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Will Sacramento Kings' Third Head Coach Be The Charm To Win Back Fans?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Kings could be on the verge of hiring their third head coach in a season that hasn't gone as expected.

Head coach Mike Malone was fired in December after the team started the season 11-13, which included a 2-8 stretch without star player DeMarcus Cousins. Tyrone Corbin was promoted to head coach, and since then the wheels have fallen off with the team going 7-19 and falling 9.5 games out of playoff contention.

Now the team is turning its eyes to former Denver Nuggets head coach and current ESPN analyst George Karl. The team appears geared to make the change during the upcoming All-Star break, which was increased to eight days for the first time this year.

Sunday's buzzer-beater by Cousins against the Phoenix Suns was one of the few bright spots in a Kings season that has gone south. Fans admit after the firing of Malone, they haven't been to a game since.

"Since Vivek got here, I wanted to go to games but since they got rid of Mike Malone I was like, nah, I was over it," one fan told CBS13.

Kings fan Jennifer Lippi says the move couldn't hurt.

"Having a new coach and regrouping I guess, you could say, would kinda help out fans who are kinda lost with what's going on," she said.

Sacramento State sports economics professor Steve Perez says it all comes down to the bottom line.

"Fan demand is significantly affected by winning," he said. "To the extent that fans think a coaching change would impact that, it'll impact ticket demand."

Star players help draw fans, and coaching changes might spike interest in the interim, but the best way to fill seats is to win games, he said.

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