Cousins is Mentally Weak

[LWP777]

he is a nice guy, i met him at a nightclub in sac last year. he was really cool to talk to. LWP hates him and that will never change. he will judge him based on things he has no idea about, like his off court antics. maybe DeMarcus stole LWP's Girlfriend or something? can't think of why else he hates him so much

Because I have integrity. You're obviously young and probably aren't settled down with a family yet but when you do I hope you'll understand what my point is about DMC. Simply put, I don't enjoy watching his **** on or off he court. Nor would I want to subject my kids to it.

And, by the way, all of this incredible talent that he has hasn't done jack for us in 3 years. He's not good enough to single handedly carry a team and now it's pretty public info that his teammates don't like playing with him. He's a cancer who actually makes a team worse right now.

 

[mac]

You know what? The "average fan" lost his/her say in this long ago. Once upon a time Sacramento was special. Not especially discerning, but special. They would show up to support ANY team, ANYBODY, as long as they liked them, and they would like almost anybody. So at that time the "average fan" could claim to control the moves made by the front office. Now "controlling" the moves made by the front office may very well largely have meant enabling front office incompetence by showing up to support just about anything no matter how lousy, but there it still was. If you wanted to make money as a Kings owner you played to those happy to lose with happy go lucky guys ratehr than those looking to be aggressive.

But the "average fan" lost their say in this franchise about the time they abandoned Webber, quit showing up for milk toasts like Bibby/Peja/Miller, and emptied the building behind such "nice guys" a Kevin and JT. Now the "average fan" is like any other "average fan", which is to say that they won't show up if the team loses no matter how nice somebody is. So you/they are out, and this franchise is now like any other. Which is to say that the "average fans" will come come streaming back into the building at precisely the same time the team starts winning. And the team will start winning at precisely the same timie it accumulates enough elite talents with an organized coach/front office that know what the hell it is doing. Until that tiime the support of the team falls to the hardened core, who watch the team and the sport and have eventual winning as the agenda.

As an aside, Kobe Bryant may have raped soemone, he has certainly slept around on his wife far and wide. KG is a notorious ******* to his team and teammates, constantly yapping, widely despised. Lebron abandoned his city, on national TV, to go bang models down in South Beach. Melo, Dwight, Deron etc. all thought that was cool. Tony Parker cheated on Eva Longoria, with his former teammate's wife (!!). They have of course all been immediately abandoned by the average fans of their city who won't put up with such nonsense.

Meanwhile our bad guy gets in arguments on and around the basketball court.

Never could understand that one. Why on earth would you do such a thing??!

 

[UK_King]

Good lord.....

I'm coming back at draft time, i hope the team is still here to discuss.

 

[KingsFanGER]

I wonder what all this discussion about being a nice guy is about in todays NBA. When i started to watch NBA Basketball there were Players like Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and Charles Oakley. Those Guys did not care about being nice. They did everything possible to stand their ground on the court, intimidating their opponents. If a douche like Dunleavy tried this move versus Laimbeer, he would have been in serious danger. Todays NBA admires those soft, charming superstars like Kobe, Durant or Lebron, who are flopping on every little contact. Cousins isnt a nice guy, he is not known for his positive personality and never will be like Kobe or any one mentioned above. And for me this is fine. Players like Kobe will smile at the media and hit their opponent into the face at the same time (remember what he did to Bibby?). No thank you i dont like factitiousness like that. I ll go with a emotional straightforward guy like Cousins, who may have troubles controlling his anger sometimes, but would never be as deceitful as Kobe or Lebron.
In my opinion the NBA needs more emotional players like Cousins. I m tired of watching guys smiling at each other, joking and fooling around with their opponents. Give me back those emotional, hard-nosed rivalries of the past. Give me back the "Bad Boys" or those physical and emotional playoff-fights between Miami and the Knicks, were every drive to the basket was a medical risk.
Leave me alone with todays NBA-Rules where every physical contact and every argument between players is a technical. There is nothing wrong with Cousins. It should be the NBA that gets rid of this deceitful nice-guy-image.

