All-inclusive DMC non-game discussion thread

[Glenn]

I understand the range of mental illnesses (have some Bi-Polar folks in my family too) and heard the same saying that all of us are mentally ill to some degree from my Psychiatrist cousin

Casually tossing diagnosis without any proof just to support some posters years long view that Kings are better if they get rid of Cousins is really really low.
I did not see anything with Cousins that would indicate any level of severity. There are no incidents that are not caused during or immediately after the highly physical and stressful events.

Unprofessional, immature... sure. Unusual and indication of anything to be blown out of proportion... not.
Heck, check those "crazy and immature" Chandler and Noah last night. There were couple of elbows there that were not intended for chasing mosquitoes, and forehead contacts were not love taps. Noah is playing today. Chicago and New York office must be dialing phones to get rid of them.

I'm a psychiatrist. You can ignore my opinions if you wish. Granted they are from a distance but a depressed person would behave like this. I have seen a few.

 

[bajaden]

I understand the range of mental illnesses (have some Bi-Polar folks in my family too) and heard the same saying that all of us are mentally ill to some degree from my Psychiatrist cousin

Casually tossing diagnosis without any proof just to support some posters years long view that Kings are better if they get rid of Cousins is really really low.
I did not see anything with Cousins that would indicate any level of severity. There are no incidents that are not caused during or immediately after the highly physical and stressful events.

Unprofessional, immature... sure. Unusual and indication of anything to be blown out of proportion... not.
Heck, check those "crazy and immature" Chandler and Noah last night. There were couple of elbows there that were not intended for chasing mosquitoes, and forehead contacts were not love taps. Noah is playing today. Chicago and New York office must be dialing phones to get rid of them.

Well, when I look back at some of the things I did when I was Cousins age, I guess I should have been committed. In Cousins case, he's just an immature person thats having to grow up with the spotlight on him. When I screwed up, no one but the people involved knew, and it certainly wasn't in the newspaper or on TV. Look, I don't know if Cousins will ever be what we want him to be. No one can predict that, but I think the Kings should do everything possible to and make it happen.

 

[swisshh]

I don't feel a veteran on this team can go to Cuz and get him to buy in on the team and keeping quiet because I don't think any of the vets buy into this team having a chance either. The only thing they could or probably already are telling Cousins is that you have to handle the business a certain way in this league, but it doesn't seem Cousins is interested in that.

What Cuz wants is to win. He should be doing things to help the team with that, but he may not believe in the team enough to commit to them. Most of the team probably doesn't believe in this roster as well. It's been pretty obvious that the team isn't having fun. Even when winning a game, there is no sense of confident joy in who the Kings are among the Kings players. It's hard for me to point to a reason they should believe in the Kings.

Nearly every year, there is a new philosophy to who the Kings are. They start out the year with a motto (of sorts), their philosophy falters a little, and it's given up on. The season is a waste, the team drafts another player, invents a new philosophy, makes a bunch of questionable moves behind that philosophy, and then repeats the same process from the previous year of faltering within that team identity and then bailing on the team identity. This isn't something coming from the players. This is a pattern established by the front office through PR and player moves.

It is not surprising that there is no commitment to the Kings as any one thing. Whether that thing is a tough defensive squad (Dalembert, Evans, Casspi), as a high scoring squad (Evans, Landry/Thornton/Jimmer), as an up tempo squad (IT/Smart), as a defensively improved squad (Johnson, TRobb), nobody involved with the franchise believes in a commitment when the ownership has no commitment to the city and fans for which the team plays.

This sort of make-it-up-as-we-go team building doesn't create wins. So how does any coach or vet convince Cousins to play the dutiful employee for the grand reward of losing? The only carrot on the stick there is that if he's nice now then he'll get a better deal when he leaves Sacramento.

 

[SacTownKid]

I wonder what the argument was over, what was said, how both parties reacted to the other and why the players seemed like they were in a such a good mood after half time. It is hard to know what to make of this without knowing the answers to these questions.

