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Stress test for Karl

Coach admits season was trying and won't say return is certain

Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 3, 2006 at midnight

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Sitting on a brown leather sofa, George Karl went through a postseason therapy session Tuesday.

Karl the Father wept for his son, Coby, who is in the midst of radiation treatment as part of his recovery from thyroid cancer.

Karl the Coach lamented the lack of enjoyment he experienced during a season marred by injuries, a confrontation with forward Kenyon Martin and overall inconsistency.

The stress of it all gave Karl pause when asked if he planned to return next season as coach of the Denver Nuggets.

"I don't think I need to answer that right now," he said.

Karl, who has four years remaining on his $20 million contract, later backtracked, saying "you're reading a little too much into my emotion right now," but he clearly was drained by a season that generously could be described as tumultuous.

"Winning became a relief rather than an exhilaration," Karl said. "That's not something that I want. I don't want to live a life of relief. I want to live a life of feeling good. That's just where I'm at."

Karl's emotional 40-minute session with the media came less than 24 hours after the Nuggets were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs for the third year in row.

The 4-1 series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers capped a season that featured the joy of a Northwest Division title but the agony of expectations unfulfilled.

On top of it all, Karl went through the personal stress of watching his son Coby go through surgery to remove a cancerous lump from his thyroid in March.

Coby Karl, a junior at Boise State, is expected to make a full recovery, but there is some anxiety this week as he awaits results of blood tests that will determine whether the cancer spread before surgery.

"I'm emotional for my son," Karl said, fighting back tears. "He's a lot stronger than me. Coby is in a good place. He'll be stronger for what's going on . . . but this is the period of crisis. This is the period of nervousness."

Karl spoke from experience. He went through a similar battery of tests after having prostate cancer surgery in July.

Both Karls are winning their personal battles, and the elder Karl is not likely to throw in the towel as he fights the battles inherent to coaches throughout the NBA.

"I don't think I'm a quitter," he said. "I think I'm a winner and there's a desire in my winning to be a champion some day. That's why I'm here. There's a lot of emotion in my life right now. It'll probably play out."

Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said he expects Karl to be back next season, attributing the ounce of uncertainty to the lingering disappointment of another playoff loss.

"This is a very difficult day," Vandeweghe said, "and every team except for one goes through this day."

Like Vandeweghe, Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera understands the stress Karl experienced throughout the season.

"I think he did a heck of a job," Najera said. "He could have easily lost it this year, but he was very patient with not only us but with his situation that he had with his family.

"I hope he's back. Right now, he's probably really stressed out. You've got to give him a couple weeks to relax and think about all the positive things we did this year. Hopefully, that will make him want to commit to come back."

Karl plans to spend the next few days meeting with any players who want to talk. That includes Martin, who was suspended after lashing out at Karl and teammates at halftime of Game 2.

"There's no question I have all the desire in the world to sit down and speak with him," Karl said.

Martin's profanity-laced outburst marked the low point of the season for Karl and the Nuggets, who won five fewer games than the season before and turned a typical NBA season into a demented reality show featuring pain and frustration.

Forward Carmelo Anthony and center Marcus Camby questioned the commitment of some teammates after the loss in Game 5.

"We all want players who want to be here, who want to be committed to being a Denver Nugget family, and we didn't get that done this year," Karl said.

"Why we didn't get that done, I have no idea, I don't want to point fingers or blame anybody.

"I got back into the game to get back into the gym to be back with a basketball family . . . and this year's family was a little dysfunctional."

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