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Kings coach George Karl to undergo a 'cancer-related procedure'

Kelly Dwyer
George Karl is fifth all-time in NBA coaching wins. (Getty Images)
George Karl is fifth all-time in NBA coaching wins. (Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings coach George Karl is a cancer survivor, having undergone prostate cancer surgery in 2005 prior to coming back from a frightening bout of throat and neck cancer while coach of the Denver Nuggets in 2010.

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This makes Wednesday night’s news all the more unsettling.

Karl will have “a medical procedure related to cancer on Thursday,” according to the Sacramento Bee, and miss that day’s Kings practice.

Karl revealed as much after his team lost to the Cavaliers late Wednesday. From Jason Jones at the Bee:

“I’m having a procedure for a cancer in my throat,” Karl said.

When asked if the procedure was serious, Karl said “no” twice.

When Kings general manager Vlade Divac was asked if he was concerned about Karl, he said “of course, of course.”

“Coach told me the other day,” Divac said. “I told him to take as much time as he needs. … We probably won’t know the results for a couple days.”

Karl’s procedure comes at yet another low point for the Kings this season. They looked typically dysfunctional against the Cavaliers on Wednesday in the team’s 120-111 loss. There’s no shame in losing by single-digits to the East’s best team, but once again Karl and center DeMarcus Cousins got into a very visible argument:

From Michael Wagaman at the Associated Press:

Cousins had some heated words for Karl during a timeout in the fourth quarter. Sacramento's big man, who earlier picked up his 15th technical foul of the season, appeared to be upset at Karl for not arguing foul calls more before assistant coach Corliss Williamson and guard Rajon Rondo intervened. Neither Cousins nor Karl commented on the situation afterward.

Cousins picked up his 15th technical foul of the season in the game, one that saw him rack up 29 points, 11 rebounds and five fouls.

Following the contest, rookie Willie Cauley-Stein did not mince words when asked about the inconsistent slate of minutes he’s worked through this season. Via Cowbell Kingdom:

Karl, via CK, didn’t offer much by way of explanation:

“My whole feeling is, don’t overreact to the last three or four games,” Karl said. “One, I think was matchup, two, I think was just the personality of the game. Willie’s going to be fine, he’s going to get plenty of minutes over these next 20 games.”

Cauley-Stein, even as a rookie, is his team’s best defender. Yet he was removed from the starting lineup following the All-Star break (the Kings have gone 3-7 during that run) and played only five minutes in a loss to the Pelicans on Monday. Veteran Quincy Acy has started in his place.

Distractions aside, Karl’s health is of paramount importance, and general manager Divac is giving his franchise’s coach all the time he needs:

“He doesn’t know how long (the procedure is) going to take, whether it’s one hour, two hours, three hours,” Divac said. “We have practice, and I told him, ‘I’ll be there. You have to just do your thing, and if you need more time, don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.’ ”

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!