 

[mac]

I wonder what all this discussion about being a nice guy is about in todays NBA. When i started to watch NBA Basketball there were Players like Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and Charles Oakley. Those Guys did not care about being nice. They did everything possible to stand their ground on the court, intimidating their opponents. If a douche like Dunleavy tried this move versus Laimbeer, he would have been in serious danger. Todays NBA admires those soft, charming superstars like Kobe, Durant or Lebron, who are flopping on every little contact. Cousins isnt a nice guy, he is not known for his positive personality and never will be like Kobe or any one mentioned above. And for me this is fine. Players like Kobe will smile at the media and hit their opponent into the face at the same time (remember what he did to Bibby?). No thank you i dont like factitiousness like that. I ll go with a emotional straightforward guy like Cousins, who may have troubles controlling his anger sometimes, but would never be as deceitful as Kobe or Lebron.
In my opinion the NBA needs more emotional players like Cousins. I m tired of watching guys smiling at each other, joking and fooling around with their opponents. Give me back those emotional, hard-nosed rivalries of the past. Give me back the "Bad Boys" or those physical and emotional playoff-fights between Miami and the Knicks, were every drive to the basket was a medical risk.
Leave me alone with todays NBA-Rules where every physical contact and every argument between players is a technical. There is nothing wrong with Cousins. It should be the NBA that gets rid of this deceitful nice-guy-image.

Haha easy for you to say. Such a statement just goes to show how myopic you are in your view of things. The NBA is vastly different today than it was 30 years ago. Much, much more is invested into the league, from the media to fans to the arenas etc. Believe me when I say that nobody is going to pay to watch a bunch of "scrubs" (by NBA standards of course) when stars are getting injured and getting into fights left, right and center. You seem to think that this "violence" can be restricted and confined to the game of basketball without realising that players' actions spill over into the rest of the world. What did Nike do when news of Tiger Woods' affair(s) came out? Now you may be fine with violence and what not, but the majority of society today isn't, and that's the reality of things whether you like it or not. You start chasing away sponsors and soon you'll find that the league will not be economically-sustainable, certainly not with the standard size of contracts today. What happens? You get a whole new CBA issue again which only hurts fans and arena/team workers. But sure, sit in your couch and talk about how the NBA should drop its nice-guy image.

It's one thing to say that Cousins' actions aren't bad in comparison to what used to routinely take place in the NBA. It's a completely different thing to say that the league today should become one where "every drive to the basket is] a medical risk".

 

[KingsFanGER]

Haha easy for you to say. Such a statement just goes to show how myopic you are in your view of things. The NBA is vastly different today than it was 30 years ago. Much, much more is invested into the league, from the media to fans to the arenas etc. Believe me when I say that nobody is going to pay to watch a bunch of "scrubs" (by NBA standards of course) when stars are getting injured and getting into fights left, right and center. You seem to think that this "violence" can be restricted and confined to the game of basketball without realising that players' actions spill over into the rest of the world. What did Nike do when news of Tiger Woods' affair(s) came out? Now you may be fine with violence and what not, but the majority of society today isn't, and that's the reality of things whether you like it or not. You start chasing away sponsors and soon you'll find that the league will not be economically-sustainable, certainly not with the standard size of contracts today. What happens? You get a whole new CBA issue again which only hurts fans and arena/team workers. But sure, sit in your couch and talk about how the NBA should drop its nice-guy image.

It's one thing to say that Cousins' actions aren't bad in comparison to what used to routinely take place in the NBA. It's a completely different thing to say that the league today should become one where "every drive to the basket is] a medical risk".

Well you r right - it is easy for me to say, that i dont like this nice-guy-image. It is as easy as to demand a trade of DMC, cause one doesnt like his personality. After all this is a place, where fans can share and discuss their opinions. If you dislike my opinion i m perfectly fine with it, but dont insist that i like violence. We are talking about professional sports and not about anything the term violence is suitable to. The sentence about the medical risk is clearly an exaggeration, when i refer to the playoff rivalries of New York and Miami. This rivalry was about hard-nosed, physical, emotional, defensive basketball - which is the basketball i prefer over the offensive minded, soft basketball with very little physical contact and almost no room for emotions, cause every argument results into technical fouls.
I think the fact, that i m german and was raised in a football(scoccer)-fanatic family benefitted this preferation of an emotional, hard-nosed atmosphere when it comes to sports. A couple of years ago i visited L.A. and watched a NBA game, where Kobe scored 50 points versus the Raptors. I was shocked how little resistance the Raptors offered to Kobe. He could drive to the basket with no fear to get contested or risking a hard foul. The Raptors just sat back and watched the show and shaked hands with Kobe after the game smiling at him. I dont know if you have ever been in an european football arena, but believe me this kind of behaviour would never happen in a competitive football match. Playing football a dominant player like Kobe (Messi, Ronaldo,Rooney f.e.) has to deal with loads of physical contact and if the opponent is that helpless like the Raptors in my example, there would be at least some hard fouls to try to stop him from dominating.
In todays NBA nothing happens. Skilled, athletic players can flat out dominate the game, cause every tool to stop them is punished instantly - a hard foul results in a technical, "trash-talking" results in a technical, showing negative emotions results in a technical. Even Fans can be ejected from the arena if they show too much emotions (ever visit a crowded fans corner in a german or italian arena and you know what emotional means) I believe there should be room for all of this in professional sport and i dont think it will by any means chase away sponsors. In fact those hard-nosed, physical and emotional players attract loads of sponsors in football (Gattuso, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Rossi, Kahn f.e.) and can give a sports team some type of identity, which opposes the starpacked teams like the Lakers f.e. The story of a hard-working, physical team, which battles the superstars, even though it is less talented always attracts people. And what attracts people, attracts sponsors.

