by Charlie O. Mallonee

You are NBA head coach and it is Father’s Day. How do you spend your morning? You are not out having brunch and mimosas. You are probably in a gym watching draft prospects go through drills and evaluating their skills.

That is exactly how George Karl spent his Father’s Day. He attended a workout with four players at the Kings practice facility. Two of the players will probably be drafted in the mid to late first round in Thursday’s NBA Draft. The other two players may go in the second round or be potential free agent pick ups.

Karl felt it was a good workout, and that all four players worked really hard.

When asked about his input into the draft process Karl said, “Most of my input is philosophical. Do we need a passer, a shooter or a shot blocker? Do we need a big guy?”

Karl noted that he is seeing most of these players for the first time. Where he sees NBA players multiple times in person and on video, Karl does not have the time to keep up on potential draftees.

“I feel much more comfortable being a consultant on NBA players than I am with the draft,” said Karl.

Karl indicated that he is looking for skills, coachability. speed, size and style of play when he is evaluating players in the workouts..

“When the roster is set, I have to adapt to the style of play a little bit. In pro ball, a coach has to be adaptable. In college, you can recruit the type of player you want. In pro ball, you have to have good players. You have got  to have talented kids. If you (the coach) can’t get your type of player, (you have) to change the style of play until you get your type of player.”

Karl responded to a question about dealing with younger draftees with some strong words. “If I am a basketball sociologist, I’m saying the one and done stuff has not been good for the game – I can buy that. I can also buy that AAU has not been good for college or pro basketball. No one wants to hear that. They want to believe that we can take six months to a year and turn them into pro basketball players.” Karl added, “In our case it’s not one player, (we need) three or four players to get our roster into the right place.”

Karl was clear that the team has plans in place for whatever happens on Thursday night. He indicated that the Kings know who they will take if they keep the sixth overall pick. Karl pointed out the team could also trade the sixth pick for multiple picks or use the pick to trade for experience players.

Karl implied that he would get pretty aggressive on Thursday night if there is a player available who can give him 30-minutes of playing time per night. “I don’t think any guy at six is going to play 30-minutes. Most of these guys we’re considering are 19-year old kids who are going to have to grow up a little bit,” said Karl.

Karl also waxed philosophically about the development of younger players. He told reporters that it is easier for a player to grow up on a winning team than it is on a losing team.

In the NBA, the best prospects go to the worst teams. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on young players to produce quickly.

Karl also pointed out that he will be looking for coachability once gets the young players into the gym. He will be looking for players that want to win and are all about the team. Karl also indicated he has no problem being the policeman for any player who is not about winning and being a team player.

Karl was very clear on what it takes to win. “The best way to do that is to play better as a team.”