The Sacramento Kings were defeated handily by the Utah Jazz today 108-99 at home, and after the game star center DeMarcus Cousins made no qualms with how he felt about head coach George Karl.
Cousins was suspended for one game last week, after yelling at Karl in a team huddle. On Sunday, Cousins said that the suspension was Karl’s doing, not the organization’s.
"That wasn't a suspension from the organization. That was a suspension from the head coach," Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) March 14, 2016
Cousins, when asked about any conversation with George Karl after the suspension: "He hasn't said a word to me."
— Bryan May (@BryanMayTV) March 14, 2016
While Cousins blames Karl for the suspension, Kings general manager Vlade Divac claims Cousins was suspended because the team tried to send a message that they can’t tolerate poor behavior:
“Well, obviously we tried to do our best thing to send a message that we cannot tolerate some stuff … He went a little far and we have to do things to be on the same page.”
The relationship between Cousins and Karl has always been rocky, as the two simply haven’t gotten along since Karl was hired at the end of last season. Karl isn’t exactly a player’s coach which has jived with Cousins.
Still, if Cousins has issues with Karl, the best thing to do isn’t to subtweet him or publicly call him out. Cousins doesn’t respect his coach and doesn’t even pretend like he does. That’s a huge problem.
Cousins, by far, is the Kings’ best player, and to see him take pointless shots at Karl publicly is disappointing. It’s also not a good look to other organizations that may have been interested in acquiring Cousins down the road.
