Monday, June 27th, 2011 at 9:30 am  |  73 responses

Adrian Dantley: ‘George Karl Fired Me’


Differences between head coach George Karl and his assistant Adrian Dantley led to the Denver Nuggets not renewing Dantley’s contract, and things seem to have ended on a rather nasty note. From Denver Stiffs: “Oh, yeah, I’m done,’ Dantley said. ‘(Nuggets coach George Karl) fired me Friday.’ Messages left Sunday for Karl and Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri were not immediately returned. ‘I got fired because I didn’t rotate on the bench,’ said Dantley, who was regarded as Karl’s lead assistant and filled in for Karl for the final 1 ½ months of the 2009-10 season when the head man was battling a form of throat cancer. NBA teams are allowed to have three assistants sit on the bench, with others having to sit behind it. Dantley, who always had sat on the bench, said Karl approached him early last season and requested he rotate along with other assistants either sitting on or behind the bench. Dantley said he sat behind the bench for the final 67 games of the regular season and during the playoffs and wouldn’t rotate to the front of the bench. Nuggets assistants Chad Iske, John Welch and Melvin Hunt sat on the bench for those games. ‘I didn’t rotate,’ said Dantley, an NBA star forward from 1976-2001 who was named in 2008 to the Hall of Fame. ‘I wasn’t going to rotate. If they (other assistants) want the publicity to sit up front, I don’t need the publicity… I got no problem not being seen on TV and sitting at the back of the bench … This had to do with a whole lot of backstabbing,’ Dantley said. ‘I got fired because I wouldn’t rotate. And people felt uncomfortable (about that).’ Dantley went 11-8 in games Karl missed late in the 2009-10 season due to cancer. With Dantley at the helm, the Nuggets were upset 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs to Utah … ‘What upset me is the loyalty you show to someone and you get screwed,’ Dantley said.”

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  • J-Bird

    Karls comments show that he has great respect for black coaches, and thinks they should, and will get more opportunities to become head coaches. When has Karl shown any racist tendencies, honestly?

  • J-Bird

    Philo you didnt know, you know? lol

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Well if I came in complained about “Afro-Americans” getting “handouts” at my work and getting opportunities other white employees at my work aren’t. I would be deemed atleast prejudice. H*ll if I just started calling all black people “Afro-Americans” I would be viewed as racist by many. So at the least Geroge Karl “was” racially insensitive and ignorant.

  • J-Bird

    nbk- I think ignorant is the word. IMO he is not racist, why would he defend his team against Dallas fans he says were verbally attacking his players based on their being black?

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I don’t know George Karl. I doubt as a person who has spent the majority of his life involved in the NBA Karl could still be a racist, if he ever were. I was just showing you where the reputation comes from. Atleast some of it. Ignorant may be the word. His age may just be the only contributing factor as “old views” are inherently racist some of the time (IMO). Words like “Afro-American” show that, but when he says they are getting handouts or whatever, that shows to me he still sees some kind of difference. Whether his feelings are justified is surely a matter of opinion and perspective.

  • J-Bird

    My only problem was that The Philosopher stated that “George Karl is a known racist”, which simply is not true.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Oh that’s Philo’s opinion. You also don’t know exactly what he means by a “racist” – could just be someone that categorizes people as different based on the color of their skin. Wouldn’t get too worked up about any non-basketball related “fact” in this place anyway… That’s a TON of arguing, trust me.

