LOS ANGELES, 22 July 2003 — The Milwaukee Bucks continue to overhaul their team with veteran head coach George Karl being the latest to be shown the door on Sunday.

Karl is the 13th-winningest coach in NBA history with a 708-499 record that includes stops in Cleveland, Golden State and Seattle. But after five seasons, the Bucks decided to change course, and bought out the final year of his NBA-record seven million dollar contract.

“I think it was pretty clear on both sides that this was the best thing to do,” new Bucks general manager Larry Harris said. “It was very difficult.

“We felt that we needed someone in here this year and for years to come. I’m confident we will get someone that fits the mold of where we’re going and the direction that I have and the organization has.”

Milwaukee has pretty much dismantled a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals just two years ago. The Bucks finished 42-40 last season, falling to conference champion New Jersey in the opening round of the playoffs.

All-Star guard Ray Allen was shipped to Seattle in February for Gary Payton. Backcourt mate Sam Cassell was dealt to Minnesota last month. Payton, an unrestricted free agent, signed with the Los Angeles Lakers last Wednesday.

Additionally, general manager Ernie Grunfeld left two weeks ago, to become president of basketball operations with the Washington Wizards. And now the 52-year-old Karl is gone.

“Personally and professionally, I have enjoyed five good years here,” Karl said in a statement released by the Bucks. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that Senator Kohl (Bucks owner Herb Kohl) gave me to come to Milwaukee.”

Karl posted a 205-173 mark with the Bucks, guiding them to postseason appearances in four of his five seasons.

“I will always appreciate the energy and momentum that George provided the Bucks when he arrived five years ago,” Kohl said in the same statement. “He helped return us to the playoffs and into title contention.

“We are a better organization for having worked with George.

“Now we’ll start a new chapter and will seek to stay competitive and improve with a new coach.” The Bucks will begin looking for a replacement immediately.

“The quality, I think, is still out there,” Harris said. “There are a number of candidates we can review. It’s still early in the process. I’ve put no timetable on it.”

Friends of Bryant’s Accuser Say

She Overdosed in May: Report

In Los Angeles, friends of the woman who accused Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant of sexual assault say the 19-year-old overdosed on pills in May and had to be rushed to hospital, a Los Angeles newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Orange County Register quoted Lindsey McKinney, 18, as saying the woman took the pills two months before her claim Bryant assaulted her at a swank resort hotel where she worked.

“I think it was a cry for help,” McKinney told the newspaper.

McKinney, who was living at the alleged victim’s house at the time, said the woman had been going through mental anguish with the death of a friend and the breakup of a relationship.

A number of news organizations are trying to have documents which may shed more light on the apparent overdose incident unsealed by the courts.

Reactions were mixed after Bryant faced the media in an emotion-filled news conference in Los Angeles on Friday.

“I think that it was a mutual agreement between the two. Kobe didn’t do it, I believe in Kobe,” basketball fan Reggie Woods told a Los Angeles television station CBS during a basketball tournament.

“I think she is a gold digger,” a waitress at a Hollywood coffee shop said.

Said teen Elmer Giron, “When he was breaking down crying, I started feeling for him, but he did it. He probably did it before, too.”

Reactions were also mixed in the alleged victim’s home town of Eagle, Colorado, 150 kilometers (92 miles) west of Denver.

“He seemed like an honest person to me,” said Eagle resident Kris Whittaker.