It seems that the mess that is the Sacramento Kings occurs earlier and earlier every season. After a 1-7 start to the season, the Kings have already embarked on their annual journey of turmoil and despair. According to a report from The Big Lead, the problems arose immediately after the team’s latest loss to the Sacramento Kings, when star center DeMarcus Cousins entered the locker room while yelling a bevy of obscenities at head coach George Karl. The disputes between Cousins and Karl have long been rumored and a boiling point was bound to be reached. The report does mention, however, that Cousins did feel some remorse about his behavior in talking to his teammates later.
Meanwhile, the Kings had a players-only meeting the day after the loss, a well-publicized affair mentioned by Cousins in a press conference. That meeting, as one might expect, had plenty of notable interactions. Among these was third year shooting guard Ben McLemore expressing concern about not understanding his role, after which he was told his role is to shoot threes and defend.
The most notable aspect of the meeting, however, was General Manager Vlade Divac’s appearance. According to the same report, Divac talked to the players and asked them what the team should do with Karl: “We don’t know what to do with George [Karl], do you think we should fire him?” To add to this, The Big Lead is reporting that owner Vivek Ranadive is obsessed with Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who coached Cousins in his one year in college.
Last year, the Kings had early success with coach Mike Malone on board, but decided to fire him after a losing streak during Cousins’ sickness. They proceeded to hire Karl who seemingly immediately joined the long list of coaches who has been unable to get along with Cousins. One year after that decision, the Kings may be forced to fire Karl and roll the dice on a new head coach, or risk alienating their superstar further. However, the ineptitude of the front office, showcase by asking the players their opinions on whether Karl should be fired, is making this a whole messy situation that seems incredibly difficult, if not impossible to get out of. Sacramento started the season with hopes of making the playoffs for the first time in years, but may now have to resort to salvaging some sort of legitimacy as an orderly and competent organization. That may be an even more difficult task.
UPDATE:
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee has released the following information. Apparently, Coach Karl wanted Cousins suspended for hit outburst.
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.
And Yahoo! Sports Marc J. Spears reports that Cousins has issued a statement on 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
