DeMarcus Cousins Says George Karl Made Decision to Suspend Kings Star
Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins has had a notably turbulent relationship with his latest head coach, George Karl.
Cousins claimed after Sunday's 108-99 loss to the Utah Jazz that Karl was the one who imposed the one-game suspension Cousins served Friday during the team's game against the Orlando Magic.
"That wasn't a suspension from the organization. That was a suspension from the head coach," Cousins said, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
CSN California's James Ham was told Cousins was in fact suspended by the organization, not Karl, and that it is merely Cousins' opinion that the coach made the decision.
The 25-year-old big man chewed out his coach on the sideline during a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers before drawing the short-term ban. Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported Cousins also vented his frustration to Kings general manager Vlade Divac.
In addition to the latest drama, Cousins reportedly cursed out Karl in front of the team in November, according to Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead.
For a franchise that's struggled mightily to assemble competent talent around Cousins and gone through five different head coaches since the start of the 2011-12 season, this type of publicity is unwelcome.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that Karl wanted to trade Cousins in the summer, and based on the multiple reported incidents behind the scenes and Cousins' public declaration, the relationship doesn't seem amicable.
Matt Moore of CBS Sports weighed in on Cousins' role in the Kings' chaos:
"Big thing: the team has supported him and stood by him and Cousins continues to hold grudges over every slight.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 14, 2016"
Having lost nine of its past 10 contests, Sacramento is sliding out of the playoff picture in the West. If the Kings keep trending downward, they'll be on course for their 10th straight season without a postseason berth.
Cousins has been the constant in the struggles of recent years, while the position of head coach has been a revolving door. Based on this latest turn in the coach-player relationship, perhaps Karl wasn't wrong in reportedly wanting to place Cousins on the trade block.
The only legitimate, proven building block Sacramento added this season to support Cousins is point guard Rajon Rondo. Unfortunately, Rondo is a pending free agent and also known for his mercurial personality, having drawn a one-game suspension earlier this season for making a derogatory remark to an official.
