Report: Kings' Karl wanted to suspend Cousins after tirade, Divac said no
Kings head coach George Karl reportedly tried to suspend franchise player DeMarcus Cousins.
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2 min read
The Sacramento Kings are once again (reportedly) a total mess. After DeMarcus Cousins' reported profanity-laced tirade directed at head coach George Karl, Kings general manager Vlade Divac rejected Karl's plan to suspend the franchise player, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee:
According to league sources, Kings coach George Karl wanted to suspend DeMarcus Cousins for two games following Tuesday morning’s team meeting after the All-Star center allegedly directed a profanity-laced tirade toward the coach. The sources asked not to be identified because they are unauthorized to speak on the matter.
The sources went on to say Kings general manager Vlade Divac said Karl did not have authority to suspend Cousins nor would grant permission. Cousins is scheduled to start Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at Sleep Train Arena.
When reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Divac didn’t deny Cousins used profanity or Karl’s wishes to suspend the player, but he wouldn’t comment on the matter.
“There’s a lot of B.S. out there,” Divac said. “I’d just rather not comment on it.”
Karl also told The Bee he had “no comment” on the matter.
Sacramento is 1-7 on the season, and there are numerous reasons for that. Cousins has missed four games, most of the players in the rotation are new and there is not nearly enough spacing on offense. Cousins has good reason to be frustrated, even if he admitted that his actions after the Kings' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday were a bit much. The problem here is much deeper than the poor start, though.
This is an organization that, beyond failing to hit the 30-win mark for seven straight seasons, has lacked a coherent plan since Rick Adelman was fired almost a decade ago. It was clear that Karl and Cousins had serious problems this past summer, but Divac decided to start this season with both of them. This seemed risky at the time, and it apparently did not take long for things to go wrong.
Through eight games, the Kings have obviously struggled to jell on the court. That's disappointing, but it is nowhere near as big a deal as the problems that are reportedly going on behind the scenes. Let's see if Cousins has any more emoji tweets ready for the man who reportedly tried to trade him, then reportedly tried to suspend him.
