Former Sonics coach George Karl says it's 'depressing' that Seattle doesn't have an NBA team

To honor the 1995-96 SuperSonics, Seattlepi.com sat down with former Sonics coach George Karl, the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year, earlier this week for a wide-ranging Q&A about that season and what's next for basketball in Seattle. less To honor the 1995-96 SuperSonics, Seattlepi.com sat down with former Sonics coach George Karl, the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year, earlier this week for a wide-ranging Q&A about that season and what's next for ... more Photo: Getty Images Photo: Getty Images Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Former Sonics coach George Karl says it's 'depressing' that Seattle doesn't have an NBA team 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

George Karl hopes he isn't done coaching basketball.

But after the Kings fired him in April following a 33-49 season, a little more than a year after being hired to resurrect a moribund franchise, the former Seattle SuperSonics coach says he's vacationing in Sacramento until the end of the month so his 11-year-old daughter can finish the school year, then moving back to Denver.

"I'm just enjoying it and relaxing," Karl, 65, said over the phone earlier this week. "Sacramento is a pretty cool town. Great weather. Great sunshine. A lot of beautiful nature within a couple hours of us."

Before his tenure with the Kings, Karl spent nine seasons in Denver with the Nuggets, making the playoffs every year but advancing past the first round just once. That came in 2009 when they lost in six games to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

It was the closest Karl had come to a title since his 1995-96 campaign, when he led the SuperSonics to a 64-18 regular season and the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Bulls.

Karl went 384-150 during his six-and-a-half year run in Seattle after taking over during the 1991-92 season. After finishing the year 47-35, Karl's Sonics never won fewer than 55 games. They never missed the playoffs.

It was a sustained run of regular season success the franchise had never experienced. And Karl was the popular leader, a fiery personality that at times clashed with players and management.

To honor the 1995-96 SuperSonics, Seattlepi.com spoke with the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year for a wide-ranging Q&A about that season and what's next for basketball in Seattle.

Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle sports news. Contact sports reporter Adam Lewis at adam lewis@seattlepi.com or @AdamLewisPI.