But from NBA-rules back to DMC: From what i saw, i would judge him as an emotional player, who hates to lose and is frustrated by the teams situation and as a result has problems to manage his emotions properly. A guy who hates to lose and will get upset about it, is a perfect fit for any franchise, even if he is ejected a few times during the season. As soon as the franchise manages to turn things around (hopefully soon) i guess we will see a different DMC. So in my opinion trading him, is a bad idea.
Moreover i think that the reason for most of his "T's" and ejections are just this overdone NBA-Rules, which i already referred to. I never saw DMC do something really "violent" (to speak in your terms).
After all i maintain that DMC is only a part of the problem - the overdone NBA-Rules, punishing emotions and physical play should be reviewed as soon as David Stern retires.

 

[Spike]

[/B]


Because I have integrity. You're obviously young and probably aren't settled down with a family yet but when you do I hope you'll understand what my point is about DMC. Simply put, I don't enjoy watching his **** on or off he court. Nor would I want to subject my kids to it.

And, by the way, all of this incredible talent that he has hasn't done jack for us in 3 years. He's not good enough to single handedly carry a team and now it's pretty public info that his teammates don't like playing with him. He's a cancer who actually makes a team worse right now.

Please let me know what he's done off the court. Sell weed? Have affairs? Take a bat to a mailbox? You're making stuff up right now.

 

[gilly420]

Cousins is an embarrasment to this team, this city. End of story.

 

[mac]

Well you r right - it is easy for me to say, that i dont like this nice-guy-image. It is as easy as to demand a trade of DMC, cause one doesnt like his personality. After all this is a place, where fans can share and discuss their opinions. If you dislike my opinion i m perfectly fine with it, but dont insist that i like violence. We are talking about professional sports and not about anything the term violence is suitable to. The sentence about the medical risk is clearly an exaggeration, when i refer to the playoff rivalries of New York and Miami. This rivalry was about hard-nosed, physical, emotional, defensive basketball - which is the basketball i prefer over the offensive minded, soft basketball with very little physical contact and almost no room for emotions, cause every argument results into technical fouls.
I think the fact, that i m german and was raised in a football(scoccer)-fanatic family benefitted this preferation of an emotional, hard-nosed atmosphere when it comes to sports. A couple of years ago i visited L.A. and watched a NBA game, where Kobe scored 50 points versus the Raptors. I was shocked how little resistance the Raptors offered to Kobe. He could drive to the basket with no fear to get contested or risking a hard foul. The Raptors just sat back and watched the show and shaked hands with Kobe after the game smiling at him. I dont know if you have ever been in an european football arena, but believe me this kind of behaviour would never happen in a competitive football match. Playing football a dominant player like Kobe (Messi, Ronaldo,Rooney f.e.) has to deal with loads of physical contact and if the opponent is that helpless like the Raptors in my example, there would be at least some hard fouls to try to stop him from dominating.
In todays NBA nothing happens. Skilled, athletic players can flat out dominate the game, cause every tool to stop them is punished instantly - a hard foul results in a technical, "trash-talking" results in a technical, showing negative emotions results in a technical. Even Fans can be ejected from the arena if they show too much emotions (ever visit a crowded fans corner in a german or italian arena and you know what emotional means) I believe there should be room for all of this in professional sport and i dont think it will by any means chase away sponsors. In fact those hard-nosed, physical and emotional players attract loads of sponsors in football (Gattuso, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Rossi, Kahn f.e.) and can give a sports team some type of identity, which opposes the starpacked teams like the Lakers f.e. The story of a hard-working, physical team, which battles the superstars, even though it is less talented always attracts people. And what attracts people, attracts sponsors.

