The rocky relationship between Kings coach George Karl and big man DeMarcus Cousins is well documented, but it came to a head earlier this month when Cousins was suspended after an in-game yelling match with Karl. According to Cousins, however, it was Karl, not the Kings, that asserted its authority.
“That wasn’t a suspension from the organization,” Cousins said Sunday (via Yahoo Sports). “That was one from the head coach. There’s a difference.”
(For the record, Kings GM Vlade Divac told Yahoo Sports in response, “I love DeMarcus Cousins. That is my only comment.”)
It’s a bold move for Cousins to go on the record and accuse his coach of something like this. That Karl would allegedly push this hard for Cousins to be suspended shows just how fractured things really are. Then again, this is Cousins and Karl we’re talking about here. Reports of flying f-bombs and public shouting matches are par for the course. And while Karl said he and Cousins had “pleasantries” before Sunday’s game against Utah, Cousins insisted Karl “hadn’t said a word” to him.
Talking things out is probably moot by this point, though. The days that Cousins and Karl are together are likely numbered already. Word of Karl’s dismissal has been making its way through the rumor mill for a while, though the Kings publicly have stated they are “working through [their] issues.” Still, Karl hasn’t produced the results needed and the obvious disdain between him and the organization’s star player is troubling. For that matter, Cousins could easily be gone when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in two years.
If and/or when the day comes that Karl and Cousins are separated, one thing will be certain: each will be better off for it. So, too, will the Kings.
(Via Yahoo Sports)
