Sources said Tuesday that Denver coach George Karl is expecting his son, Nuggets point guard Coby Karl, to be waived by a Sunday deadline in which his contract would become fully guaranteed for next season. That could prevent Coby Karl from becoming the first man to play in an NBA game while being coached by his father.The Nuggets have until Aug. 15 to make calls on the contracts of both Coby Karl and Brian Butch, who were signed to deals last April. Either would have his contract fully guaranteed if still on the team past that date.
Because George Karl, who declined an interview request Tuesday, expects his son to be waived, sources said he's already sending out feelers to find other teams that might want to sign him. The Coby Karl contract that the Nuggets can get out of is one for the minimum of $854,389.
It would be controversial if the Nuggets waived Butch, who has a minimum contract worth $762,195, due to the center having suffered a serious knee injury in the NBA Summer League last month that is expected to keep him out until at least January. If they were to waive him, it's expected Butch would have to be paid until becoming medically cleared to play.
Retaining both Butch and Coby Karl would give the Nuggets 14 players with guaranteed contracts and limit their flexibility. The NBA roster minimum is 13, and having any player over that number would result in a bigger luxury-tax bill for the Nuggets.
It's not out of the question the Nuggets could waive Coby Karl and seek to bring him back at some point with a deal that isn't fully guaranteed. But Coby Karl, who could not be reached Tuesday, might not want to return to a Denver team that has three solid point guards in Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson and Anthony Carter.
Then Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien played a key role in last April's signing of Coby Karl when George Karl was battling a form of throat cancer. But Warkentien was let go last week by Denver.
Coby Karl last season became the first player to be on an NBA team his dad coached. Technically, George Karl was Denver's coach when Coby Karl joined the Nuggets late last season while never getting into a game. But Denver's acting coach then was assistant Adrian Dantley, with George Karl having missed the final 1 1/2 months of the season due to his cancer.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson.
Big Step Forward For Senate Immigration Bill
Rescuers Continue Search For Tornado Survivors
Inhofe: Oklahoma Aid Will Be 'Totally Different' From Sandy Aid
House Republicans Press On With Slashing Cuts
Knife Attack In China Wounds 6 Schoolchildren, 1 Adult
Pentagon Wants Millions To Maintain 'Inefficient' Facility
CBS Reporter's Grave Allegations
Weiner Throws His Hat In The Ring
Wolf Blitzer's Embarrassing Moment With Tornado Survivor
Atheist State Rep Shakes Up Prayer Session
Portland Voters May Block Fluoridation
Two GOP Senators Battle 'Bizarre' Tea Party Demand
Peace Corps Grants Gay Couples New Benefit
Airbnb Illegal In NYC
Best Buy CEO Claims 'Win-Win-Win'
Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Still Receiving Salary
RFK Jr.: GOP To Blame For IRS Scandal
WATCH: McCain Asks Apple CEO One Extremely Pressing Question
Virginia GOP Candidate: 'I Don't Have Anything To Rephrase Or To Apologize For'
U.S. Seized Phone Records For Fox News AND White House
IRS Inspector General's Staff Kept GOP Congressman Updated On Probe
Military Rape Survivor Collects 113,000 Signatures Demanding Action
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Know If The New Treasury Secretary Will Be As Bad As The Old One
LOOK: The Deadliest States For Tornadoes
Moore Residents Take Stock Of Deadly Tornado's Full Horror
Leveled Schools Lacked Tornado Shelters Due To Haphazard Regulation
Many Insurance Payments Won't Cut It After Oklahoma Disaster
Apple's Boosting Its Offshore Profits Faster Than Anyone Else
Student Debt Reaches New Heights
Veterans Fear Impact Of Food Stamp Cuts
