Reaching DeMarcus Cousins Must Be Top Priority for Next Sacramento Kings Coach
The Sacramento Kings may currently roster their franchise centerpiece, but this coaching saga is the latest reminder there's no longer any guarantee DeMarcus Cousins wants to stick around through completion of a seemingly never-ending rebuild. And sadly, that stands in stark contrast to the general mood at the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign.
After losing to the Golden State Warriors in their opener, the Kings reeled off five victories in a row. Following a Nov. 3 win over the Denver Nuggets in the hostile confines of the Pepsi Center, one in which Cousins even told head coach Mike Malone to leave in the backups because they were performing so admirably, everything was just fine and dandy.
"It does [feel different]. But this feels so amazing," the dominant center told reporters in a jovial locker room after that contest, pausing before a smile crept into the picture. "I love this feeling."
Now, compare that to his latest batch of postgame comments, which weren't exactly subtly alluding to the potential hiring of George Karl that Sam Amick recently reported on for USA Today:
A lot has changed between the start of the 2014-15 season and the beginning of February. We've gone from the ecstatic, positively passionate version of Cousins to one capable of producing the above postgame rant after making a buzzer-beating game-winner against the Phoenix Suns. Now, we have no idea what's going to transpire after the Kings hire Karl as their new head coach, which seems inevitable, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
"The Sacramento Kings and George Karl are progressing on a four-year contract worth between $4 million to $5 million a season to become coach of the Sacramento Kings, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Tyrone Corbin will coach the final two Kings' games before the All-Star break Tuesday at Chicago and Wednesday at Milwaukee, and—barring an unforeseen snag—Karl will take over as head coach afterward, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
"
The uncertainty of what happens next with their star player has to terrify the Kings.
Relationship with Coaches
Karl wouldn't be the second coach Cousins has served under during his still-brief NBA tenure. Or, for that matter, the second. Or the third. Or even the fourth.
During his rookie season out of Kentucky, Cousins was directed by Paul Westphal, who would remain in that role until a 2-5 start to the 2011-12 campaign forced the Kings to fire him and let Keith Smart serve as the replacement. That didn't turn out to be the most intelligent move, as Smart would last almost two full seasons before Sacramento hired Mike Malone for 2013-14.
Now Tyrone Corbin is in charge, serving as a retread head coach since the team canned Malone 24 games into 2014-15. Malone inexplicably got the ax while Cousins' viral meningitis-caused absence caused his team to slide into a funk.
The issue here isn't the massive amount of turnover, even though that still doesn't allow for much continuity in Sacramento. It's that the Kings cycled through one coach after another and didn't stop when Cousins finally developed a positive relationship with one.
Westphal was there for the mercurial big man's first go-round, but that pairing was never a strong one. In fact, the relationship devolved to such an extent that this is an actual quote from the former head coach, delivered in an official press release from Jan. 1, 2012, after the team sent Cousins home from a practice and held him out of a subsequent game:
"Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public. This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.
DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game tonight.
"
The Kings fired Westphal four days later. Feel free to connect the dots as you wish.
Next up was Smart, and he still didn't help Cousins turn into anything other than a volatile and uber-talented center. The technicals still piled up, as did the complaints and on-court histrionics. In fact, hard as it may be to believe, the relationship between star player and head coach devolved further than the Cousins-Westphal one ever did.
As Zach Harper wrote for CBS Sports, everything started out swimmingly before turning sour:
"The third-year center out of Kentucky has been pretty infuriating this season. After spending much of last season in a seemingly euphoric state after Paul Westphal was fired, Cousins has reverted to the poisonous reputation he was saddled with in high school, college and in his rookie season in the NBA. It's not that Cousins is a malcontent per se; he's simply a guy without a filter who needs a strong voice to guide him into maturity.
It seemed like Smart was that guy. He and Cousins got along swimmingly and there weren't any incidents last season after Westphal got canned. Smart was his voice of understanding and it seemed like he'd always back Cousins whenever he needed a shield from criticism over his actions. Then something changed with the Smart-Cousins relationship.
"
Smart left Cousins in the locker room for the second half of a late-December game against the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2012-13 season. The next day, the Kings suspended Cousins indefinitely "'for unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team,' Kings GM Geoff Petrie announced in a statement released Saturday," via Amick and Jeff Zillgitt.
Unsurprisingly, the team didn't retain Smart at the end of the year, as keeping the big man happy and on the rise was more important than a seamless segue for the coaching staff. Then came Mike Malone, and things changed.