After the first quarter Smart was seen ranting and raving at Cousins pointing at him and such, I assume Cousins had heard enough after Smart had heard enough himself. A person with Cousins' personality traits isn't a person you just go after like that. You need more tact even if that seems like babying. Smarts been good up until now but Smart isn't dumb, per se, and he knows that his performance and this teams performance falls under the type that gets coaches fired half way through the season. He has to be wearing down by now. But you can't say he isn't partially to blame after wasting his one preseason.

 

[ParniValjak]

Listen what Cousins did is out of line no question, but I am sick and tired of everyone, including the organization themselves putting all the blame on him.

Let's be honest here, there are FAR bigger underlying problems here than Cousins himself. He is a competitor, a fiery guy who hates losing. If he was on a winning team he would be called "intense" just like KG but because he is oa losing team and with a franchise that is truly THE worst in the league and I find it a bit rich that people are calling for Cousins. Guess what people,
That is like putting a patch on the cracked wall in the house when the foundation itself is stuffed.

Maloofs and as a result of them, the front office are entirely ponsible for the shocking culture and state of the entire franchise and that is no doubt playing on Cousins' mind and its tought as a fiery, competitive kid. People need to thing of the cause and effect here. Cousins getting out of line is an effect.

I can guarantee if the owners ran this team in a respectable fashion as you would expect good franshises to be run, none of this would be happening and the goofs around the league would be saying how intense a competitor Cousins is and how he is a building block. But because this whole thing stinks from the head, people are out to hang Cousins.

If ownership invested in this team, in terms of coaching, basketball operations and everything else that good franchises do, these issues would not be happening but because they don't and this pathetic sorry bunch of owners and operational staff need aalibi and excuse, the finger is squarely pointed at Cousins.

Could you see DeMarcus doing this sort of thing regularly in say Utah when they we rebuilding after Stocktonn and Malone? i couldn't because they had a fantastic owner and a front office with a clear direction and a Hall of Fame coach who demanded respect and knew how to get it done

 

[Henkel]

Finally. I was so sick of hearing about how he was misunderstood and just a victim of his overwhelming passion to win, which is the crap that almost everyone, including the organization, was trying to sell for the last couple seasons. His issues are clear and even though I doubt Smart is capable at least were trying to address it.

The trade talk is nonsense. It's been covered already, lot of potential and zero value at the moment. I would be shocked to see him moved unless he forces his way out.

 

[Henkel]

Listen what Cousins did is out of line no question, but I am sick and tired of everyone, including the organization themselves putting all the blame on him.

Let's be honest here, there are FAR bigger underlying problems here than Cousins himself. He is a competitor, a fiery guy who hates losing. If he was on a winning team he would be called "intense" just like KG but because he is oa losing team and with a franchise that is truly THE worst in the league and I find it a bit rich that people are calling for Cousins. Guess what people,
That is like putting a patch on the cracked wall in the house when the foundation itself is stuffed.

Maloofs and as a result of them, the front office are entirely ponsible for the shocking culture and state of the entire franchise and that is no doubt playing on Cousins' mind and its tought as a fiery, competitive kid. People need to thing of the cause and effect here. Cousins getting out of line is an effect.

I can guarantee if the owners ran this team in a respectable fashion as you would expect good franshises to be run, none of this would be happening and the goofs around the league would be saying how intense a competitor Cousins is and how he is a building block. But because this whole thing stinks from the head, people are out to hang Cousins.

If ownership invested in this team, in terms of coaching, basketball operations and everything else that good franchises do, these issues would not be happening but because they don't and this pathetic sorry bunch of owners and operational staff need aalibi and excuse, the finger is squarely pointed at Cousins.

Could you see DeMarcus doing this sort of thing regularly in say Utah when they we rebuilding after Stocktonn and Malone? i couldn't because they had a fantastic owner and a front office with a clear direction and a Hall of Fame coach who demanded respect and knew how to get it done

I agree with you about the sad state of the organization and its effect on player development, BUT this is the defending of Cousins that I just don't get and it comes from posters that I have a lot of respect for. KG doesn't take plays off let alone whole games, he runs the floor, he doesn't allow opponents and officials to consistently effect him, and he takes pride in his defense. For **** sake this is the first season he came in physically capable of playing productively for 30+ minutes. The comparisons just don't work. All the talent in the world though, but anger and frustration aren't passion. That's what KG has, not so sure about Cousins.