But from NBA-rules back to DMC: From what i saw, i would judge him as an emotional player, who hates to lose and is frustrated by the teams situation and as a result has problems to manage his emotions properly. A guy who hates to lose and will get upset about it, is a perfect fit for any franchise, even if he is ejected a few times during the season. As soon as the franchise manages to turn things around (hopefully soon) i guess we will see a different DMC. So in my opinion trading him, is a bad idea.
Moreover i think that the reason for most of his "T's" and ejections are just this overdone NBA-Rules, which i already referred to. I never saw DMC do something really "violent" (to speak in your terms).
After all i maintain that DMC is only a part of the problem - the overdone NBA-Rules, punishing emotions and physical play should be reviewed as soon as David Stern retires.

Well the fact that you're basing the standards of NBA defense on what you saw from the Raptors pretty much says it all for me. Don't get me wrong, I too want the NBA to allow more showing of emotion, but not to the point that it gets out of hand. I would have to disagree with you on football having a lot more physical contact, or at least argue that the type of contact is very different. Football players are more ground-bound, they get tripped up more than anything and contact to the head will normally result in a card. Now I acknowledge that I may be mistaken as I'm personally not a football fan, but European Football is way way bigger in my country than basketball. It's the main sport that people follow here, so in a sense I am exposed to it quite a bit. Also, I do not wish the NBA to end up with the kinds of brawls that take place in football. I'm sorry, but I think that's just dangerous, especially to young children at games.

I'm sure most people don't like ticky-tack fouls being called, and while you see less physicality during the regular season the games tend to be far more exciting and physical in the playoffs, and you certainly wouldn't see defense being played the same way as the Raptors. Despite the lure of physicality, some still argue that taking away hand-checking for example, has forced team defenses to become much better.

Anyway moving on from all of that, I generally agree with you on your assessment of Cuz, except I don't think his ejections and Ts are just overdone NBA-rules. Believe me, if his team mates didn't push Cousins to the bench after Dunleavy cut him we'd have seen a fight break out. I'm pretty damn sure of that.

 

[Padrino]

I'd say about 75% of the posters here support DMC and make excuses for him. That's amazing to me, especially considering the rest of the Kings fan base (outside this forum) is probably about 90% against him and wants him traded. I think the difference is that most of here are hardcore fans and we love spending time analyzing the team and trying to figure out how to build a championship team. The "other" fans don't care a lot about that stuff. They want to be entertained and they want to love the players. There is nothing to love about DeMarcus Cousins. He's a BAD GUY. Plain and simple. Maybe he will grow up someday but right now he is what he is and I'm not going to make excuses for him.

Whether NBA players like it or not, kids look up to these guys. The average fan doesn't want their kids seeing the crap that DMC pulls on and off the court. He doesn't set a good example. Now I know the hardcore guys like Padrino and Bricklayer don't care about any of this. All they see are the numbers and the talent. It's all about winning. That's all fine and dandy but, like I said, the average fan doesn't want to deal with the immaturity of DMC. They want to be inspired by heart, hustle, teamwork, etc. He represents NONE of that. In fact, he's the anthesis of that. Padrino and Bricklayer need to understand the mindset of the fans that pay big money to see these guys play. This is the reason they want him traded. He doesn't fit in this city. This is a middle class family type city.

Ask yourself this question. Do you want your kids looking up to DeMarcus Cousins right now? Do you want him to be a role model for them? My kids are too young right now to care but if they were older the answer would be a resounding NO. Think about it....

hahahahahaha. you're funny. misguided as ****, but funny. when the kings were winning, the maloofs--notorious vegas wannabes--used to run ads for their palms casino that featured an indoor pool full of playboy bunnies. but, again, because the team was winning, nobody talked about how "family-friendly" sacramento was back then--as if that's a notion even approaching the truth. i live in the city proper, and every other week i come home from my tutoring gig in the late evening to the sounds of a helicopter roaring overhead and a spotlight draped across any one of the neighborhoods that surround the house my wife and i are renting...

people need to get off this small town, good guy complex. it's a fantasy, and given that watching professional sports is already a vicarious leisure activity that the "average fan" engages in on a near-daily basis, we'd all be better off if we stopped pretending that we can map our personal values onto those who are earning millions upon millions of dollars to throw a ball into a hoop. it's just a bad joke with some of you people. as brick has dutifully pointed out, if the fans hadn't abandoned the team after the winning stopped, with the kings trotting out their kiddie corps of "good character guys," your argument might hold a milliliter or two of water. but the sellout streak was snapped when the kings became losers again. ultimately, nobody gives a **** about how "nice" jimmer fredette or isaiah thomas or jason thompson might be if the team is losing. people pretend. they talk a big game. but i've been to three kings games this season. i purchased nosebleed tickets each time and wandered my way down to some of the better seats in the house, because it's taster's choice at sleep train amphitheater these days. none of the few who actually show up are "paying big money" because they're hoping to see demarcus cousins act like an angel. they're "paying big money" because they want to see the kings win. i watch the kings because i want to see the kings win. i go to kings games with the hope that i might get to see my team win. i pay for kings merchandise believing that someday i'll be sporting a winner's gear again...

