Fansided

George Karl apologizes to DeMarcus Cousins over trade talks

By Tom West

Mar 7, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (right) walks back to the bench after head coach George Karl (left) called timeout against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won in overtime 114-109. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (right) walks back to the bench after head coach George Karl (left) called timeout against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won in overtime 114-109. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a summer filled with DeMarcus Cousins trade talks, Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl has apologized to Cousins for being the cause of the rumors.

One of the biggest stories of NBA free agency this summer was the possibility of Sacramento Kings All-Star DeMarcus Cousins being traded. Head coach George Karl made a comment that implied Cousins may be available for trade and from there rumors began to fly around the internet in an instant. Could the Kings really trade someone who could be the best center in the league to the Los Angeles Lakers? That was deemed possible by the media after Karl’s comment.

As is often the case with NBA free agency rumors, they can go viral and escalate in a matter of seconds online. In case you’ve forgotten what Karl initially said to the Sacramento media about his mindset on trading players, here are his words that began the constant Cousins rumors:

"“I’ve had some great players and I’ve never had one player that I have said is untradeable,” Karl told the Sacramento media. “You always got to be ready for the possibility of a great trade that could come your way.”"

He never mentioned Cousins, but saying that no player is untradable immediately implied to everyone that if there was an appropriate offer for DeMarcus, the Kings would definitely consider it. However, Karl has now made it completely clear that he never meant to suggest Cousins could be traded or that he intended to send him elsewhere before the summer ended.

In an interview with Kayte Christensen of CSNBayArea, Karl explained that he’s apologized to Cousins for being the cause of the trade talks:

"“To be honest with you, I apologized to DeMarcus for making the trade comment that I’ve never coached a player that’s untradeable,” Karl told Christensen. “That was wrong for me to say, because you all (the media) took it and blew it up into crazy.”“But it’s my responsibility to be smart enough to not say things like that,” Karl continued. “So I did apologize because I thought that was the only thing, maybe some other things, but really the only thing that got us separated was that comment that then everybody wrote the we’re going to trade [Cousins].”"

Karl has always been a widely respected coach around the NBA over a career that has surpassed two decades, but his supposed mindset of being open to trading Cousins created even more talks that maybe he wasn’t the right coach for the Kings at all. Cousins is their best player by a mile, and there are few trades that you can even imagine that would give Sacramento a solid return by trading their superstar center.

The rumors of the summer were clearly just a major misunderstanding, though, and Karl clarifying that everything with Cousins is OK and apologized for should completely settle the mind of Kings fans.

Cousins isn’t going anywhere and his relationship with Karl is restored. With that in mind, it’s not long until the 2015-16 season begins and it’s Boogie time once more.

That’s something we can all look forward to.

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