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Sports

Kings name George Karl head coach

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Sacramento Kings will have a new head coach after the All-Star break.

George Karl was named to the position on Thursday, replacing interim head coach Tyrone Corbin.

The Kings said a press conference to introduce Karl would be scheduled when the agreement is finalized. The Sacramento Bee earlier reported it to be a four-year deal worth more than $4 million per season.

Karl will become the third coach for the Kings this season. Mike Malone began the year on the bench, but was fired in December after an 11-13 start. Corbin was named interim coach and guided Sacramento to a mark of 7-21 after Wednesday's 111-103 loss to Milwaukee.

Corbin will continue in the organization as an advisor to the front office.

"I have the utmost respect for Tyrone as a coach and person," said Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro in a statement Thursday. "He's a man of great integrity, a consummate professional that managed a difficult situation with class and professionalism. I look forward to continuing to work with Tyrone moving forward."

The Kings are fourth in the Pacific Division at 18-34, better than only the 13-40 Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento will start the second half of the season 10 games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Karl last coached in 2012-13 with the Denver Nuggets and had been serving as an NBA analyst for ESPN. His last Denver team was 57-25, earning him NBA Coach of the Year honors, but the franchise record for wins was not enough after the third-seeded Nuggets were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Golden State.

The 63-year-old coaching veteran joined Denver in January 2005 and guided the Nuggets to a record of 423-257 with playoff appearances in each of his nine seasons. However, the team was eliminated in the first round eight times and had its greatest success in the spring of 2009 with a trip to the Western Conference finals.

Karl began his long coaching career at age 33 in 1984-85 with Cleveland and has also been at the helm for Golden State, Seattle and Milwaukee in addition to his tenure in Denver.

In 1,887 games, he owns a record of 1,131-756 during the regular season. He is just 80-105 in the playoffs with 14 first-round exits in 22 appearances, and made his lone trip to the NBA Finals with Seattle in the spring of 1996.