DeMarcus Cousins will be in a Kings uniform on the bench Tuesday night when the Kings take on the Memphis Grizzlies.
After that… who knows?
He will not start, reports Jason Jones at the Sacramento Bee, but from there things get really murky.Cousins will dress for tonight’s game but will not start, Westphal said….
Asked what he needed to see from Cousins to know if he is changing his ways, Westphal said: “We’ll know it when we see it … . His attitude has a long way to go. It will be up to coaches, teammates and most fans (to see a change).”
Cousins is suiting up because the Kings need to get to 12 guys on the active roster. One of those pesky NBA rules.
This fight about Cousins’ ego and if he demanded a trade has gone on for days. Tonight is when this fight really gets stupid — the Kings need Cousins’ size and athleticism up front to deal with Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies (Zach Randolph is out with a bruised ligament in his knee). But whether Westphal calls his name is up in the air, Cousins may not be in the rotation.
Neither Westphal nor Cousins will back down. Cousins has been an attitude problem since he arrived in Sacramento including fights with coaches and with Donte Green in the locker room. His reputation around the league is as a potentially very good player who is immature and acts like a Prima Donna. Westphal has struggled with this but his way of dealing with it comes off more like a frustrated parent of a toddler than a man paid to lead a franchise. And if — as reported multiple places — Cousins asked why he hadn’t been traded if he was such a problem, that is not a trade demand.
This has become a… well, I’ll say battle of egos since this is a family site. But both men need to act like grown ups, take a step back and come at this with some maturity. However, the history in Sacramento suggests it will be more of the same.
