DeMarcus Cousins is now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, but according to the All-Star big man he could have made his exit from California even sooner.
Speaking to ESPN’s Marc Spears, Cousins says that he had an opportunity to leave the Sacramento Kings when former coach George Karl arrived to the organization.
“My biggest regret is, why didn’t I leave when I had the chance?” Cousins told Spears. When Spears then followed up by asking Cousins when he had the opportunity to leave (presumably via trade) Cousins said it was when Karl came to the team.
Cousins said that his representatives urged him to leave Sacramento, but that he fought it out of wanting to make it work and “loyalty”.
Karl and Cousins famously clashed continuously while the two were a member of the Kings. Cousins lashed out at Karl during a timeout, an incident for which he was suspended. The two reportedly got into an altercation in 2015 after a loss to the Spurs. Cousins’ famous “snake in the grass” tweet was rumored to be about Karl as well, and the big man took the side of former Sacramento point guard Seth Curry when Karl said that he would only last a few seasons in the NBA.
🌾🐍🌾
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) June 23, 2015
It’s no matter now as Cousins is now running mates with Anthony Davis in New Orleans and Karl is out of the league hocking his book.
I suppose the only thing to wait for now is to see if Cousins remains with New Orleans through the season.