 

[ParniValjak]

I agree with you about the sad state of the organization and its effect on player development, BUT this is the defending of Cousins that I just don't get and it comes from posters that I have a lot of respect for. KG doesn't take plays off let alone whole games, he runs the floor, he doesn't allow opponents and officials to consistently effect him, and he takes pride in his defense. For **** sake this is the first season he came in physically capable of playing productively for 30+ minutes. The comparisons just don't work. All the talent in the world though, but anger and frustration aren't passion. That's what KG has, not so sure about Cousins.

you are comparing veteran KG to a young Cousins. May I remind you that KG was far from an angel or a finished product at the same time in their career.

May I also remind that KG had some great veterans he ws surrounded with. May I also remind you that KG also punched a team mate and had a few run ins with the coaches along the way!

Due to the sickening level of incompetence and lack of willingness to get it done, Cousins is left to figure it out himself! He hasn't had a real coach, he hasn't had a veteran mentor of any respect so how exactly is it all on him? He no doubt has to get over it but his outbursts as a result of a number of things. This is a case of treating the symptoms and not the cause!

Nothing will change unless the culture of the franchise changes, or Cousins ends up on a team that has real culture, a real coach and structure that all players need, especially the developing ones.


This reminds me of the witch hunt the fans on this board went on when it came to Rick Adelman without realising that it is not Adelman, it is the types of plays that we were assembling. People were calling for his head for having a team that allowed lay up drills, but not many stopped to realise that what different could you expect when you had an old Brad Miller and Shareef Abdur Rahim manning the paint?!

This is the same scenario here. Cousins is in the wrong but this is an effect of something else, it is as a result that you get when the organization sets him up to fail. Its a laughable state that the franchise is in and no one that matters gives a flying ****!

 

[VF21]

DeMarcus Cousins needs real strong mentor he can look up too, give great respect and admiration too - most of all emulate to get out of this endlessly stupid, destructive, immature behavior. Kings have tried his former high school coach which didn't much work. They assigned a handful of former players coming and going as mentors, but there's one individual I'd like to see take him under his wing, crushing him under it if he has too, to really try to get through to the spoiled rotten big kid. Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is as impossing a physical presence as Cuz - even more so. Shaq believes in hard core discipline, accountability, respect for authority, and had it growing up in strong two parent household with his US Amry drill seargent step father. Shaq would be great if he'd agree to come on board as personal life and basketball coach just for Cousins with a team he made jokes about - calling them "the Queens." It might not work in the end, but worth a try since aren't we all just about at our wits end with this continuing problem child nonsense?!

What he said.

 

[VF21]

Propbably needed to happen, but its a huge risk. What you have to aim for is a reset since you a) have destroyed his trade value and b) have no chance at all at getting a talent in the same stratosphere in trade anyway.

Now:

1) this is going to need to last for a bit

2) get Webb on a plane pronto -- if you are the Maloofs it might even be worth springing for air fare. Coach of course. Heck, get Vlade on a plane if he still comes to the sttes. And Coachie, if he's still well enough to travel. Point is during this downtime you need to try to bring in a major voice, and a Kings voice to just talk to DeMarcus. Sidle up and have a chat about things. Can't be organizational. He's already heard those and they just suspended him. Needs to be a significant figure. More than one would be cool too.

3) Tyreke needs to come back from his terrible bruise of death and play well. He's no vocal leader, but he has to become the focal point Smart refuses to assign in order to give us stability and a sense of order and an alternate, sane, leader. When Cousins comes back he needs to come back to a team with some sense of identity without him.

4) we need a trade. Several of them. And not for kids. In fact the other way around. We need a trade for a significant steadying vet to put next to Reke as we try to establish order. And adding another vet or two -- and I mean real hoary I've won it all but now need a cane vets -- beyond the main one to establish order. I've suggested names of pros that might be available. Too quiet, too old...but the stability we need here. One of them needs to be a big man. This hasn't worked. So we need to create a safe and sane steady veteran environment with Reke hopefully playing at some level of starhood supported by steady people from steady systems. Then you return Cousins to the mix where his antics would stand out like a sore thumb and he'll have soem sort of team culture/identity to try to conform too.

