Karl’s Reign Is Over in Seattle

It’s official. Seattle SuperSonic coach George Karl was fired Tuesday.

So is the Clipper news conference today? Tomorrow?

Not so fast. Yes, Karl is the Clippers’ top candidate to replace the fired Bill Fitch as coach. And, yes, Karl has let it be known, through intermediaries, he’s interested in the job.

But he’s also interested in other jobs. He’d be interested if Phil Jackson were to leave the Chicago Bulls. He’d be interested if Del Harris were asked to leave the Lakers.

So while everyone’s cards in the Karl-Clipper negotiating game are on the table, the safest bet is that no one will play his cards until the NBA season ends and key personnel moves on several other clubs are decided.

“If a mutual interest is determined,” Clipper spokesman Joe Safety said of Karl, “we will certainly talk. But that’s still premature. We’ll use all the runway.”

Maybe so, but be assured, Karl is the man the Clippers want if he wants the job, if he’s satisfied with the money and if he doesn’t demand General Manager Elgin Baylor’s job as well.

If Karl goes elsewhere, the Clippers’ second choice at this point would be former Phoenix Sun coach Paul Westphal.

Definitely not on the list is former UCLA coach Jim Harrick, currently at Rhode Island.

Karl’s Seattle assistants--Bob Weiss, Tim Grgurich, Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts--also were fired Tuesday by the team.

Karl, 47, anticipated his firing after the SuperSonics were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Lakers, but it was something he desperately wanted to avoid.

In the final few games of the Laker series, the mere mention of the fact that he might be in his final days with the SuperSonics brought tears to Karl’s eyes.

A case certainly could have been made to retain Karl, who was paid $3.2 million this season. In his 6 1/2 seasons with the club, Karl had three 60-victory seasons, a trip to the NBA finals and a .719 regular-season winning percentage (384-150), best of any coach in team history.

But he didn’t have any championship rings. Team owner Barry Ackerley acknowledged several weeks ago the depth of his disappointment over Karl’s failure to take the team the final steps to the top.

General Manager Wally Walker insisted the decision to fire Karl was his alone. Walker said he didn’t make up his mind on Karl’s fate until this past weekend and told his coach that he was gone Tuesday morning.

“Our decision is based entirely on what we believe is in the team’s best interest of going forward,” Walker said. “It’s not about money. It’s not personal.”

But there was the matter of Karl’s openness with the media. Walker said he had problems reading information in the morning paper that he had confided to Karl.

“I don’t think George is about to change,” Walker said. “I don’t want to be in a position where I can’t trust him to keep secret information that is very sensitive and can’t get out.”

Things got so bad the three-team deal that brought Vin Baker to the SuperSonics last season and sent Shawn Kemp to the Cleveland Cavaliers was not only kept secret from the media by Walker, but from Karl as well.

“We’re ultimately making this decision for the right reasons,” Walker said of Karl’s firing. “We’re doing it to have a chance to attain our primary goal--that of winning the championship. We need a different approach.”

Bret Adams, Karl’s agent, said he doesn’t think Karl will have any problem finding a new job.

“A coach that has a winning percentage like he did and makes the playoffs for seven straight years, he should be a commodity,” Adams said.

“His father is in Seattle, and I think it’s tough for his son and father and wife to have their guy fired, and from an emotional standpoint, I think it’s real tough for him. Professionally, I think he’ll bounce back.”

With the Clippers?

They certainly hope so.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.