kings could do either.



bob
MY NOTE:  It can't hurt Koufos, Karl or the Kings for him to publicly embrace his coach.  It can't hurt Karl or the Kings that WCS showed some real skills in summer league, even if it is only summer league.  And it can't hurt Danny that this would give the Kings a logjam at center.  We were all calling for Danny to go for Koufos as a free agent (he might be a bit slow for Brad's style, but he'd still bring size we need).  There were rumors flying everywhere that Danny was trying to move up to take WCS.  I can understand why, with Cousins and Karl publicly feuding, the Kings went for another center for insurance but now they have 3.  I would take any one of them.  This pot just needs a little bit of time to cook.  A little time for Mt. St. Cousins to remember why he doesn't like George Karl, a little bit of time for Koufos to learn Karl's system and play well (or not), a little time for WCS to blossom.  Then we'll see if they combust like jet fuel or like an oil refinery fire. One thing I am sure of is that Trader Danny is on the job.


.

certainly hard to understand why the Kings braintrust brought BOTH WCS and Koufos in this off-season.

one makes sense for sure with the Karl (who they hired) and Cousins oil and water mix, but both?

it's almost like they are the ANTI-Cetlics or the bizarro -celtics for this off-season at least, in that they went after as many NBA center types as they could find.

I doubt either of the "new" additions would be moved, so that only leaves Cousins. And many Celtic fans seem hesitent to give up the assets that would be needed to bring a player like Cousins here.

but as you say, we'll have to see what happens.

Just think Bob, some think that Zeller could be geting the same salary as Cousins for next year or close...now think about THAT ONE!

kdp59 wrote:certainly hard to understand why the Kings braintrust brought BOTH WCS and Koufos in this off-season.

one makes sense for sure with the Karl (who they hired) and Cousins oil and water mix, but both?

it's almost like they are the ANTI-Cetlics or the bizarro -celtics for this off-season at least, in that they went after as many NBA center types as they could find.

I doubt either of the "new" additions would be moved, so that only leaves Cousins. And many Celtic fans seem hesitent to give up the assets that would be needed to bring a player like Cousins here.

but as you say, we'll have to see what happens.

Just think Bob, some think that Zeller could be geting the same salary as Cousins for next year or close...now think about THAT ONE!

kdp,

New CBA, new salary cap. Apples and oranges. You could make the argument that he'll be making as much money as Gerald Wallace made this year too, and how crazy is that, but that is an unfair comparison. Wallace signed his contract at another point in his career, with a different CBA, a different salary cap, etc.

Past is not necessarily prologue.

bob


.

True that.

and reality is that unless Cousins implodes, his next deal should be more in the $25M per year range.