Sacramento Kings Center DeMarcus Cousins Says He Dislikes Chris Paul 'a Lot'

DeMarcus Cousins and Chris Paul aren't going to be grabbing dinner before any games between the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings. 

In an appearance on Grantland's B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, the center known fondly as "Boogie" dished out a number of interesting sentiments. We learned, for example, that the bruising frontcourt combination of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph is the only one that leaves him feeling beat up after a game. 

However, throughout the one-on-one session you can see below, nothing stands out more than Cousins' feelings for CP3. 

You can hear him start to talk about the Clippers at 21 minutes, 10 seconds, and the conversation's progression is absolutely fascinating. 

After admitting that Blake Griffin has been one of the few to dunk on him, Boogie is prompted by Simmons to reveal some sort of dislike for the rival power forward. And he won't do it, steadfastly maintaining that he doesn't have any negative feelings toward Griffin. 

We should take him at his word here, as he follows that up by saying, "I dislike CP a lot." It's not as though he's trying to hide his displeasure with opponents. 

There's no hemming and hawing. There's no attempt to mince his words. This is a pure, unadulterated statement coming right from the heart of the Sacramento big man. 

Honestly, it's not too surprising. 

Boogie is an intense competitor, a player who's always had a bit of trouble keeping control of his emotions. He's prone to getting worked up and drawing technical fouls—or even ejections—before his teammates can calm him down, and his play can often suffer when he feels like he's wronged early in a game. 

The center kept his emotions in check for most of the 2013-14 season, displaying a better attitude than he had at any point in his career, but one player certainly got to him.

That would be Paul, who has a reputation as one of the NBA's most ruthless players, a point guard who's often disliked by his peers because of his constant appeals to referees and his willingness to do anything—within the rules or not—to gain a competitive advantage. 

This might be one of the reasons for the rivalry: 

"DeMarcus Cousins has had his share of run-ins with coaches and teammates, so there is something refreshing about the notion of him focusing his orneriness on opponents instead," wrote Sean Deveney for SportingNews.com. 

Remember this? 

When Cousins pulled Isaiah Thomas away from CP3 after a loss to the Clippers, it was the first sign of a serious beef. This is the latest, but there's beef in the middle of the sandwich as well.

"It's just, some players I don’t respect," Boogie told Grantland's Jonathan Abrams in January, referring to Paul. "Just their playing style of basketball. I don't respect it. I feel like it's basically cheating and I don’t respect a cheater. If that's your tactic to winning, I don't respect you."

Apparently, the offseason hasn't changed anything.