5) obviously we need to have the standard sitdown with Boogie, the "coach", the agent etc.

6) if this lasts for any time, like until after the holidays to give the team time to stablize without him, some delegation of any veteran teammates who can actually stand him needs to show up at his doorstep, play ping pong wiht him or something while talking about needing him back, but all the nonsense has to end. somebody needs ot take the lead on being frend/mentor/person to catch Cuz's eye when he starts to lose it and bring him down.


-- TRob will have his chance to prove he's not a bust. Now or never kid.

And what he said.

 

[VF21]

]After the first quarter Smart was seen ranting and raving at Cousins pointing at him and such,[/B] I assume Cousins had heard enough after Smart had heard enough himself. A person with Cousins' personality traits isn't a person you just go after like that. You need more tact even if that seems like babying. Smarts been good up until now but Smart isn't dumb, per se, and he knows that his performance and this teams performance falls under the type that gets coaches fired half way through the season. He has to be wearing down by now. But you can't say he isn't partially to blame after wasting his one preseason.

What I saw was Cousins grousing as he came off the court at the end of the first quarter and then continuing a verbal exchange with the coach when he should have just shut up. Guess it's all about perspective.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Unfortunatly coach Dumb will put Outlaw in the starting lineup over T-Rob

 

[Npliam]

After the first quarter Smart was seen ranting and raving at Cousins pointing at him and such, I assume Cousins had heard enough after Smart had heard enough himself. A person with Cousins' personality traits isn't a person you just go after like that. You need more tact even if that seems like babying. Smarts been good up until now but Smart isn't dumb, per se, and he knows that his performance and this teams performance falls under the type that gets coaches fired half way through the season. He has to be wearing down by now. But you can't say he isn't partially to blame after wasting his one preseason.

It is not out of line to get on Cousins for doing something stupid. Like for example, not running the plays that are called or continually messing up on defensive rotations or taking stupid shots. If he knows he is doing something that he shouldn't be, that coach has told him not to do and he still does it then it is ok for the coach to jump on him for it. I think that is probably what happened in this case.

What is not ok is if the coach jumped on him for something that he didn't know was not ok. If he got yelled ot for taking a shot that he has been taking all season or he got yelled at for not making a pass that he hasn't made consistently. With the way Coach Smart speaks to the media and how inconsistent his approach is with them it wouldn't surprise if the players had no idea what was expected of them and what they were suppose to do when they were on the court.

In either case you shouldn't go ballistic on your coach during half time of a game. I am a generally calm person that doesn't lose my temper. My wife and I have been married for 13 years and have 4 children together and we have never had a fight where we yelled at each other. I have had dozens of employees and have only ever yelled at two of them. one when he was being unsafe and one when he was drawing and painting swastikas on all the work benches in my shop. When I got on the basketball court as a 22 year old I was fiery tempered and chippy. I wanted to win and would let things build up. I have never been in a fight off the basketball court but i have been in more than one on it. I understand being competitive and wanting to win. Maturity is a process and takes accepting the consequences of your actions. We will see if Demarcus has that ability or not.

 

[theclash4u5]

Cousins just switched agents...to the one who hates the Kings the most. Uh oh...

 

[Henkel]

you are comparing veteran KG to a young Cousins. May I remind you that KG was far from an angel or a finished product at the same time in their career.

May I also remind that KG had some great veterans he ws surrounded with. May I also remind you that KG also punched a team mate and had a few run ins with the coaches along the way!

Due to the sickening level of incompetence and lack of willingness to get it done, Cousins is left to figure it out himself! He hasn't had a real coach, he hasn't had a veteran mentor of any respect so how exactly is it all on him? He no doubt has to get over it but his outbursts as a result of a number of things. This is a case of treating the symptoms and not the cause!

Nothing will change unless the culture of the franchise changes, or Cousins ends up on a team that has real culture, a real coach and structure that all players need, especially the developing ones.


