My beat for this semester was the NBA Western Conference. The best article I wrote in my opinion was centered on veteran coach George Karl’s return to the game. The original article can be viewed here.

Most coaches would be perfectly satisfied with a 29-year career that included 1,131 victories, 22 playoff berths and four appearances in the Conference Finals.

George Karl is not like most coaches.

Karl, 63, decided to end his retirement from coaching Thursday by signing a four-year, $15 million contract to become the head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Karl steps in for Tyrone Corbin, who replaced Mike Malone after 24 games and led Sacramento to a 7-21 record.

The attraction for the Kings is not hard to understand. Karl is a future Hall of Fame coach who has not lost his touch; after all, he received the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2013one month before the Denver Nuggets inexplicably fired him.

Why Karl wants to make his comeback in Sacramento, however, is harder to understand. The Kings have been one of the worst NBA teams in the past 10 years, struggling through eight straight losing seasons while trying to win a playoff series for the first time since the 2003-2004 campaign.

Despite the rough recent stretch, the Kings do provide a few redeeming qualities for their new head coach. All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has shown that he can contribute on a nightly basis, averaging 23.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per outing. Forward Rudy Gay has been a valuable veteran who had success in Memphis and Toronto, and pointing guard Darren Collison has worked at facilitating a more potent offense.

The hiring of George Karl will not mean a drastic change in the Kings’ success in the second half of this season. However, expect considerable improvement in Sacramento once Karl and his staff have a chance to bolster the roster through free agency and the draft.