  • piq

    @Allenp wow you really got tangled there. You confused owners with people employed by the league, and then you call J-bird stupid. Don Sterling is an owner and he is in a totally different category from other poor grunts like G. Karl, as he can “afford” himself being arrogant, ignorant and whatnot openly. Others have to take care what they do, say, write, and coach G.K. may and maynot be a racist, but we certainly wont read about it in the papers or online. Remember Timmy H. and backlash that ensued when he burst the bubble of political correctness, as the league of today is only about the image, P.R. and nothing more. Of course there is racism everywhere, it is just a little bit unpleasant for a racist in general to openly and publicly display his ignorance, as the society in general is a bit more determined to deal with it.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    “Players Sam Cassell, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette complained to me that DONALD STERLING would bring women into the locker room after games, while the players were showering, and make comments such as, ‘Look at those beautiful black bodies.’ I brought this to Sterling’s attention, but he continued to bring women into the locker room.”
    That man has some serious f*cking issues…

  • http://jsdklfl.com Jukai

    I don’t know if George Karl is racist or not. I had my opinions, but they’ve changed as other comments have come out.
    Just want to correct, that “David Aldridge” article about George Karl was all about how George Karl WASN’T racist, just dumb. So, you know, don’t know why Philo keeps commenting on an article defending George Karl.
    Also, NBK, there’s only one definition of racism. If someone’s using it just to show a person that diferentiates black and white, he’s using it wrong.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Maybe, but that’s like saying there is no such thing as a double meaning beause the definition doesn’t define it as such. Words mean different things to different people, no matter how they are supposed to interpret them. That’s where things like sarcasm, double meanings (that’s sick) come from after all. Plus you (hopefully) understood what I meant anyway.

  • http://jsdklfl.com Jukai

    Well, you meant to say the Philosopher may be using the word wrong. There are double means, and there is slang… and then there is using words wrong, haha.
    Philo knows what the word means though, these George Karl rumors have been going around since his Bucks days.

  • iLLwiLL

    You gotta rotate on defense too.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    There’s no question Karl has problems dealing with people – Shawn Kemp, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony all ended up really resenting his treatment of them by the end of their tenures with those teams. He’s a douchebag and he’s never going to win a ring as a head coach. Mark my words.

  • Groves

    AllenP just destroyed everyone with brilliant logic. gold star

  • J-Bird

    If by ‘destroyed’ you mean, made me aware that Donald Sterling had more than one race related lawsuit filed against him, yes I’ve been destroyed.

  • Yawn

    66 comments later and only one article about George Karl has been brought up. Players have issues with coaches all the time whether they’re black or white, and I know Karl has a history of being an asshole to his players. I’m just trying to see where’s this overwhelming amount of evidence that proves that Karl is a racist.

    @AllenP Working for the NBA doesn’t prevents one from being racist, but Sterling and Karl are in two different positions. Karl could get fired from his job if the players were truly determined to get rid of him because of the fact he’s a racist.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    @Ugh: You nailed it, and let’s add Ray Allen to the list of players he hasn’t been able to get the most out of.

  • http://nicekicks.com meloman2.0

    i’ve always said Karl was a bad coach… bad substitution patterns and barely runs any plays

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    If the owners really, really wanted Donald Sterling gone, they could make it happen. If they wanted him sanctioned, it would happen as well, ask Mark Cuban.
    The logic that nobody employed by the NBA could be racist, when it’s obvious that at least one owner in the NBA is a racist is poor logic. Period.
    There is no argument there. How can you argue that a business run, in part, by a racist would be opposed to hiring somebody who is a racist? Where is the logically underpinning for that assertion?
    I can’t believe y’all missed that point so completely.

  • J-Bird

    Who implied that anyone working for the NBA could’nt be racist?
    I said no one employed by the NBA could be a “known” racist, huge difference.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    The logic is still bad.
    Donald Sterling is a “known” racist by any fair measure.
    He owns at team in the NBA, which makes him a part owner of the league.
    So, you’re saying that a League with a “known” racist owner could not have a “known” racist employee.
    But, then I’m sure you will quibble about the definition of “known” but oh well. It is what it is.

  • Comedian DFam

    I think thats bogus of G.Karl. he pretty much let A.Dantley dangle in the dirt. I hope coach Karl prays for mercy because “KARMA” for something of this nasty nature can only be punishable by humiliation. A.Dantley hang in there, your time is coming..#TEAMDFAM

    @dfamcomedy on twitter

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