DeMarcus Cousins blames suspension on George Karl
By John Buhler
DeMarcus Cousins was suspended from a Sacramento Kings game last week, and believes his head coach George Karl was the man behind the ban.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports documents another bizarre twist in the Sacramento Kings’ roller coaster of a 2015-16 NBA season. The Kings are going to have to watch from the sidelines when the Western Conference playoffs get under way this spring, despite having one the best big men in the NBA on their roster. This is largely a result of the deteriorating relationship between All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins and head coach George Karl.
Spears writes that Kings general manager, Vlade Divac, let Cousins know last Thursday that he was being suspended for one game for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Cousins is an All-NBA talent, but has a reputation for being incredibly difficult to work with. He has now worked under five NBA head coaches before the age of 25.
While the one-game suspension was officially administered by Divac, Cousins believes that Karl was behind decision to suspended him for Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz. Cousins stated, “That wasn’t a suspension from the organization. That was one from the head coach. There’s a difference.”
Cousins also told Spears how frustrating he has found this season: “There is a lot of chaos. Usually, there is just frustration with coming out and winning games. But so much extra this season. Extra unnecessary stuff. It’s a lot of stuff within. There are battles with guys that should be on your side.”
It seems that Cousins is starting to grow tired with the dysfunctional tendencies of the front office in Sacramento. On paper, Cousins is surrounded by a solid group of players that could, under the right circumstances, have contended for a playoff spot in the Western Conference this spring.
For a change, it hasn’t been Cousin’s teammates who have aggravated him this season, but his coach. Having a relatively new general manager in Divac and an eccentric billionaire owner in Vivek Ranadive doesn’t help either. At 25-40, it’s starting to look like another lost season for the Kings.