DeMarcus Cousins has literally been everything people said about him prior to the draft. He’s been a hothead. He’s been a star. He’s been a beast. He’s been a huge pain in the neck. He’s been brilliant. He’s been a bonehead. The works. Tonight the pendulum has swung to bonehead, and the repercussions for Cousins’ career again seem violent.
Sam Amick of FanHouse reports via Twitter that Cousins was involved in a “confrontation” with Donte Greené after the Kings’ nail-biter loss to the Thunder. The two reportedly had to be separated. Cousins was voicing his displeasure with Tyreke Evans’ recent decision-making in key situations, and generally doing what he’s done all season: mouthing off. As a result, the Kings actually told him to get off the team plane headed for a Phoenix road game and have suspended him for at least three games.
Except the Kings say they are reviewing the situation and refused to use the word suspended in talking about the situation. Why? They don’t want the union to get involved. So they are dancing around the word suspended, saying this was the action they took for a game. Where I grew up, if you re the team’s best player and they tell you not to come to a road game due to behavior, that’s a suspension.
Well, then.
Cousins has clashed with the coaching staff all seasons, receiving multiple fines for his behavior. Teammates have reportedly been agitated since his arrival at his constant talking and the presumption that he’s a star despite not having earned anything. All this is doable since the Kings are terrible and they’re not building around those other players. But not meshing with Tyreke Evans? That’s a problem. That’s a Rookie of the Year winner and face of the franchise. The Kings need for those two to co-exist and if they’re not, something’s got to give. You can’t build a foundation on a rotten core. Whether that means moving Cousins or Evans is up to Geoff Petrie, but there has to be a resolution to this.
Cousins isn’t an off-the-court problem, he’s just fiery, young, and really immature. Whenever I think about his attitude I try and remember how dumb I was at 20. With stuff like fighting with teammates, however, you have to wonder if the problems aren’t severe enough to cause Sacramento to question whether he’s worth the trouble.
