Cousins apologizes after reportedly cursing Karl in front of Kings
When new ownership took over the Sacramento Kings in 2013, things were supposed to stabilize for the franchise. Instead, turmoil continues to reign in Sacramento.
Tensions reportedly came to a head on Monday, when the Kings lost to the San Antonio Spurs. After the game, center DeMarcus Cousins told reporters that the team had some "issues in-house" and that a players-only meeting was in order.
That meeting grew into a full sitdown among the coaching staff, players and front office. And according to The Big Lead, the meeting was in part made necessary by Cousins cussing out coach George Karl in front of the team after that loss to the Spurs:
After Cousins unleashed the F-bombs on Karl, all the head coach — who publicly feuded with the Kings' best player last summer — could do was walk away, a source tells The Big Lead. Afterward, Cousins felt some remorse for his actions, asking a couple of teammates if he came down too hard on the coach. They calmly told him, “You can’t scream and curse like that at your coach in front of everyone.”
The Big Lead also reports that Kings general manager Vlade Divac surprised players by asking if the team should fire Karl, although it's unclear how they responded or what might have inspired the question. Guard Ben McLemore also reportedly voiced his frustrations with his role on the team, to which teammates reportedly responded that the role of everyone on the team other than Rajon Rondo and Cousins is to shoot 3-pointers and defend.
A report from CSN Bay Area quoted Divac as saying that he's not sure the Kings have bought into Karl's system this year. The in-season tension follows an offseason with multiple reports that Karl was in favor of trading Cousins, who is ostensibly Sacramento's franchise player.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cousins released a statement apologizing for the incident:
DeMarcus Cousins apologizes in statement for words after loss Monday and says no one to blame for Kings' struggles. pic.twitter.com/qNg2zHdaqY
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) November 11, 2015
The Sacramento Bee reports that Karl wanted to suspend Cousins after the incident, but the head coach lacked the authority to do so. Divac would not grant his permission for a suspension, according to the report.