This reminds me of the witch hunt the fans on this board went on when it came to Rick Adelman without realising that it is not Adelman, it is the types of plays that we were assembling. People were calling for his head for having a team that allowed lay up drills, but not many stopped to realise that what different could you expect when you had an old Brad Miller and Shareef Abdur Rahim manning the paint?!

This is the same scenario here. Cousins is in the wrong but this is an effect of something else, it is as a result that you get when the organization sets him up to fail. Its a laughable state that the franchise is in and no one that matters gives a flying ****!

The organization hasn't done him any favors we can agree on that. I just think he, like anyone else, has to be held accountable for his actions.

We failed miserably at providing a young team with the veteran coaching and personal they needed to be competitive. No argument. I just think this suspension is a good first step compared to the alternative, which is to simply turn a blind eye or quickly sweep it away. That simply isn't a reasonable option. If this is going to work in the long run a capable and mature cast is unarguable needed, but for now he has to be accountable. That doesn't seem like anything approaching a witch hunt to me.

 

[Warhawk]

Cousins just switched agents...to the one who hates the Kings the most. Uh oh...

Please post a link when contributing new info like this. Your statement, on it's own, tells us nothing and does not contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.

Some info here about the agent change, the article has more info on Cousins as well:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...uspend-demarcus-cousins-indefinitely/1786651/

Cousins is expected to work with agent Dan Fegan now, a move that could spell trouble for the Kings going forward.

Fegan is one of the most powerful agents in the NBA, and his most recent high-profile situation is the very sort of scenario the Kings – and every other team, for that matter – would like to avoid. Fegan was instrumental in Dwight Howard's exodus from Orlando to the Lakers last summer, having presented the Magic with a list of teams (Brooklyn, Dallas, and the Lakers) to which Howard was willing to re-sign if traded. Fegan's last extensive dealings with the Kings were in 2009, and they were far from positive for either side.

While Fegan insisted then that another of his high-profile clients, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, was willing to play in Sacramento rather than return to Spain, general manager Geoff Petrie instead decided to draft Tyreke Evans out of Memphis with the fourth pick. Evans' play during his Rookie of the Year campaign sparked a short-lived turnaround for the long-failing franchise and eventually led to a three-year extension for Petrie, but Rubio – who was taken fifth by Minnesota and played in Spain for two years before debuting in 2011 -would later become one of the most exciting young point guards in the league.

Fegan was also the agent for former Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin when he was traded from Sacramento to Houston in Feb. 2010, a move that Fegan said at the time was a ripple effect of the Kings' decision to draft Evans. While his dealings with Petrie were known to be contentious at the time, Fegan is well acquainted with the Maloof family that owns the team and will certainly have a line of communication at the top as well.

 

[Larry89]

Cant be coincidence he switched agents just now..uh oh looks like we'll have a Dwight Howard situation?

 

[The_Jamal]

Propbably needed to happen, but its a huge risk. What you have to aim for is a reset since you a) have destroyed his trade value and b) have no chance at all at getting a talent in the same stratosphere in trade anyway.

Now:

1) this is going to need to last for a bit

2) get Webb on a plane pronto -- if you are the Maloofs it might even be worth springing for air fare. Coach of course. Heck, get Vlade on a plane if he still comes to the sttes. And Coachie, if he's still well enough to travel. Point is during this downtime you need to try to bring in a major voice, and a Kings voice to just talk to DeMarcus. Sidle up and have a chat about things. Can't be organizational. He's already heard those and they just suspended him. Needs to be a significant figure. More than one would be cool too.

3) Tyreke needs to come back from his terrible bruise of death and play well. He's no vocal leader, but he has to become the focal point Smart refuses to assign in order to give us stability and a sense of order and an alternate, sane, leader. When Cousins comes back he needs to come back to a team with some sense of identity without him.

