Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers is happy to have Coby Karl as coach of the Delaware Blue Coats.
The Philadelphia 76ers have issues to work out at the NBA level as they continue their championship quest. They obviously will have to do so without Ben Simmons and are working on a resolution.
However, it does not hurt to figure out how to run things at the G League level.
The Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate of the Sixers, have a new coach, Coby Karl. He is the son of legendary coach George Karl, and he played three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.
“Well, I’ve known George for a long time, really never liked George a lot,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers laughed. “That’s not true. … But I do like the lineage. I’ve known Coby for a long time. I always thought he was a very high-IQ player. There’s certain guys that you know, he’s going to be a coach. You knew where he was going with it.”
The younger Karl coached the South Bay Lakers in the G League for five seasons, and he will carry that experience into this situation in Delaware. He will most likely have rookies Jaden Springer and Charles Bassey to tend to when their season begins.
“I like some of the stuff he ran in L.A. with the G League team,” Rivers added. “Once the job became available and Prosper (Karangwa) and Daryl (Morey) and them had a list of guys, I thought he was the right choice for us. We’ll see.”
The Blue Coats were led by Connor Johnson for three seasons, and the communication between him and the organization was thorough. With Karl taking over, one can assume continuity in that regard.
“It’s going to be a learning experience for both sides,” said Karl. “I know each team and each organization is different, and the season does kind of take a lot of energy and a lot of focus. But I think our intention as an organization, from the conversations I’ve had here, is there’s going to be a lot of back and forth. I know Daryl really values the G League, and Doc has expressed the same sentiments. So the organization really cares.”
When it comes to Springer, Bassey and two-way players Grant Riller and Aaron Henry, the Sixers and the Blue Coats will need to be in constant communication. Rivers will most likely give Karl and his staff instruction on what they expect, so it will be interesting to see if that will remain the same as it was with Johnson.
“Some of the staff members have been really welcoming and have already shown a great interest in our young guys that might be playing with us,” Karl finished. “So I think the communication is going to be there, and our staff in Delaware is just going to try to build up these young men and make them really valuable assets for this organization.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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