Sacramento King DeMarcus Cousins talks about rough season
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has had a rough second season, including butting heads with coach Paul Westphal, who got fired.
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DeMarcus Cousins: Why the Philadelphia 76ers Should Pursue the Kings’ Big Man
After a week of severe turmoil, it appears that the Sacramento Kings’ season is in jeopardy; news recently broke that the team had chosen to part ways with head coach Paul Westphal, and earlier in the week it was reported that second-year center DeMarcus Cousins had demanded a trade.
Amid the tumult in Sacramento, the Kings stand at a mediocre 3-5 record, coming off a 103-100 win in new head coach Keith Smart’s debut, a game in which DeMarcus Cousins put up 19 points and 15 rebounds.
The Philadelphia 76ers, currently at 3-2, are playing competitive basketball. The Sixers are currently fourth amongst the league in points per game and ninth in points allowed.
And while it appears one team may be ready for a surge, while the other is attempting to salvage its season, a mere two years ago, both teams found themselves in very similar situations.
The Kings went 25-57 in 2010 under head coach Paul Westphal, and despite Tyreke Evans’ stellar rookie season, the Kings made it back to the lottery.
Similarly, the Sixers finished 27-55 under first-year coach Eddie Jordan; the Sixers’ personnel could never adapt to Jordan’s Princeton offense, leading to the head coach’s departure after one season.
Through the lottery both teams attained top five picks; the Sixers acquired the second overall pick, while the Kings would picked fifth.
The Sixers worked out numerous potential picks from swingmen Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson to big men Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings on the other hand were going for size.
Ultimately the Sixers chose the consensus most NBA ready player in the draft, and going with the experience over talent philosophy, the Sixers wound up with Evan Turner. The Kings were thrilled that the volatile yet talented DeMarcus Cousins fell to their lap.
Most scouts agreed Turner was a very polished, and NBA ready, player, a safe pick with little risk and All-Star potential.
Some scouts pegged Cousins as the most talented player in the draft, but Cousins’ baggage on and off the court allowed three teams to pass on him for arguably less talented players. Cousins had superstar potential, but he also had the potential to implode.
Back in 2010, I believed that the Sixers desperately needed a big man and would’ve been well served to take either Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech or DeMarcus Cousins of Kentucky. I even proposed the Sixers swap picks with the Minnesota Timberwolves who owned the fourth picks and seemed enchanted with Turner’s abilities as a swingman.
The Kings knew they were taking a huge gamble on Cousins, and even though Cousins has shown some flashes of brilliance, it’s no secret he’s not happy in Sacramento and would ultimately choose to leave when given the chance. It’s also likely Cousins has lost respect with his teammates, the front office and even the fans.
Many have pointed fingers at the Kings’ immature center for the Paul Westphal firing, despite the Kings’ inefficient play, lack of energy and horrific defense.
Facing immense expectations in Philadelphia as the No. 2 pick, Evan Turner has disappointed averaging seven points on 42 percent shooting during his rookie season and 10 points on 46 percent shooting this season.
I am proposing that the Sixers offer up Evan Turner for DeMarcus Cousins; the trade could be the best possible career move for both Turner, Cousins and their respective franchises.
The Sixers remain in desperate need of a big man, with former Kings’ center Spencer Hawes manning the position. Hawes has posted very good numbers for the Sixers averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks per game. Hawes currently posts a 25 player efficiency rating ranking him amongst the league’s most efficient big men.
Despite Hawes stellar season at the center position, he’s unlikely to continue playing at this high a level. The Sixers have only played five games; logically, Hawes’ numbers will eventually mirror his career averages of about eight points and five rebounds.
The fifth year center out of Washington is not the Sixers’ long-term answer at the center position.
In a trade the Sixers could also offer up rookie center Nikola Vucevic. The Sixers made Vucevic their first pick (16th overall) in the 2011 draft. Vucevic is a true seven footer, and he possess a soft outside touch to go along with a developing post-game.
If I were a member of the Sixers’ front office, I would deem Jrue Holiday untouchable, but certainly be open to giving up any other player in order to acquire a talent like Cousins.
Cousins would instantly provide the Sixers with a center capable of providing an interior scoring threat; the Sixers haven’t had a true scoring center in decades. Cousins has the ability to go for a 20 point, 15 rebound game on any given night. Playing alongside a young point guard in Jrue Holiday, Cousins would benefit as a scorer, and Holiday would improve as a floor general.
The Kings on the other hand would receive a player once thought of as the most NBA ready player in his draft. Evan Turner’s problem has been his hesitance on the offensive end. Playing in a more wide open Sacramento Kings’ system under Keith Smart could potentially allow Turner to gain confidence and develop as a scorer. The combination of Turner and Tyreke Evans on the wings could prove deadly for the Kings, two players with prone to getting to the free throw line and converting.
The move would benefit both teams. The Kings would rid themselves of Cousins and add a potential All-Star in Turner. The Sixers would gain a promising remedy to their ever long troubles at the center position. Both teams would be engaging in risks of great magnitude, but this is a situation where the potential payoffs simply override the risks.
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NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics Won’t Be Able to Nab Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins
The Boston Celtics have been looking to find a new big man after trading Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Recent rumors have the aging the NBA franchise targeting Sacramento Kings disgruntled center DeMarcus Cousins, but in actuality, it just won’t happen.
The Kings went ahead and fired two-year head coach Paul Westphal today after he was only getting started on his third season. The problems between Cousins and the Kings were a result from the big man having beef with his coach, an issue that eventually resulted in Cousins allegedly demanding a trade.
The move clearly shows that the Kings are going to stand behind the second-year product out of Kentucky, pretty much eliminating his name from any potential moves.
Coach Doc Rivers would have been a guy who could have potentially cleaned up Cousins’ behavior, but that will be the job of new Kings head coach Keith Smart.
With power forward Jermaine O’ Neal hurt, along with the chance that Kevin Garnett can potentially go down at any time, the Celtics were likely interested in bolstering their front court.
The team moved on from Glen “Big Baby” Davis this past offseason, as the power forward made his way to the Orlando Magic.
Is Brandon Bass or Greg Stiemsma really going to pick up the load? Highly unlikely. Both guys combine for just about 19 points per game. Bass is definitely a fine backup, but he isn’t going to be able to put up the points that a healthy O’Neal or Cousins could.
O’ Neal wasn’t even that great of an option, and the Celtics really need to find some legit depth amongst their big men. They are not going to get anywhere with what they currently have, even if Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are healthy.
The Celtics are hurting from the the loss of Jeff Green, the player who they received in the trade for Perkins last season. Green could have added some solid depth to this team, but he will be missing the entire season after having heart surgery.
The Celtics had the right idea to go after Cousins, but it is more apparent now then ever that the Kings plan to build their future around the young big man.
Time for the Celtics to search for that potential upgrade elsewhere.
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Barkley to Cousins: Grow up
The always outspoken TNT analyst says it’s time for DeMarcus Cousins to realize he’s no longer in school, and that it’s time to become a professional basketball player.
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Is Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins worth the risk?
Phone lines are now open in Sacramento.
But if you’re an NBA personnel mover attempting to acquire (your favorite adjective here) Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, don’t expect to hear any giveaway-style promotions. So, if “immature,” “troubled” or even “train wreck” are the words you’d lean on to define the second-year big man from the University of Kentucky, do the Kings the favor of making a serious offer.
According to a couple of league insiders, Kings president Geoff Petrie — who insists Cousins is staying put — isn’t exactly in the habit of picking up the phone and soliciting deals for players on his roster.
“You do that and you really destroy a player’s market value,” one source said. “They’re not going to throw the baby out with the bath water. But if they’re contacted and offered anything close to what they consider his value in a player who gives them less headaches, they’ll probably jump on it.”
The latest Cousins-inspired headache allegedly occurred when the 6-foot-11, 270 DeMarcus embraced his role in the Kings’ early-season drama by demanding to be traded. News of this trade-me outburst was supplied by Kings coach Paul Westphal, whose press-release explanation for going public included the following:
“Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public. This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwillingunable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.
“DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to say home from the New Orleans game tonight.”
By having this statement delivered by the coach, the Kings can make NBA followers aware of the lingering problem without putting the value-seeking personnel chief (Petrie) in an even-more difficult negotiating squeeze.
It should be noted that Cousins — who reportedly was in relatively good, post-lockout shape while giving the Kings 13 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes per game — denies making any trade demands. In Tuesday’s 13-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Cousins was back in uniform and came off the bench to give Sacramento 4 points (1-of-5 shooting) and 8 points in a pinch over 22 minutes.
Another NBA source said the 21-year-old Cousins — chosen by the Kings with the fifth pick in the 2010 NBA Draft –has the tools to become an outstanding player. That’s not exactly a revelation.
“That’s why a lot of teams probably will make inquiries,” he said. “It’s human nature to think you’d be better at dealing with or reaching someone than others who have tried. Some GMs or coaches have enough ego, I guess, to take that chance. It just depends on how much another team is willing to give up for a player with a lot of problems. And there have been a lot of things go on with him (Cousins) that haven’t even been reported.
“They (Kings) have done a lot to try helping him make the transition to the NBA.”
That includes hiring Otis Hughley, who coached Cousins at LeFlore High in Mobile, Ala., as a Kings assistant coach before his rookie season. Even though Cousins averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds during a rookie season that offered flashes of vast potential, he demonstrated enough immaturity for observers to categorize the hire of a familiar face as a well-intentioned failure.
The behavior list included inconsistent effort, a scuffle with teammate Donte Greene, harsh words for coaches and body language that — loosely translated — said “I may be a waste of talent.”
A third NBA source, who’s been employed as a personnel executive for several years, doesn’t think anything compelling will happen with Cousins … at least not now.
“Right now is the worst time to try trading him,” the executive said. “It’s no secret that DeMarcus has had some issues, and with everything going on now, they (Kings) wouldn’t get anything near his value.
“So, they might as well see if he’ll more or less conform to what the coaching staff wants or just not play him and let him sit … sort of like the (Houston) Rockets did with Tracy McGrady a few years ago. Oh, there’ll be interest in him because he’s talented. If he could, for example, land with a strong organization like San Antonio — that has Tim Duncan — and be aborbed into that culture, it might work out.”
Based on body type, it’s not difficult for us oldtimers to observe Cousins and think of former Los Angeles Clippers big man Benoit Benjamin. A more contemporary comparison is current Memphis Grizzlies power foward Zach Randolph. Both of those players had abundant talent (seriously, with a reasonable level of effort, Benoit could have killed it), but disparate issues that negatively marked their early careers.
Randolph has turned the corner.
It would be great for the Kings, their fans and watchdogs of basketall if Cousins did the same.
Our personnel executive offered another interesting perspective.
“He (Cousins) supposedly is upset because he’s on a team that doesn’t win and he wants to be in a winning situation,” the source said. “But he’s also not good enough yet to help them (Kings) win. On a team that’s rebuilding — and that’s code for losing — it’s a bad situation to have a player causing problems with so many young teammates, as well.
“And DeMarcus could be really good. He’s not a great athlete … he’s more of a skill guy. But, unlike someone like Dwight Howard whose game is built on ridiculous athleticism, he (Cousins) doesn’t have to worry about an erosion of some wild ability to jump and run. Any slip due to age will be less obvious, because he’ll still be a skill guy.”
For now, the Kings will declare their intention to continue assisting his maturation process and hope he becomes a true difference-maker (to the good) on their young and talented squad. If a trade that makes sense materializes, don’t be shocked to see Cousins moved.
What’s the prudent move? Well, only the Kings truly know the level of Cousins’ past and current tribulations; it’s up to them to measure those chemistry-threatening factors against the potential of his on-court productivity and do what they feel is in the franchise’s best interest.
Those who consider themselves pragmatists can remind us that winning is deciding factor in professional sports. Although they often scream for character and decorum, most fans also don’t care what happens behind the scenes … if their team wins.
Are NBA championships limited to teams with high-character players? It may depend on how you define high character, but no. A lot of guys who (at least) seem like jerks have championship rings. But there’s a difference between what any of us might accept as solid citizenship and behavior that disrupts the progress of a collective.
Teams infected with the latter rarely, if ever, achieve ultimate victory.
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Boston Celtics called about DeMarcus Cousins
It appears the Sacramento Kings have decided to hold on to their mercurial young big man, even if DeMarcus Cousins occasionally demands trades, kills small dogs with his bare hands, whines about his team’s offense and drinks straight out of the milk carton.If the Kings ever do decide to trade Cousins again, expect the Boston Celtics to gauge what it would take to acquire him. After all, they called the Kings this week. (Boston Herald)The Celtics, like most teams, have called Sacramento to gauge what it would take to trade for DeMarcus Cousins. The young, disgruntled Kings center has been suspended from the team for his disagreements with coach Paul Westphal.“It’s highly unlikely,” a league source said of the Celtics’ chances of landing Cousins. “I’m not sure that any team is going to get him. The thing is that everyone knows he’s a wreck. They’re not going to get what he’s worth.”Cousins is a near-seven-footer with all kinds of talent. He can shoot from inside and out. He has …
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Why the Sacramento Kings Need to Keep DeMarcus Cousins
The Sacramento Kings are in a difficult situation. They have a player with great potential who doesn’t want to realize that potential with them according to Paul Westphal in DeMarcus Cousins. By now you’ve heard the story, Cousins was sent home because he wants a trade—allegedly.