4) we need a trade. Several of them. And not for kids. In fact the other way around. We need a trade for a significant steadying vet to put next to Reke as we try to establish order. And adding another vet or two -- and I mean real hoary I've won it all but now need a cane vets -- beyond the main one to establish order. I've suggested names of pros that might be available. Too quiet, too old...but the stability we need here. One of them needs to be a big man. This hasn't worked. So we need to create a safe and sane steady veteran environment with Reke hopefully playing at some level of starhood supported by steady people from steady systems. Then you return Cousins to the mix where his antics would stand out like a sore thumb and he'll have soem sort of team culture/identity to try to conform too.

5) obviously we need to have the standard sitdown with Boogie, the "coach", the agent etc.

6) if this lasts for any time, like until after the holidays to give the team time to stablize without him, some delegation of any veteran teammates who can actually stand him needs to show up at his doorstep, play ping pong wiht him or something while talking about needing him back, but all the nonsense has to end. somebody needs ot take the lead on being frend/mentor/person to catch Cuz's eye when he starts to lose it and bring him down.


-- TRob will have his chance to prove he's not a bust. Now or never kid.

Agree with everything you said. Although, I don't understand why you're so willing and quick to label Trob a bust. If we haven't seen any improvement next season from Trob at this time, then sure, we can start talking about it. But he's still only 24 games into his rookie year on this "team" we have.

 

[rainmaker]

Cuz obviously needs help. But what is one aspect of this organization we've repeatedly talked about since drafting Reke? Our FO's inability to surround our youngsters with at least solid NBA coaches and respected vet players.

It would be a huge mistake to give up on this kid without seeing how he'd respond to a respected NBA coach. It'd be a huge mistake to give up on this kid before seeing how he'd respond to steadying vet teammates, beyond the 10th or 12th man level of Chuck and Cisco. Everyone putting all this at the feet of Cuz is ignoring the bigger picture here, the increasingly worrying problems with this organization and the incompetence on display when it comes to committing to a rebuild and stacking young players on this roster. When committing to a rebuild and building through the draft you must get a respected disciplinarian head coach to lead the ship. You must have respected vet players in the locker room to teach these kids not only about the league and being a pro, but about life.

Giving up on Cuz without those in place is the equivalent of giving up on a kid who came from a broken home with no one to teach him how to succeed in life. You have to see how he responds when given the proper tools to succeed, not before. If Cuz fails after having a JVG type as a coach and steadying vets in the locker room, then you throw up your hands and say we did our best but it didn't work out. Doing it prior to that is a cop out. It's halfassing your part of the equation. Of course a fair amount of blame lies with Cuz. But a fair amount also lies with our organization who appears to have little knowledge on how to help him and other youngsters and put them in the best situation to succeed. It's common to hear players throughout the league talk about how important vets in the locker room were to thei growth early on. This is such a toxic atmosphere for a guy like Cuz.


And hiring smart to be his best friend was a mistake from the start and I've said that repeatedly. Cuz didn't need a coach to come in and try to be his best friend and enable him, and coach with little acumen/respect around the league. He needed a well respected coach to instill in him the right and wrong way to go about things, vet teammates to help. A father figure type with a better support system. Committing to a rebuld and drafting a guy like Cuz without taking that route is incredibly incompetent. Giving up on Cuz before putting a respected head coach in place and surrounding him with better teammates if it were to happen would probably be my last straw with this organization. Siding with Keith f'ing Smart instead of attempting to make it work with a respected head coach is simply asinine.

And I'm glad Reke has Tellem as an agent and Cuz now has Fegan. Those are the two most respected people who could walk through the doors of our facility at the moment. They can rock the ship and wake Petrie the hell up. Everyone notice how every time Tellem is in town the use of Reke suddenly changes? Well, now hopefully Fegan rips Petrie a new one for his complete incompetence. It's amazing what league wide respect and power can do. And right now the only two people with league wide respect and power to enact change associated with our franchise happen to be the agents of our top two players.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Please post a link when contributing new info like this. Your statement, on it's own, tells us nothing and does not contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.

Some info here about the agent change, the article has more info on Cousins as well:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...uspend-demarcus-cousins-indefinitely/1786651/

boy this is getting interesting. at least we have some serious drama to keep our minds off the terrible basketball going on here

 

[ParniValjak]

Cuz obviously needs help. But what is one aspect of this organization we've repeatedly talked about since drafting Reke? Our FO's inability to surround our youngsters with at least solid NBA coaches and respected vet players.

