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Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins has requested a trade. Is a storm on the horizon in Sactown?
DeMarcus Cousins continued to deny that he has requested a trade from the Sacramento Kings in a statement released late Monday and published by SI.com's Sam Amick. In the statement, Cousins denied that he demanded a trade, as Kings coach Paul Westphal claimed the young center had on Sunday. Cousins also said that he disagreed with the coach's actions, which included sending the center home from the team on Sunday, and holding him out of Sacramento's game against the New Orleans Hornets. The Kings won that game 96-80.
Cousins is with the team in Memphis as the Kings prepare for their only back-to-back-to-back of the season. The Kings play the Grizzlies on Tuesday; the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones reports that Cousins will dress on Tuesday but will not start. Westphal benched Cousins as a form of discipline last season, as well. The Kings have just 12 players in Memphis, as two youngsters -- Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Honeycutt -- were assigned to Sacramento's D-League affiliate on Sunday.
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DeMarcus Cousins is traveling with the Sacramento Kings as the team embarks on a road trip, reports SI.com's Sam Amick, citing sources. Cousins was sent home by Kings coach Paul Westphal on Sunday due to alleged attitude problems. The center, who is No. 4 in the NBA in per-game rebounding, missed Sacramento's 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.
The Kings play against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The team will fly home from Texas late Wednesday to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. It's the team's only back-to-back-to-back of the season.
In a statement released to the press on Sunday evening, Westphal alleged that Cousins had demanded to be traded. Cousins' agent immediately denied the claim. Westphal also told the media that the supposed trade demand was the "tip of the iceberg" with Cousins.
The Kings are 2-3. They have not made the playoffs since 2006.
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The situation in Sacramento grows more bizarre by the hour, as John Greig, DeMarcus Cousins' agent, strongly denied that his client made a trade request while blaming Kings coach Paul Westphal for the whole situation:
"DeMarcus never demanded a trade," Greig told Sports Illustrated. "I'm surprised the Kings -- if they believe the player wanted a trade -- wouldn't have made a phone call to his representative. Maybe Westphal is just feeling the heat early this season."
Westphal has come under fire for the struggles of Sacramento's new offense as the team started the 2011-2012 season with a 1-3 record, and he is in the last year of his contract, creating a lame-duck situation NBA teams generally try to avoid.
However, Greig's claims may not pass the smell test, if a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is correct:
WojYahooNBA Adrian WojnarowskiIn loud exchange with Paul Westphal on Saturday after NY loss, some Kings heard DeMarcus Cousins yelling, "Trade me now," sources tell Y!
Cousins came into the league with a reputation as a trouble-maker, and his conduct as a rookie, including getting into a fight with Donte Greene on the team's charter last year, did little to change that.
A 6'11 270 player with a legitimate low-post game who the Kings took No. 5 overall in the 2010 Draft, Cousins will have plenty of interested suitors despite his many off-the-court indiscretions, but his trade value is likely at an all-time low after this latest incident.
The Sacramento Kings already seemed on the verge of mutiny this morning, when DeMarcus Cousins' unflattering "What offense?" quotes hit the Sacramento Bee and the Internet. Now, that mutiny seems full-fledged: Cousins has requested a trade, and Kings coach Paul Westphal is having to make statements about it.
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 stay home from the New Orleans game tonight.
More on Cousins' demand from Sam Amick of SI.com.
Cousins is regarded as one of the league's better young big men — in four games in the 2011-12 season so far, he has averaged 13 points and 11.3 rebounds per game — and was the No. 4 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. But he has also earned a reputation as an emotional player prone to outbursts and saddled with baggage, and this trade request would certainly fall into that latter category.
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Paul Westphal Fired As Sacramento Kings Head Coach
The Sacramento Kings, mired in a 2-5 start and tons of turmoil surrounding big man DeMarcus Cousins, have fired coach Paul Westphal, the team announced in a press release. Westphal departs after posting a 51-120 record in two years and seven games on the job.
"I want to thank Paul for all of his effort on behalf of the Kings," general manager Geoff Petrie said in the release. "Unfortunately, the overall performance level of the team has not approached what we felt was reasonable to expect. I wish him the best in his future endeavors."
Assistant coach Keith Smart will take over for Westphal in the interim. Smart was fired as the Golden State Warriors' head coach after just one full season on the job, and he hooked on with Sacramento as an assistant prior to this season,
Westphal's firing comes a few days after he issued a statement suspending Cousins, his mercurial big man, for issuing a trade demand. Cousins has denied doing so and was back in the lineup after one game. The timing of the move may suggest that the organization sided with its young big man over the head coach.
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Jan 05 2:37p by Mike Prada - 0 comments