Karl Finds New Life in Milwaukee
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — So, George Karl was outspoken and outlandish in Seattle? Wait until he starts working the sideline in Milwaukee.
“The freshness is unbelievable,†said Karl, who put his messy divorce with the SuperSonics behind him and signed a four-year, $20 million deal to try to guide the Bucks back to respectability. “It’s rejuvenating. There’s a juice in my daily existence that I haven’t had in probably two or three years.â€
No more squabbles with Shawn Kemp on the court and Wally Walker off it.
“I guess in a way our winning in Seattle was tedious and boring,†Karl said. “I hope we get to that point here in Milwaukee.â€
Karl is just happy to be in Brew City, where his beer belly and blue-collar style are a perfect fit.
His six straight 55-win seasons--only Red Auerbach did better--couldn’t make up for his 40-40 playoff record or his problems with management and star players in Seattle.
Things started to get nasty there after Walker replaced general manager Bob Whitsitt, who had hired Karl despite a 119-176 record in tumultuous stints in Cleveland and Golden State.
Following first-round failures in the ’94 and ’95 playoffs, Karl took the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996. But more playoff failures and acrimony followed.
Walker suggested Karl could not be trusted with sensitive information and blamed him for leaks to the media. He also engineered the three-way trade involving Kemp and Milwaukee’s Vin Baker without consulting Karl.
“Over the last couple of years, my staff was not a part of the decision process,†said Karl, who was promised that wouldn’t happen in Milwaukee.
Said Bucks general manager Bob Weinhauer: “George and I will have open dialogue and open communication on every situation that has to do with this team.â€
When the Sonics went 10-12 in the playoffs in Karl’s final two years, owner Barry Ackerley asked, “Where are my rings?â€
So, the 47-year-old coach was gone.
But he tries to look back with cheer, not sorrow.
“We had so many great moments and it’s good to remember them in the tradition of excellence that I think we developed,†Karl said. “I think the disharmony between management and me was building a cancer and knot inside my gut and probably inside their gut that had to be cut out.
“And the only way to do that was if Wally left or I left. And when the owner said, ‘Where are my rings?’ he made it very clear who he was supporting,†Karl said. “And I can live with that.â€
Karl, who calls his firing “basically a mutual release,†said he quickly got over the hurt of his ouster.
“The day they fired me we were at my house, all my coaches, and we argued for about 2 1/2 hours on what was the greatest win,†Karl said. “‘Hey, what about that playoff series with Golden State? Or the Houston series that went seven? Or the Utah series?’
“It was a tremendous commentary on what we had done, and to be able to argue for 2 1/2 hours over great wins? I was over it right then,†Karl said.
Not that all is forgotten.
Karl can’t wait for the Sonics’ lone visit to Milwaukee this season. His goals are simple: end the Bucks’ seven-year playoff itch and beat Seattle on March 10.
“The whole Seattle episode, even though it was a tremendous ride of success and a tremendous ride of wins, this is much more refreshing,†Karl said as he watched his new nucleus of Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Terrell Brandon. “It’s much more challenging. I’m more juiced to be on the court.
“It’s kind of like you’re beginning a new family.â€
Robinson, who has had three coaches in his five-year career, said he feels blessed to have a coach of Karl’s caliber.
“He brings a lot. I enjoy working with him. He’s a great coach, a great motivator. He’s a proven winner,†Robinson said. “So, I’m just looking forward to having a good season.â€
Karl sees similarities between his arrival in Seattle in 1992, when Kemp was 22 and Gary Payton 23, and in Milwaukee, where Robinson is 25 and Allen 23.
“It reminds me a great deal of the Seattle situation seven years ago,†Karl said. “Some young players who have some explosive skills but have not put the pieces together.â€
Karl welcomes the challenge of building a similar success story here.
“There’s a want and a desire to be better than we were in Seattle,†he said. “I want a divisional title here. I want to play in a conference championship here. Can we win a championship in four years? I don’t think it’s out of the question.â€
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