It would be a huge mistake to give up on this kid without seeing how he'd respond to a respected NBA coach. It'd be a huge mistake to give up on this kid before seeing how he'd respond to steadying vet teammates, beyond the 10th or 12th man level of Chuck and Cisco. Everyone putting all this at the feet of Cuz is ignoring the bigger picture here, the increasingly worrying problems with this organization and the incompetence on display when it comes to committing to a rebuild and stacking young players on this roster. When committing to a rebuild and building through the draft you must get a respected disciplinarian head coach to lead the ship. You must have respected vet players in the locker room to teach these kids not only about the league and being a pro, but about life.

Giving up on Cuz without those in place is the equivalent of giving up on a kid who came from a broken home with no one to teach him how to succeed in life. You have to see how he responds when given the proper tools to succeed, not before. If Cuz fails after having a JVG type as a coach and steadying vets in the locker room, then you throw up your hands and say we did our best but it didn't work out. Doing it prior to that is a cop out. It's halfassing your part of the equation. Of course a fair amount of blame lies with Cuz. But a fair amount also lies with our organization who appears to have little knowledge on how to help him and other youngsters and put them in the best situation to succeed. It's common to hear players throughout the league talk about how important vets in the locker room were to thei growth early on. This is such a toxic atmosphere for a guy like Cuz.


And hiring smart to be his best friend was a mistake from the start and I've said that repeatedly. Cuz didn't need a coach to come in and try to be his best friend and enable him, and coach with little acumen/respect around the league. He needed a well respected coach to instill in him the right and wrong way to go about things, vet teammates to help. A father figure type with a better support system. Committing to a rebuld and drafting a guy like Cuz without taking that route is incredibly incompetent. Giving up on Cuz before putting a respected head coach in place and surrounding him with better teammates if it were to happen would probably be my last straw with this organization. Siding with Keith f'ing Smart instead of attempting to make it work with a respected head coach is simply asinine.

And I'm glad Reke has Tellem as an agent and Cuz now has Fegan. Those are the two most respected people who could walk through the doors of our facility at the moment. They can rock the ship and wake Petrie the hell up. Everyone notice how every time Tellem is in town the use of Reke suddenly changes? Well, now hopefully Fegan rips Petrie a new one for his complete incompetence. It's amazing what league wide respect and power can do. And right now the only two people with league wide respect and power to enact change associated with our franchise happen to be the agents of our top two players.

Could not have said it better myself!

Its a stupid move after a stupid move by the Kings. They are setting these guys up to fail and they should realise what it takes to win in this league, they have done it before. I can't see this thing ending well to be honest. Unless the NBA takes over here, I could see both Tyreke and DeMarcus on other teams as early as next season and Kings smashing the records for lowest number if wins in the season

 

[Spike]

Cuz obviously needs help. But what is one aspect of this organization we've repeatedly talked about since drafting Reke? Our FO's inability to surround our youngsters with at least solid NBA coaches and respected vet players.

It would be a huge mistake to give up on this kid without seeing how he'd respond to a respected NBA coach. It'd be a huge mistake to give up on this kid before seeing how he'd respond to steadying vet teammates, beyond the 10th or 12th man level of Chuck and Cisco. Everyone putting all this at the feet of Cuz is ignoring the bigger picture here, the increasingly worrying problems with this organization and the incompetence on display when it comes to committing to a rebuild and stacking young players on this roster. When committing to a rebuild and building through the draft you must get a respected disciplinarian head coach to lead the ship. You must have respected vet players in the locker room to teach these kids not only about the league and being a pro, but about life.

Giving up on Cuz without those in place is the equivalent of giving up on a kid who came from a broken home with no one to teach him how to succeed in life. You have to see how he responds when given the proper tools to succeed, not before. If Cuz fails after having a JVG type as a coach and steadying vets in the locker room, then you throw up your hands and say we did our best but it didn't work out. Doing it prior to that is a cop out. It's halfassing your part of the equation. Of course a fair amount of blame lies with Cuz. But a fair amount also lies with our organization who appears to have little knowledge on how to help him and other youngsters and put them in the best situation to succeed. It's common to hear players throughout the league talk about how important vets in the locker room were to thei growth early on. This is such a toxic atmosphere for a guy like Cuz.


