Waive Goodbye to Karl Family Reunion

DENVER -- There will be no Karl reunion here Friday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday waived guard Coby Karl, son of Nuggets coach George Karl, and Coby told FanHouse on Thursday there's a chance he eventually could be brought back by the Cavaliers on a 10-day contract. Nothing will happen immediately after Coby Karl is expected to clear waivers Friday, meaning there's no chance of him playing for Cleveland that night against the Nuggets.

"They brought (a 10-day contract) up as a possibility,'' Karl speaking by phone from Cleveland, where he remained after the Cavaliers flew to Denver. "But I don't expect anything to be imminent.''

Karl, who was told of his waiving in a meeting with team executives Danny Ferry and Chris Grant and coach Mike Brown, is planning to pack his belongings over the next few days and move from Cleveland to Boise, Idaho, where he played at Boise State and has a residence. He was disappointed about not still being on the roster for the game with the Nuggets, but didn't imagine he would have played anyhow.

"It would have been great to have come back to Denver to see my family,'' said Coby Karl, who in 2007-08 with the Lakers became the third man in NBA history to play against the team his father coached (the others being Jan Breda Kolff facing Butch Van Breda Kolff and Mike Dunleavy Jr. going against Mike Dunleavy Sr.). "But I hadn't been active for a while and I've only played in three games all season so I probably wouldn't have played.''
Unless he gets a quick deal from an NBA team, Karl said the most likely scenario is he will play in the D-League for the Idaho Stampede. Karl, who played sparingly last season for Spain's Joventut Badalona, said he only would return to Europe if he got a good contract.

"It was not the best situation (last season) so I'm a little shy and nervous to go back (to Europe),'' Coby Karl, 26, said of the Badalona experience. "I thought I would be an integral part of the team but that wasn't their intention.''

Karl had a non-guaranteed minimum contract, and the Cavaliers let him go on the final day before deals would be guaranteed for the season. Karl said he spoke briefly to his dad to his father on Wednesday, saying George Karl was "disappointed'' but optimistic about him going somewhere to keep playing.

In his Cleveland three games, Karl went scoreless in five minutes. He sees a positive in having made the roster of one of the NBA's top teams.

"I want to play in the NBA, and if that opportunity comes again in Cleveland, that would be great,'' Karl said. "They treated me very well. I would love to come back. But, if not, I'll find a home somewhere... I believe I'm an NBA player. There's always going to be some doubters, but I'm not going to worry about it.''

One thing Karl doesn't expect to happen any time soon is to play for his father in Denver. Nobody in NBA history ever has played for his father.

"I've heard that they're trying to save money at all costs,'' Coby Karl said of the Nuggets, who have 13 on the roster and are well stocked at Karl's primary position of point guard. "So they're definitely not an odds-on favorite.''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson