Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins: Suspension came from George Karl
Turmoil never seems to leave Sacramento.
In the latest episode of As the Kings Turn, DeMarcus Cousins revealed to reporters on Sunday that his one-game suspension came from head coach George Karl and not the organization.
Sacramento suspended Cousins one game Thursday for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Cousins missed a 107–100 loss against the Orlando Magic on Friday.
“That wasn’t a suspension from the organization,” Cousins said, according to Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears. “That was a suspension from the head coach.”
• SHARP: Thibs Thirst rankings: Teams needing Tom Thibodeau the most
The move came as a result of Cousins’s bench outburst directed toward Karl in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. You can watch the incident below:
The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reported Thursday that Cousins continued to vent to Karl after the Cavaliers game and got into an argument with GM Vlade Divac. Mannix also reported the source of Cousins’s frustration was his belief that Karl didn’t defend him enough to referees against the Cavaliers.
Cousins expressed his thoughts about the suspension in cryptic Instagram photos Thursday that have since been deleted.
The All-Star center returned Sunday and had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 108–99 home loss against the Utah Jazz.
The SI Extra Newsletter Get the best of Sports Illustrated delivered right to your inbox
Subscribe
When told of Cousins’s feelings, Divac gave a comment to Spears “with a huge grin.”
“I love DeMarcus Cousins. That is my only comment.”
— Adam Pincus