Cousins began to blossom under Malone. His attitude improved noticeably, and his always-impressive work ethic kept him trending toward the top of the center hierarchy. In fact, you could make a convincing argument he reached the very peak of his position during the 2014-15 campaign, though that's a discussion for another time and place.
Fast forward to Dec. 14.
The Kings fired Malone in a move that still doesn't make much basketball sense. It's not as though the roster was constructed in a fashion that allowed the team to remain competitive while Cousins was out with an illness. It's not as though the center was getting into troublesome relationship territory once more, either.
As Adrian Wojnarowski reported for Yahoo Sports, this was simply a doomed partnership:
"General manager Pete D'Alessandro had to be the messenger to Malone on several unpopular directives, but there was long a sense he was often carrying out the will of his owner, Vivek Ranadive. Management goes beyond the owner and GM too, including influential consultant Chris Mullin. Too many voices, too little common ground.
"
Cousins, to the surprise of just about no one, was perplexed. Via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee:
And nearly a month later:
Since Corbin took over as the interim head coach, the center hasn't been the same. He's largely kept his head screwed on straight, but he's redeveloped his penchant for on-court pouting and taking the occasional possession off. He's still been a hugely positive contributor, just not quite to the same level he was under a coach he truly connected with.
And that brings us full circle. It's not tough to see why Cousins is feeling tired of this type of situation and potentially pushing back against the hiring of a coach he's not totally on board with.
The Kings, at this point, have to respect that. And if they hire Karl anyway, deciding he's the best option for this rebuilding squad, then it has to be the former Coach of the Year's top priority to connect with the center commonly known as "Boogie."
No Guarantees With Cousins
Cousins has been through a lot with the Kings. Some of the struggles are his own fault, as no one would ever accuse him of being a model of on-court maturity. But at some point, the organization has to shoulder some blame for hiring one poor fit on the sidelines after another and then suddenly firing the lone coach the star player has connected with more than any other.
But if our lengthy history lesson teaches us anything, it's that Cousins isn't some evil monster who's hellbent on wrecking the career of every authority figure. Under the right supervision, he can blossom into a terrifyingly unstoppable talent.
That's one of the reasons reaching Cousins is such a top priority for whoever is in charge next. They want to bring out the monster ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton referred to earlier this season as "the NBA's most unstoppable interior force since Shaquille O'Neal."
Make no mistake about it, the former Kentucky Wildcat is quite obviously the best player on this roster. Frankly, it's not even close, and that's reflected in the complete disparity between the team's level of performance when he's on the bench and on the court.
According to my FATS projections (based on historical similarities and explained in full here), the Kings perform like an 45-win squad when Cousins is on the floor but like a 21-win team when he's not. That's a huge difference, and it's just as easy to see it when you look at the top historical comparisons.
With Cousins, the Kings best resemble the 1989-90 Houston Rockets, which leaves him presumably playing the part of one Hakeem Olajuwon. Without the big man, Sacramento devolves into the star-less 2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers who would go on to land LeBron James in the ensuing draft.
But this disparity was actually larger earlier in the season, when there wasn't as much of Cousins playing less-than-motivated ball under Corbin and dragging the numbers down. At the end of 2014, the on/off gap was 39 wins. Not "just" 24, as it is now.
For that matter, there wasn't as much of this either:
Or this:
He also waited to get ejected for throwing Marcus Smart to the ground in a game against the Boston Celtics. Plays like that didn't happen—or, at least, happen as often—while he was under Malone's supervision.
That's one reason the new coach—whoever it may be—must click with Cousins right off the bat. He's a highly impactful player no matter what his mental state is like, but he's even better when engaged.
And somehow, that still may not be the most important reason.
Cousins is under contract through the end of the 2017-18 season. But what if he publicly demands a trade and leaves his organization with no choice but to meet his demands? What if he starts taking more possessions off, which would lower his value and leave them with just pennies for the dollar in the inevitable deal?
Plenty of players have demanded trades while under contract, and teams often have to grant those wishes rather than let the ill feelings permeate the locker room. Cousins has endured no shortage of trying circumstances in Sacramento and would justifiably feel perturbed if he's greeted with yet another poor fit on the sidelines.
There's plenty for Sacramento's next coach to worry about, especially as the Kings haven't advanced to the postseason since Brad Miller led them there in 2005-06. With the playoffs out of the question this year, the drought will be at risk of spanning an entire decade next season.
But appealing to the center has to be the first order of business all the same.
Lose Cousins, lose the team. Lose the team, lose the job.
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