i've said it before, and i care not an ounce if it offends somebody, but the same quality of the city of sacramento that we hope may keep the kings here--it being a one-team town that doesn't have to share its market with any other professional sports or any major collegiate sports--is also damning to the acumen of its fanbase. so many kings fans are not nba fans. some of those are not even basketball fans. they're just kings fans. many root for the team because they are here, and they will cease to watch nba basketball should the team leave. that said, these fans often fail to grasp anything resembling perspective. brick's mentioned it on numerous occasions: the kings arrived in sacramento in 1985, and they've suffered through a whole helluvalotta losing seasons in that 28-year span, but not one player that the kings have drafted in the entire history of the team's tenure in sacramento comes close to DMC's talent level. both mitch richmond and chris webber were acquired via trade and, apart from those two players, no other player that the kings have acquired in general comes close to DMC's talent-level. that is perspective. in 28 years, the sacramento kings have drafted exactly one player with genuine superstar potential. his name is demarcus cousins. you DO NOT dump that talent for pennies on the dollar just because you don't like the scowl on his face, just because you have "values," and you don't want your team to be home to a "thug," as if demarcus cousins has actually done anything to deserve such a tag...

two months ago, i watched a drug dealer get arrested in my neighborhood. how do i know he was a drug dealer? because i saw the deal go down and i called it in. that guy was a "thug." sacramento is home to a great many thugs, whether your small town mentality can cope with that fact or not. and, immature though he may be, demarcus cousins is not one of them...

 

[Jose]

Cousins is an embarrasment to this team, this city. End of story.

This team is an embarrasment to this city and to the NBA. Cousins just plays along. Although I understand everyone's frustration and agree that he needs to grow up, think about this for a minute. Cousins is one of the greatest talents to come into the league in recent years. He is stuck on a crappy team, with a crappy front office and a culture of losing. Our organization would rather lose and save money than spend money to try to win.

Crappyness seeps from the top down. Crappy owners leads to crappy GMs, which leads to crappy coaches, which leads to crappy players and crappy attitudes. It's no wonder that players who were productive in other teams come here and wilt. It's no surprise that players who are bad/mediocre in this team go elsewhere and prosper. Cousins has been trapped in this cesspool since his first day in the NBA. Not an environment that's going to promote growth and maturity. Sure, it's easy to say "shut up and play" or "you're getting paid millions to play a game, grow up". Easier said than done.

Please note that I DO NOT support Cousin's behavior. It does get old and annoying. But he's only about 10% of the problem. The rest of it is on the organization's shoulders. Just wait until after the Clowns are out... you'll be amazed at what a good organization can do for its young ones...

 

[rhythmless]

none of the few who actually show up are "paying big money" because they're hoping to see demarcus cousins act like an angel. they're "paying big money" because they want to see the kings win.

If DMC is being an *** but we're winning because of it, then I'm all for it. My particular issue with his extracurricular activities is that it results in him taking himself out of the game (sometimes mentally, other times physically). If he could be a jerkoff and still play the game properly (KG) then I'd be all for it. But he doesn't. He grabs the ball off a made basket, holds it just a liiiittle too long, then passes it to the ref. It's not long enough for a delay of game, but it's pretty blatant. He could just not touch the ball. He demonstrates after most calls that don't go his way. He hangs back to "chat" with the refs instead of playing defense. Shakes his head all the time. He will demonstrate his amazing ballhandling skills in the open floor just a little too long. It's just a whole bunch of little irks and passive aggressive displays that make him hatable to refs. I could care less if it's translating to wins. But it's directly translating to losing.

 

[Padrino]

[/B]


Because I have integrity. You're obviously young and probably aren't settled down with a family yet but when you do I hope you'll understand what my point is about DMC. Simply put, I don't enjoy watching his **** on or off he court. Nor would I want to subject my kids to it.