The Kings owner is saying he won’t trade him.
Cousins’ agent is saying he didn’t ask for a trade, and that his words got twisted. To be fair, it’s easy to see how someone can confuse the words, “Trade me now!” That could mean a lot of things. It could mean “trade me now” or it could mean, well, pretty much I’m not sure what else it could mean.
Even the way that Cousins is handling the “trade me now” demand shows a lack of maturity. Rather than own up to his own statement, he hides behind his agent and essentially lies using the mouth of his agent. It’s easy to see why Westphal doesn’t want him around the team.
At the same time, Cousins is young, (if you’re over 30, think how you were at 21) and lacks maturity. There’s time for him to grow up. Certainly, the time is running out on that excuse, but it’s still at least a year away.
There is zero possibility of the Kings getting anything like a fair return on Cousins right now. It’s a “risk/reward” situation. What the Kings risk in keeping Cousins is not outweighed by the reward in what they can get back for him.
Cousins is a terrific athlete, averaging 17 points and 15 rebounds per 36 minutes right now. He’s a 6’11″, 270-pound beast. Now granted, some of those 270 pounds are the wrong kind of pounds, but that’s just another thing you have to wonder about this kid.
What happens if he decides to be his best? He has the physical tools to be an MVP-caliber player in three or four years. That’s how much potential he has. There’s no way that the Kings get that much back.
When Randy Moss first came into the NFL, Cris Carter served as a mentor for him. He took care of him not just on the field, but off the field too. While Carter was still playing, Moss was was contained off the field and unable to be contained on it. Having an older player like that to help him was a huge asset for the Vikings.
I recall watching an interview with Carter and Moss about it. Carter had Moss over to his house all the time, had Moss spending time with his family and eating dinner with him. They’d go out on the deck and talk about things like how to deal with fame and expectations. The value of that simply cannot be overstated.
My suggestion for the Kings is to get a senior player on the team who can help Cousins grow up. It would need to be a player that Cousins would respect and it would need to be a player over 35. Ben Wallace might be a good player to look at making a trade for.
Giving Cousins some peer-directed mentoring would be what they need to help him to mature as a person and a player, and help him evolve into the type of player he can be.
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NBA Trade Rumors: DeMarcus Cousins’ Career Heads Down Dark Path
Once you get labeled as a head case, it’s very hard to shake the label.
When DeMarcus Cousins made the leap to the NBA out of Kentucky, there were plenty of conversations about him being a bad apple and it impacted his draft stock. He ended up falling to No. 5 overall in the 2010 class when he was arguably the most talent member of it outside of fellow Wildcat John Wall.
Sadly, it didn’t take Cousins long to cause problems at the pro level, and he had blowups on more than one occasion, causing problems in the Sacramento locker room during his rookie season.
No matter how talented you are, if you’re a cancer behind the scenes, teams will eventually give up on your talent. It is a fine line that Cousins walks at this very moment, despite his latest comments after the Kings declared he demanded a trade.
Per ESPN.com:
“I want to address my missing the New Orleans game Sunday,” Cousins said. “I have not demanded or requested a trade. I don’t agree with the actions taken but will give my sincere effort to put it behind me and compete the best I can for my team.”
Kings coach Paul Westphal released a statement before Sacramento hosted the Hornets on Sunday, criticizing Cousins’ commitment to the franchise and excusing him from the team’s game. He also confirmed that Cousins asked for a trade. The Kings had been expecting big things from Cousins this season.
No matter what Cousins says from this point on, the message is clear—Cousins is a persona non grata in Sacramento.
We are talking about a player that would fetch a hefty sum on the open trade market, but as the Kings placed him on the block, they subsequently buried his value by trashing him on the way out. Either Sacramento is the worst run franchise in the league, or a lot of bridges have been burned behind the scenes.
I would be more than willing to bet on the latter.
We’ve seen plenty of players come through this league that have found themselves essentially blackballed or on the verge of it. Just ask Allen Iverson, who eventually caused so many problems in Detroit and Memphis that he ended up playing meaningless games in Turkey as he drank and gambled what was left of his career away.
Cousins needs to straighten up and become a voice of leadership in Sacramento, and sadly, there isn’t a real veteran presence in that Kings locker room to take him under their wing and mold him into a model pro.
This is a young team, and clearly Cousins has gone unchecked for so long that it has gotten to the point where Sacramento is willing to sell extremely low on the talented youngster.
