Former coach George Karl reminisced about his time in the NBA and the players he's coached, holding one regret still vivid in his mind. Ray Allen wasn't fond of Karl, but the longtime coach would be willing to resolve those past issues with the now-retired marksman over golf and beers.
Karl joined the Locked on Bucks podcast to talk at length about his relationship with Allen:
“Sam (Cassell) and I always had a good relationship. Still do. Glenn (Robinson) is the quiet one so he didn’t we didn’t really know how he felt. And I think Ray (Allen) was the guy that thought I ruined the team. I bring it right down,” said Karl. “I mean me by bringing in Anthony Mason. And I think that that relationship did deteriorate … I mean, the whole the whole thing is, it was a tough situation.
“You know, and it might have been my leadership, being confrontational to a fault. Anthony Mason was a guy that was confrontational to him, to his teammates and to me, and so there was maybe too much confrontation. That created a lot of negative energy that is hard to deal with. I would have to say Ray would prefer not that to be in his locker room. But I mean, I think we all probably made mistakes. I mean, we probably, you know, talked to and said the wrong things.”
Having admitted his flaws and share of tough decisions, Karl noted he would be willing to revisit these old wounds and start the healing process with some alcohol and playing a few holes.
“If Ray would reach out to me I’d be glad to meet with him. I think vice versa. I’ve seen Ray a couple times when I worked with ESPN. You know, we exchanged pleasantries we weren’t unfriendly,” said Karl. “Talking out this situation it’s going to take a day or half of day, you know, golf and go and drink some beers. This is not something you’re gonna talk out in five minutes. It just doesn’t happen that way. Ray’s one of the few players I wish I would have had more time with because I think he’s one of the more special talents that I’ve had in the NBA.”
Karl has coached plenty of talented players during his time, including Hall of Famers like Allen, Gary Payton, and many others. His hard-nosed and confrontational style rubbed a lot of players the wrong way, Allen among them. Yet bringing in Mason likely was more than Allen could bear.
Ultimately, there's nothing better than seeing some reconcile from Karl, who hopes to one day make amends for some gut-check decisions he made in the interest of the team.
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