And, by the way, all of this incredible talent that he has hasn't done jack for us in 3 years. He's not good enough to single handedly carry a team and now it's pretty public info that his teammates don't like playing with him. He's a cancer who actually makes a team worse right now.

integrity... hah!! i love how haphazardly you toss opinions into the ring that you have the gall to parade around as fact. dig up an off-the-court example of demarcus' bad behavior, please. and, while you're at it, dig up a direct quote from any king that has claimed he did not like playing with demarcus cousins. just as a fan can criticize DMC's immaturity yet cheer for his improvement, a teammate can likewise criticize his immaturity yet cheer for his improvement...

oh, and for the record, talent often takes awhile to translate to wins. kevin durant, chris paul, pau gasol, kevin garnett, etc. played for losers in their first two seasons. paul pierce played for a loser in their first three seasons. kevin love still hasn't made the playoffs. early in those players' respective careers, none of their teams had even half the problems this kings team has from the top down, but i guess those guys were still cancers who actually made their teams worse, too, right?



so little perspective it's embarrassing...

 

[Padrino]

If DMC is being an *** but we're winning because of it, then I'm all for it. My particular issue with his extracurricular activities is that it results in him taking himself out of the game (sometimes mentally, other times physically). If he could be a jerkoff and still play the game properly (KG) then I'd be all for it. But he doesn't. He grabs the ball off a made basket, holds it just a liiiittle too long, then passes it to the ref. It's not long enough for a delay of game, but it's pretty blatant. He could just not touch the ball. He demonstrates after most calls that don't go his way. He hangs back to "chat" with the refs instead of playing defense. Shakes his head all the time. He will demonstrate his amazing ballhandling skills in the open floor just a little too long. It's just a whole bunch of little irks and passive aggressive displays that make him hatable to refs. I could care less if it's translating to wins. But it's directly translating to losing.

meh. he's 22 years old, and these are hardly insurmountable problems. once the winning starts coming for demarcus, whether it's here in sacramento or elsewhere, most if not all of those "little irks" will disappear. frustration subsides when the wins start piling up. i have no problem criticizing DMC for his faults thus far as an nba player, but he's still a few years removed from his prime at perhaps the most difficult position to play in the contemporary nba, and he's already averaging 16/10 for his career in just 30 mpg. many on this board are so woefully lacking in historical context that they're calling for the trade of a potential 24/12 franchise center (in a league currently bereft of franchise centers) just because he hasn't "figured it out" in year three (on a team that has consistently failed to adequately develop its young talent, mind you). once again, there is zero perspective (or patience) in such a position and, once again, it's embarrassing (particularly as the team is about to be handed over to an ownership group, either here or in seattle, that is committed to winning)...

 

[rhythmless]

meh. he's 22 years old, and these are hardly insurmountable problems. once the winning starts coming for demarcus, whether it's here in sacramento or elsewhere, most if not all of those "little irks" will disappear. frustration subsides when the wins start piling up. i have no problem criticizing DMC for his faults thus far as an nba player, but he's still a few years removed from his prime at perhaps the most difficult position to play in the contemporary nba, and he's already averaging 16/10 for his career in just 30 mpg. many on this board are so woefully lacking in historical context that they're calling for the trade of a potential 24/12 franchise center (in a league currently bereft of franchise centers) just because he hasn't "figured it out" in year three (on a team that has consistently failed to adequately develop its young talent, mind you). once again, there is zero perspective (or patience) in such a position and, once again, it's embarrassing (particularly as the team is about to be handed over to an ownership group, either here or in seattle, that is committed to winning)...

They're not insurmountable, but at the same time, they're right there. I'm just listing them and giving my opinion of how I would take it if I was a ref. He's not doing himself any favors for his career. He's looking to lose a few extra games every year from quick flagrant 2s and heavy handed suspensions just because of his reputation. Those suspensions translate to a good chunk of money lost for a double double center.

I'm not advocating for a trade. We're all in a lame duck status right now. We can't tell what we truly have until we get ownership that cares and can afford to build properly. Smart should also get fired once the new regime rolls around. He makes a pittance as a head coach, so paying for his salary won't be an issue.

 

[The Hammer]

If you would like to trade Cousins, you deserve to lose your team to Seattle.

 

[macadocious]

If you are the new Kings ownership. You have to give him a year with a stable environment. You could not craft a worse scenario for an impetuous young basketball player that has some anger issues and who is very immature and won't take responsibility for his actions. Owner ship is not stable, coaching is far from stable, the front office or lack there of all perpetuate the mental issues he has going on. Even T-Rob said in his post trade interview there was no mentoring, there was no front office guidance.

This of course does not excuse anything he has done. He has acted like a child and needs to make some significant changes. Right now he is the 4 year old in the back of the car on his way to Dsineyland and his parents are telling him if he doesn't behave they are turning the car around. They even pulled off the road once or twice. But he knows there is no chance they are actually turning the car around.

If after a stable year there is not marked improvement. You exercise your option and trade him.

 

[Hoovtrain]

Never could understand that one. Why on earth would you do such a thing??!