Do you think it would have gotten to this point in Boston? What about in San Antonio? There is no chance. The Kings have lost total control of this situation, and it’s on Cousins to save his career before it’s too late.
He can issue all of the statements he wants, but the truth of the matter is that actions will always speak louder than words. It is time for Cousins to grow up, become a leader, and help put the Kings on his back, leading them into a new era.
If he continues his destructive behavior and walks around with a petulant attitude, he’ll find himself out of the league, despite his prodigal talents.
Now is the time for change, something that has been long overdue.
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Sacramento Kings: Can DeMarcus Cousins Ever Overcome Maturity Issues?
The Sacramento Kings have had to deal with outbursts by center DeMarcus Cousins since drafting him fifth overall two years ago. Not only has this been an issue, it continues to show that Cousins’ maturity level is not what it should be, and it remains unknown if it will ever change for the better.
Unfortunately, Cousins may have taken things to an entirely new level in Sacramento by supposedly demanding a trade out of Sacramento after an argument with head coach Paul Westphal.
Cousins went to talk with Westphal about his role in the offense run by the Kings and that he was not happy about it. As a result, the Kings (Westphal) told Cousins to stay away from the team as he could have been a distraction. The interesting thing about this is that Kings General Manager Geoff Petrie and co-owner Joe Maloof said that Cousins will not be traded.
Looking back at his collegiate basketball career, Cousins, who spent only one year playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky under John Calipari, is not new to clashing with his coaches and being public about it. Cousins was seen yelling at Calipari at times and has since brought this baggage with him into the NBA—particularly into Sacramento.
On the basketball side of things, Cousins is one heck of a talent and will only become a better player as time goes along—that is the hope. Unfortunately, Westphal may be the one to go if things cannot be worked out, as Cousins is still a valuable piece to the future of the Sacramento Kings organization.
As the season moves along, it will be interesting to see how the Kings eventually bring Cousins back into the fold, even if they do decide to trade him if a great offer comes through. However, at this time things remain unclear on what direction the Kings will take on this issue.
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DeMarcus Cousins: Why Kings Management Is Wrong to Reinstate Pouty Big Man
The Sacramento Kings have made a foolish mistake to reinstate sophomore forward DeMarcus Cousins after the team told him to not come to the arena for Sunday’s home game against the New Orleans Hornets.
Head coach Paul Westphal said Sunday in a statement found on the Kings’ official Web site said that Cousins demanded a trade, but his agent said that did not happen.
The Kings coach also said the following in his statement:
“When a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling, unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely,” head coach Paul Westphal said.
So the Kings are going to let him come back to the team when he has problems like the ones stated in the above quote? Wow, that’s pathetic management and it will only lead to more problems.
The Kings are going on a two-game road trip Tuesday against Memphis and then at Denver the next night. They will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in the final game of a tiring back-to-back-to-back stretch. Without Cousins, who is by far the Kings’ best frontcourt player, they could lose all three of those games.
To a team like the Kings who don’t need to worry about winning and losing over developing talent, this is a mistake. If it takes Cousins missing a few games to learn a lesson and mature, so be it, even if the Kings lose all three of those games.
Cousins, who had a poor rookie season last year after being selected fifth overall in the 2010 NBA draft, has absolutely no business even thinking about demanding a trade or complaining.
His antics were not only disrespectful to Westphal, but to the entire organization. The Kings should suspend Cousins for a few games so he can learn that as a young player he hasn’t earned the right to speak up against people who know the game much more than he does, such as Westphal.
This is not how you set an example for how young players will be dealt with. What is going to stop another young player on the Kings from acting in a disrespectful manner like Cousins did?
Unfortunately for the Kings, having a player with Cousins’ maturity issues requires strong coaching and leadership from veteran players. Sacramento has neither of those, and the lack of any respected veterans is the real issue.
I don’t feel bad for the Kings though, they knew that Cousins had maturity issues as a freshman at Kentucky yet they drafted him anyway.
To be fair to Cousins, the Kings are a bad team and I’m sure it’s frustrating to play on a club that struggles on a consistent basis, but that’s no excuse to act the way he did.
The Kings needed to make Cousins learn a lesson and teach him how to act like a professional, but it seems like they are unwilling to make this happen.
Cousins is an incredibly gifted player, but he doesn’t have the right head on his shoulders. Complaining in your second year is wrong, and it’s up to the Kings to help him mature.
Nicholas Goss is an NBA Featured Columnist, follow him on Twitter.
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