The Sacramento Kings have had plenty of turmoil within their organization since the offseason. With a well-known hot-heads in DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo and a coach with a reputation of alienating players in George Karl, the potential for a big blow-up has been there. In fact, earlier this month, Cousins entered the locker room after a loss and proceeded to yell and curse at Karl. Since then, the Kings have had a players-only meeting that reportedly consisted of General Manager Vlade Divac asking the players if they should fire Karl.
After all of that commotion and discombobulation, however, some more promising news has come out of Sacramento. Marc Spears of Yahoo is reporting that Cousins, Rondo, and Karl recently had a meeting that Rondo called ‘powerful.’ The three key members of the Kings reportedly spent nearly two hours having a positive meeting where they discussed eeverything about the team.
Rondo, in particular, came out of the meeting with plenty of positive things to say regarding how it went and how Karl responded to his and Cousins’ requests:
We asked him to just sit with us so we can pick his brain and share our thoughts. What I love about [Karl] is he’s very open. George is not a dictator. ‘What can we do positively? What can we do to improve?’ If you can come into a meeting with no egos and everyone was humble, it just works out for the better.
According to Rondo, a lot of the meeting hinged on Rondo and Cousins asking Karl for more openness in film sessions including calling out the pair on their mistakes. That is exceptional leadership from two players often criticized for not exhibiting it.
Additionally, Rondo and Cousins asked the coach to be more selective in speeding up the pace, something he has been known for doing in his coaching career. Karl, to his credit, obliged to play to his players’ strengths:
I said, ‘OK, I will slow it down if you do what I want.’ That’s not fighting each other. That’s mutually coming together.If we have to compromise something, we will compromise something.”
Another important development from the meeting is Rondo’s role as a veteran mentor for Cousins. As a player infamous for having arguments with coaches and teammates and generally not getting along with anyone, Rondo knows a lot about Cousins’ early struggles as an NBA star. As a result, he knows exactly what to teach to the young superstar about how to get on the right track. Rondo has apparently taken that role seriously and even compared himself to Kevin Garnett, who mentored Rondo in the same manner when they played together in Boston:
He will do his own thing. I’m not trying to be his daddy. But I want to be his big brother like K.G. was to me, showing me the ropes and helping me along the way. Everything that I’m telling him, K.G. told me. Experience is everything. If someone has it and is willing to share it, I was always trying to soak in as much knowledge as possible.
In an example of that mentorship, Rondo spoke about Cousins’ recent tirade:
There is always a time and place. [Cousins] saying what he was saying in front of the team. … The concept of what he was saying may not have been wrong, it’s just the delivery. I’ve had a lot of blowups and I’ve learned from them. I told him, ‘You’re wrong on how you did it. Your [message] might be right, but that’s when you go in his office and talk to him.’
That leadership by Rondo seems to have had a profound impact on Cousins. The big-man talked about his relationship with Rondo so far in their short time playing together. Most telling of all is Cousins saying he wants Rondo, an upcoming free agent, back on the roster next year:
The way we compete and the type of competitors we are, it’s hard for us not to get along. We damn near think alike all the time. I’m soaking in all I can. He’s a champion. I basically look up to him.[…] He ain’t going nowhere. I will kidnap him myself.
This is a very positive sign coming out of Sacramento, especially after numerous reports of disruptions within the organization. With the team playing fairly well at the moment and an outside shot of making the playoffs, the improved relationships off the court can be very crucial. If the team is to take the next step after years of very little success, then they need the players and coaches to cooperate and work together. It at least appears they are on the way to doing that.