You will be even more dumfounded when you see a pic of Barry's wife.
Sorry, that was not nice of me.

 

[Section 101]

urity of DMC. They want to be inspired by heart, hustle, teamwork, etc. He represents NONE of that. In fact, he's the anthesis of that. Padrino and Bricklayer need to understand the mindset of the fans that pay big money to see these guys play. This is the reason they want him traded. He doesn't fit in this city. This is a middle class family type city.

Ask yourself this question. Do you want your kids looking up to DeMarcus Cousins right now? Do you want him to be a role model for them? My kids are too young right now to care but if they were older the answer would be a resounding NO. Think about it....

Season ticket holder since 1990. Pay good money and it's to watch players like Cuz who have a skill that very few people are given. There are a lot of NBA player who get by on athleticism alone. Very few have the skills of Cuz who does things out there that very few can. So yes I would want my kids to watch how he plays. No I wouldn't let any athlete except a few that can be counted on one hand like a Derek Jeter be a role model for any kid.

Oh and BTW the majority of fans at the games do enjoy watching Cuz play.

 

[rainmaker]

meh. he's 22 years old, and these are hardly insurmountable problems. once the winning starts coming for demarcus, whether it's here in sacramento or elsewhere, most if not all of those "little irks" will disappear. frustration subsides when the wins start piling up. i have no problem criticizing DMC for his faults thus far as an nba player, but he's still a few years removed from his prime at perhaps the most difficult position to play in the contemporary nba, and he's already averaging 16/10 for his career in just 30 mpg. many on this board are so woefully lacking in historical context that they're calling for the trade of a potential 24/12 franchise center (in a league currently bereft of franchise centers) just because he hasn't "figured it out" in year three (on a team that has consistently failed to adequately develop its young talent, mind you). once again, there is zero perspective (or patience) in such a position and, once again, it's embarrassing (particularly as the team is about to be handed over to an ownership group, either here or in seattle, that is committed to winning)...

Some of this is quite embarrassing.

We have fans who'd rather turn the team over to a 5'9", 60th pick PG and toss Reke aside because he apparently doesn't have heart, and fans who'd trade Cuz for Gortat(who I like btw) because Cuz isn't the ideal role model and hasn't carried us near a championship at age 22. It's ridiculous. Some simply don't know what they have in a couple of our players and lack the overall perspective to how our toxic overall situation can effect young men.

The funny thing is we sucked, absolutely sucked for a long time, and I became a fan back in the Causwell, Hurley, Michael Smith, Corliss, OP, Billy Owens days so I have an idea just how bad it was, yet the same fans who want to move Cuz for being a terrible person and a cancer don't seem to recognize that our franchise wasn't turned around by a bunch of angels.

JWill's reputation and attitude. Vernon Maxwell. Webber's reputation before coming. Were they great role models at the time? Did people not show up to watch that team in 98 and 99 because those guys weren't good role models for their children? No, fans ate it up, as did the country and eventually world at large. Sports Illustrated cover. Pre season games in Japan. National TV games regularly. But there was a difference in situations. That team had veteran leadership. This one doesn't. That team had a top 5-7 coach. This team doesn't have anything near that. That team had good owners. This team doesn't. That team had a roster which made sense. This one doesn't. That team didn't have the threat to relocate hanging over their heads. This one does. Cuz's attitude is not our major problem. It's all the other factors which loom much larger which are the real problems.

Not seeing that, along with not recognizing Cuz is a once in a generation type of talent in the NBA at large, never mind the Sac market, along with not recognizing the impact this overall situation can have on young men is a complete lack of perspective.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Cousins is an embarrasment to this team, this city. End of story.

Comments such as these are far more of an embarrassment to those that made them than anything DeMarcus Cousins has ever done. That's the real end of the story.

BTW, I'll take an overly emotional, highly talented player -- especially one that doesn't get in trouble off the court -- any day of the week and gamble that he'll eventually settle down when it comes to his on court antics.

Many great players have fought and battled with their coaches and fellow players. Many of those same players have gotten coaches fired and fellow players traded. Many of those same players eventually grew up, matured and became better players and teammates. I'm more than confident that DeMarcus will become another one of those players.

As I said before, what do the Kings have to lose by waiting it out another couple seasons? Are they going deep into the postseason -- or even at all -- anytime soon, especially without Big Cuz?

 

[Padrino]

Comments such as these are far more of an embarrassment to those that made them than anything DeMarcus Cousins has ever done. That's the real end of the story.