And hiring smart to be his best friend was a mistake from the start and I've said that repeatedly. Cuz didn't need a coach to come in and try to be his best friend and enable him, and coach with little acumen/respect around the league. He needed a well respected coach to instill in him the right and wrong way to go about things, vet teammates to help. A father figure type with a better support system. Committing to a rebuld and drafting a guy like Cuz without taking that route is incredibly incompetent. Giving up on Cuz before putting a respected head coach in place and surrounding him with better teammates if it were to happen would probably be my last straw with this organization. Siding with Keith f'ing Smart instead of attempting to make it work with a respected head coach is simply asinine.

And I'm glad Reke has Tellem as an agent and Cuz now has Fegan. Those are the two most respected people who could walk through the doors of our facility at the moment. They can rock the ship and wake Petrie the hell up. Everyone notice how every time Tellem is in town the use of Reke suddenly changes? Well, now hopefully Fegan rips Petrie a new one for his complete incompetence. It's amazing what league wide respect and power can do. And right now the only two people with league wide respect and power to enact change associated with our franchise happen to be the agents of our top two players.

Amen.

 

[ppine]

The Kings play harder without Cousins. I have been talking about this for awhile now but no one believes it. Psycho is as psycho does.

 

[mac]

Many here have given youth as an excuse/mitigating factor for Cousins' behavior. Many have given personal examples as well. I'd like to share my thoughts. Strictly speaking, I think the whole youth excuse is very much a cultural/societal norm sort of thing. Males in my country have to serve 2 years of military or national service at the age of 19-21 - you can imagine what sort of punishment a soldier would get for the kind of behavior that Cousins so often displays. In that regard I don't buy the youth/immaturity excuse - he's above 21, he's a man and would be trialed as an adult in court. However, I can understand his frustration with Keith Smart and am frankly surprised that he/ the other players hadn't yelled at or "confronted" Smart earlier. None of us know what exactly when on, other than reports of Cousins hurling profanity-laced insults at Smart. In other words, I can understand where Cousins is coming from in some of these "bad behavior" instances, but I do not agree that his youth or immaturity should cause us to overlook these instances. What him being young does mean is that there is still time for him to change and become the player that we need and want.

That said, I would still keep Cousins purely based on the basketball aspect of things. This is the Kings we're talking about - we better try as hard as we can to hold on to any hope of star level talent that we may have. I sincerely hope that both Reke and Cuz's agents have a talk with Petrie about the state of the coach and roster of the Kings.

 

[mac]

The Kings play harder without Cousins. I have been talking about this for awhile now but no one believes it. Psycho is as psycho does.

The Heat players play harder without Lebron and Wade. I mean like duh right, you naturally have to play harder when your best players are out in order to still have a shot at winning games.

 

[Fear the Putin]

Cousins fired his agent and hired Dan Fegan. I'd like to think otherwise, but that can spell the end of his tenure in Sacramento.

 

[Warhawk]

Cousins fired his agent and hired Dan Fegan. I'd like to think otherwise, but that can spell the end of his tenure in Sacramento.

I'd like to say I'm surprised if this happens, but given the owners and coaches we have had, to you blame him if that is the result?

 

[Spike]

I'd like to say I'm surprised if this happens, but given the owners and coaches we have had, to you blame him if that is the result?

I don't know about you, but I'm hoping for a Festivus miracle.

 

[Double-K]

I'd like to say I'm surprised if this happens, but given the owners and coaches we have had, to you blame him if that is the result?

This totally just changed it from youngster needs some discipline to egoistic pro-basketball player trying to dance out of the small city team. I've became so cynical after all the Lebron/Dwight drama in the NBA that, if it happens again to Cousins I'm done with the league...

 

[pshn80]

Unfortunatly coach Dumb will put Outlaw in the starting lineup over T-Rob

Please, show a little more respect. Remember you and I Aare sitting in the $2 seats.