Nuggets coach George Karl really hates the Lakers

George Karl can admire the Los Angeles Lakers but he can't make himself like them.

"I can't deny that I just despise the Lakers," Karl tells Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "There's a bigger (description) for it that I can't use in public. I've been beaten by them too many times. I didn't expect them to be bad this season, but when they got Steve Nash, I can't deny I was really upset."

So upset that he took sides against the family.

Karl sent a text to Lakers executive (and fellow North Carolina Tar Heel) Mitch Kupchak saying he knows where on his body Kupchak keeps his rabbit's foot.

The one thing Karl won't do is bow down to the Lakers. Or to the Thunder.

"What I basically say is -- that's summer talk," said Karl. "You have two teams that probably have the most talented players, especially in their top seven, but it's summer talk...I have a lot of respect for both of those teams....But that doesn't mean we never thought we could overtake them."