DeMarcus Cousins Suspended 1 Game, Fined After Picking Up 16th Technical Foul

Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins received an automatic one-game league suspension Tuesday after the NBA opted not to rescind his 16th technical foul of the 2016-17 regular season. He'll miss the team's home game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype provided a statement from the league:

The statement also noted the NBA fined Cousins $25,000 for an inappropriate gesture. 

Cousins was slapped with a pair of technical fouls during the Kings' 112-107 home loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. The second, which came with just 1.1 seconds left on the clock, led to his ejection and caused him to reach the magic number of 16 for this year's campaign.

The talented, albeit enigmatic, 26-year-old is enjoying another terrific campaign for Sacramento. He's averaging 27.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists across 51 games. His 26.92 player efficiency rating ranks second at the power forward position behind only Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN.com.

Managing his temper has been an issue throughout his career, though. Fox Sports noted he leads the league in technical fouls this season, and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (12) and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (11) are the only other players in double figures.

In turn, his name has popped up in the rumor mill frequently in recent years; John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports recently linked him to the Phoenix Suns.

Kings general manager Vlade Divac downplayed any trade speculation Monday, though. He told Marc Stein of ESPN.com the team had no plans to move the three-time All-Star.

"We're not trading DeMarcus," Divac said. "We hope he's here for a long time."

When asked about potentially offering Cousins a max extension during the offseason, Divac replied, "We are going in that direction."

Ultimately, Cousins will find himself in a tough spot once he gets back from the one-game ban. He's now in a situation where he'll have sit out another contest for every two technical fouls he receives. So a two-tech night like Monday will cause an ejection from that game, and he'll sit out the next one.

Finding a way to better channel Cousins' emotions would be the best end game for Sacramento. But the team doesn't want him to lose his edge and his passion, so it's a delicate balancing act.

Anthony Tolliver and Kosta Koufos figure to play the most frontcourt minutes in any games Cousins is forced to miss. It could also represent an opportunity for younger assets such as Willie Cauley-Stein (23) and Skal Labissiere (20) to make pushes for bigger roles.