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Pistons coaching search: George Karl wants to be considered

Jed Jacobsohn

After sitting out the 2013-14 season, George Karl wants to get back on the sidelines. In an interview with Sirius XM this afternoon, Karl threw his hat in the ring for, well, any and all of the NBA's currently vacant NBA jobs, including Detroit's. Fansided's Joe Dexter has the relevant transcription:

"I do want to get in the gym. But in the same sense, I have a lot of respect for the game and the difficult job. Whatever Mitch is thinking or whatever Jimmy Buss is thinking or whatever Golden State is thinking or whatever Detroit is thinking. I don’t know whether jobs are open. Whatever Phil is thinking in New York. I let the process happen. I’d love to have the opportunity to talk to people when they think I’m a person that should be talked to."

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweeted the same. But should the Pistons be interested in Karl? His up-tempo, high-scoring style of play certainly goes against Detroit's traditional grain, but at this point, I'd be happy for the Pistons to have any sort of identity at all. 

This much I do know: Karl has taken five different teams to the playoffs with a career .599 winning percentage over 25 seasons, without a single losing season since 1991. He won at least 50 games in five of his last six seasons with the Denver Nuggets, including 57 in his final year in 2012-13. During his entire tenure in Denver, the Nuggets finished 86 games over .500; in their first season after firing Karl, the Nuggets finished 36-46. 

I strongly suspect the Pistons want to hire a general manager before a head coach (even if Platinum Equity's Mark Barnhill denied one must come before the other) but I don't think I'd actually mind if Karl ends up being the guy. I've never really thought before today that he'd be a great fit in Detroit, but read that paragraph above one more time -- and then remember how much of a shit-show the Pistons have been for the past six years -- and give me one real reason why he's not worth considering.

Now your thoughts.