Traveling between the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl has been watching a lot of basketball and doing plenty of socializing. Karl says he’s in Vegas to watch his son Coby Karl, who is playing for the Toronto Raptors summer squad, as well as to spend time with his assistant coaches, Vance Walberg and Tim Grgurich – to name a couple.

Wherever he goes his fans find him. He has been signing plenty of basketballs and other memorabilia, as well as posing for various pictures with fans – even the occasional odd request, like posing for a picture while holding a magazine for a foreign reporter (presumably one the reporter writers for).

What Karl really wants though is a chance. He wants a shot to return to the NBA sidelines that he knows so well. He made his intentions known in an interview with NBA TV, on July 15th, that he’d prefer to catch on with an established roster and make one final run at the elusive NBA title that he has chased since starting out as an assistant in 1978 with the San Antonio Spurs.

"I'm going to get ready for the NBA season," said Karl. "And we'll see if the phone rings."

It was a bit alarming to see Karl in the stands at the Nuggets game on Monday night against the Chicago Bulls. One was left to wonder if Karl was chomping at the bit to talk with his former players in Evan Fournier, whom he thought so highly of, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller – the two he gave tough lessons.

After Vegas, Karl plans to return to Denver and then will look to attend a couple of camps to give some instructions to current and hopeful NBA players.

"Grg [Tim Grgurich] has camp that we've done for 20 years down in Vegas," said Karl. "I'll be a part of that for four days [mid August]. There's a possibility of doing a camp down in Dubai in [late] August."

Grg’s camp is a famous one where guys like J.R. Smith, Arron Afflalo, and Al Harrington have been regulars in the past. In fact, Harrington has been working with Grg very closely this summer on his comeback trail. The Dubai camp is a very unique one that would take place in the city located inside the United Arab Emirates, where the popularity of basketball is ever-growing.

If Karl doesn't have a coaching job lined up before the season, he said there is always the possibility of doing some work in the media again, like he did for ESPN after his time in Milwaukee. When asked if he'd consider doing some local media work in Denver, Karl said he has left that possibility open as well.

Staying away from the game is the hardest part and Karl has no plans of leaving the game behind.

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