BTW, I'll take an overly emotional, highly talented player -- especially one that doesn't get in trouble off the court -- any day of the week and gamble that he'll eventually settle down when it comes to his on court antics.

Many great players have fought and battled with their coaches and fellow players. Many of those same players have gotten coaches fired and fellow players traded. Many of those same players eventually grew up, matured and became better players and teammates. I'm more than confident that DeMarcus will become another one of those players.

As I said before, what do the Kings have to lose by waiting it out another couple seasons? Are they going deep into the postseason -- or even at all -- anytime soon, especially without Big Cuz?

mmmmm...

i do love the smell of sensibility in the afternoon...

 

[KingsFanSince85]

According to DeMarcus from today's after practice presser, he asked Dunleavy if the contact was intentional and he responded "What if it was?".

Assuming that's true, I fully understand the retaliation. BTW, Cuz is likely to miss the next game, suspension or not, because of that shot to his knee ....

 

[Glenn]

According to DeMarcus from today's after practice presser, he asked Dunleavy if the contact was intentional and he responded "What if it was?".

Assuming that's true, I fully understand the retaliation. BTW, Cuz is likely to miss the next game, suspension or not, because of that shot to his knee ....

Before I go on an anti-Dunleavy rant, is there a link supporting the assertion that Cousins' knee was injured?

 

[Darth Divac]

Before I go on an anti-Dunleavy rant, is there a link supporting the assertion that Cousins' knee was injured?

None.

 

[Warhawk]

Before I go on an anti-Dunleavy rant, is there a link supporting the assertion that Cousins' knee was injured?

Grant said that Smart stated that Cousins may miss a game from the knee, I think from earlier today?

 

[Glenn]

Grant said that Smart stated that Cousins may miss a game from the knee, I think from earlier today?

I hope that Grant has changed his mind about Dunleavy taking a cheap shot. That was his immediate reaction. I will not be surprised if the NBA takes no action against a coach's son with choir boy looks and suspect it was just an accident that he rolled into Cousins, knocking his knee askew. This is now on the NBA. They cannot take such a hard position about swearing, grimaces, and elbows yet allow a player try to do something that accidently or perhaps even purposefully (I doubt it) could have altered Cousins' career. If this was American football, Dunleavy would now have a target on his back. The NBA cannot hand out flagrant ones and twos but ignore what Dunleavy did. I also should think that if Cousins is injured, it should mitigate any further punishment the NBA should think is appropriate to Cousins. Certainly there can't be free season on trying to hurt Cousins.

I wonder how anyone of us would have reacted.

We'll see how this unfolds as it shouldn't end here. This "let's punish Cuz and that should resolve the issue" attitude cannot be satisfactory.

 

[rainmaker]

I'll say something which might be unpopular but has a place in sports. Cuz is our franchise player. Like it or not, he's our cornerstone going forward. He and Reke are our two most valuable assets by a large margin.

In sports and on teams, you can't let opponents take cheap shots at your franchise player and get away with it. What should have happened? After Cuz explained to the team in the timeout how Dunleavy tried to take out his knee, either JT or Chuck, or even JJ, should have been brought in, or even if not subbed in whichever of them is on the court coming out of the timeout should have laid out Dunleavy. Sent a message. You f*** with our franchise player and try to take him out, that won't fly, and you're going to get laid out for attempting such a punk move.

You can't leave it up to the franchise player himself to do defend himself. When Lebron is given a cheap shot, does he defend himself and retaliate? No, Haslem does. For OKC and with Boston it was Perkins. For Dal it was Chandler if Dirk got a cheap shot. For Chi it was Noah/Asik when Rose was laid out. Oakley in NY. Laimbeer in Det. I can go on but one problem with this team and it's been that way for awhile is they don't stand up for one another and protect one another. We're not tough. We don't have tough bigs. We don't commit hard fouls. We don't back each other up if there's an altercation. We back down, with IT being the exception. So here's Cuz getting a cheap shot at his knee and now he's got to defend himself. Should have never gotten to that situation.

Someone should have said in the timeout, calm down big fella, I've got you. Then the next time Dunleavy comes around a pick, hip check his a** into the first row. Hack the crap out of him next time he comes down the lane. Probably not a popular opinion, but in many sports you need to stick up for your best. And they do.

 

[Npliam]

Is there video of the Cheap shot to the knee?

 

[KingMilz]

One thing I will say about Mike Dunleavy is yeah he did a dirty play but at least when Cousins got him back with the elbow he didn't flop around like a ***** and throw his head back and make it dramatic like 99% of NBA players would have (e.g Vince Carter). Dirty play but he took the payback well and didn't exaggerate and make it look worse than it was.