Why George Karl Makes Little Sense For Pistons

Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

This morning, Adrian Wojnarowski —  NBA columnist for Yahoo! sports — broke the news of the Denver Nuggets firing head coach George Karl, via his twitter acount.

Following a 57 win season, the 2012-’13 NBA  Coach of the Year — and the final season under contract with the Denver Nuggets — Karl expected the team to extend his contract. Instead what he received was the peripheral door by head management. But, why? He had overcome the loss of Carmelo Anthony, the early season struggles, and made it nine season without a losing season — while racking up a 62.2% winning percentage on 423 wins.

However, in his nine seasons, Karl managed to make it out of the first round just once (advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2009). That lack of playoff success had ultimately led to his dismissal, and spread optimism in the NBA cities to those without a head coach.

Now, in Detroit, fans where quick to jump on the George Karl train. It made sense to them. An established head coach working with a young, up-and-coming team had to be the combination, right? Not exactly. The problem is, the pieces on the Pistons roster don’t make a lot of sense to a Karl-led offense.

George Karl prides himself on an up-tempo, attacking the basket style of play, that relies on his players innovation to bring out the best in their talents.

In Denver, Karl featured a pair of  attacking wings — in Andre Iguodala and Wilson Chandler — a pair of floor extending bigs — Danilo Gallinari and Anthony Randolph — and one of the top attacking point guards in the Western Conference.

The Pistons feature very little of this. Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are both close-to-the basket bigs. They brought in Jose Calderon, but he is best with the ball on the perimeter, and last year’s wing play, which featured a combination of Kyle Singler, Tayshaun Prince and Khris Middleton, was atrocious.

Yes, bringing Karl to Detroit would entice the fanbase, fill seats and rejuvenate a team that’s been down since they began breaking up the 2004 championship team. But this coaching search isn’t about the 2013-’14 season, it’s about the Pistons long term future.

They have building blocks on the roster that marvels few in the league. Brandon Knight has room to improve, while another lottery pick and $20+ million in cap room could set the team up for dominance in the near future.

Karl has a track record that few can match, but the Pistons must look past the flair for the coach that will undoubtedly bring out the best for this young roster they have assembled.