George Karl continues trashing NBA players — this time Damian Lillard — while promoting his book

George Karl really seems to want to sell copies of that new book of his.

Days after excerpts from his upcoming memoir, “Furious George,” revealed that the former NBA coach isn’t particularly fond of some of his ex-players, Karl trashed a young basketball star during an interview published Wednesday in New York magazine.

Karl brought up Portland Trail Blazers standout Damian Lillard when discussing a previously released passage from his book, in which the coach describes NBA star Carmelo Anthony as a “user of people.”

“There’s a new generation of players interested in personal branding and gaining money and power off the court, and that’s all new to me,” Karl said. “There were too many times with Melo when what was going on off the court was more important than what was happening on the court. It bothered me then and it bothers me now. That kind of thing bothered me just the other night.”

When asked to clarify the last sentence, Karl started talking about Lillard and the Trail Blazers.

“I was watching the Portland Trail Blazers play, and I was trying to figure out, ‘What the hell is wrong with this team?’” Karl said. “My conclusion is that Damian Lillard is getting too much attention.”

He continued: “Who controls the team? The coach and the point guard. And that team is not working. I think their coach, Terry Stotts, is a great coach. So I’m going to say the problem is Lillard. They were a together, connected, committed team last year. This year they’re not. What changed?”

Lillard is one of the best known young players in the league. He has several major endorsement deals and also recently released a rap album.

Last year he helped the Trail Blazers finish 44-38 and advance to the second round of the playoffs; this year the team has struggled to a 14-20 start and would miss the playoffs if the season ended today.

But Lillard’s scoring is actually up this year, from 25.1 points per game to 27.0, while his assists have dipped slightly, from 6.8 to 6.2.

Lillard didn’t immediately comment on Karl's criticism. But this tweet quoting hip-hop artists 50 Cent and J. Cole might have been directed at the 2012-13 NBA coach of the year whose most recent NBA gig, with the Sacramento Kings, ended with his firing this spring after just two seasons:

Lillard's agent, Aaron Goodwin, said in a statement to ESPN: "I have always loved and respected George, way back when he coached Gary Payton. But with that observation, he sounds like an idiot. He couldn't get anyone in this league to agree with him on that assessment [of Lillard].”

Stotts, who has played for and coached under Karl, addressed the controversy before Portland’s win over Sacramento on Wednesday.

"I owe a lot to George. I got my start in coaching with George. I wouldn't be here if not for him," Stotts said. "But when it comes to my team and my players, he needs to stay in his own lane.

"He doesn't know Damian Lillard. He doesn't know how coachable he is. He doesn't know what a great teammate he is. He doesn't know how much Damian cares about winning and how important he is to this franchise. I thought his comments, however well intended they may have been — which I can't understand — I can't tolerate.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii