It's safe to say retired NBA head coach George Karl is not a fan of how some players are able to force their own teams to trade them at their whim.
According to the 67-year-old, the culture of players getting their way has gotten out of hand, and he is not one bit happy about how things have gotten this bad.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” said George Karl, per George Christensen of the Star Tribune. “I’m not sure Jimmy Butler’s happy with what he’s feeling right now. I’m not sure Kawhi Leonard feels good about what happened. I’m not sure Melo enjoyed what he did.”
George Karl even went as far as naming names, pointing out that guys like Butler and Leonard — who both forced their ways out of their respective former teams — should not be proud of how they handled themselves lately.
There is even special mention of Carmelo Anthony, who happened to be Karl's player while he was coaching the Denver Nuggets. In 2011, Karl fell victim to the very same antics he is condemning here when Anthony, who was then the centerpiece of the Nuggets, forced his way into a trade with the New York Knicks.
Karl went on to explain that, in his mind, these types of demands would be warranted if they came from the biggest players in the game.
“The greatest of the greats could make this demand 25 years ago,” Karl said. “But now it seems like an all-star player can make that demand. So there’s whatever, 30 or 40 players, who can do this.”
George Karl apparently doesn't think neither Butler nor Leonard deserve this honor. With regards to Anthony, though, we all know Karl does not think very highly of his former star, so there's no surprise here.
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