cousins fined and benched for giving the choke sign

[Section 101]

I think Westfail just wanted an excuse to change the starting line up again. He doesn't like consistancy.

And Georges, Wright and Elies DUI's were more damaging to the image of the team than this.

 

[bajaden]

Peraps we should send Grant to the D-league for juvenile reporting if he was actually suggesting that.

Giving the choke sign was inappropriate for a proven nothign kid on a 5-21 team. It was also just stupid given that it could have given the opposing team a technical FT and lost the game for us. BVut ridiuclously immature? Juvenile? You know what my memories, as old not-so-immature guy anymore are of the choke sign? Its of Larry Bird standing behind Domique Wilkens grabbing his throat and mocking him for misses FTs. It of Reggie Miller doing the same. Charles Barkley. Are they all ridiculously immature players that needed to go to the D-League? The difference was they were greats, had proven it, would hit those clutch shots and knew they were superior to thoe who wouldn't and were not remotely above putting their gentials in somebody's face over it. Cousins has proven nothing, should not have been doing it. But making the choke signal is hardly some great sign of an immature malcontent. Cousins is in very good company on that one.

Thank you! I remember Bird doing that. I remember the Reggie Miller incident. Look, it was a dumb thing to do, and my advice to him, is that if your going to do it, then do it after the last tick of the clock. No one made a big deal about this until Westphal did. And thats fine. I don't have a problem with the fine or even making him come off the bench. At first I thought he was suspended, and thats what upset me. As I said before. There have been a lot of players in the NBA that have done similiar things. But its a new sensitive time we live in where we can't offend anyone. Personally I like the old live by the sword and die by the sword rule. So I would tell DeMarcus, remember, what goes around comes around. I seriously doubt he'll be doing it again any time soon.

 

[SacTownKid]

I agree with Grant: Send him to the D-League. Let him enjoy 10 hour bus rides to nowhere, sleeping in some two-bit motel. And if Cousins acts up after this, with coaches, with teamates, with opponents, with refs, that's where he's going - the D League.

The apologists of Cousins behavior on this board make me sick. You're acting as juvenile as Cousins. like adolescents blaming the authority figure for the ridiculously immature behaviror of their peer. It seems like everything is allowed if the guy has talent. Well, it doesn't. If he has no respect for anybody else why in hell should anybody show him respect?


PS And as I said before, Westphal isn't doing this because of this one incident. As Napier just said: "Trust me, it's only part of it." For everything we read, hear and see you easily multiply it factor of two.

And while they're at it, they should take that thing with holes in it on their face and just cut it off!! Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[PurpleHaze]

What Cousins did cannot be excused or just winked at. You can't compare superstars Barkley, Bird, Miller doing same thing (although every such choke sign incident is not exactly the same) with an unproven, unsteady, immature, man-child rookie by the name of Boogie Cousins. According to Napear this particular incident is just another in a string of incidents that are known (like being thrown out of practice for arguing with coaches) and some largely unknown, unreported incidents that all add up to a festering "PROBLEM."

 

[DeMoN]

This season just cannot get any worse, barring a career ending injury for Reke. Our supposed superstar has seriously regressed. The fears of our lottery pick our coming true. We have a 2009 Nets like record. Our coach may get fired. And not 1 of our youngsters are showing consistancy. And Sacramento may lose the Kings.

I'll just play the Kings on association mode on Nba 2k11 and pretend its the real thing.

 

[Mike0476]

I'll just play the Kings on association mode on Nba 2k11 and pretend its the real thing.

It's funny they mention ARCO Arena is located in Downtown Sacramento.

I restarted my season and lost Tyreke 1-2 weeks during game 1, lost Cisco 3-4 weeks during game 2, lost Landry 3-4 weeks during game 3 and lost Sammy 1-2 weeks during game 4.

It's a good thing I put myself in as the franchise PG on the team because I'm 3-1 and averaging 47 ppg. I scored 60 points with 9 rebounds, 6 steals and 0 assists in my ARCO debut.

 

[Kingster]

And while they're at it, they should take that thing with holes in it on their face and just cut it off!! Yeah, that's the ticket.

If the Kings coddle Cousins like so many would like, Cousins will end up on the ash heap of basketball - one of those "what if" kind of guys that have the talent, but are their own worst enemy, a guy who will never win because he doesn't have the internal discipline to do so. You should hope that they have the spine to do something about his antics. They're doing him a favor, and the team, and us by taking action. And it's a small action - having him come off the bench and limiting his minutes. (Big freaking deal). But if that doesn't work what are they going to do? "Escalate the consequences," according to Westphal. As they should. Otherwise, that 5th pick in the draft is going up in smoke. The child ends up running the nursery. If Cousins acts up again, on the court, or in practice, I'd like nothing better than for him and Whiteside to trade places.

 

[bajaden]

Good article on this here, which I agree with. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....-cousins-for-giving-“choke”-sign-during-game/

I can't find one thing I disagree with in that article, nor the article by Ziller. As both said, there's a lot more wrong with this team than Cousins gving the choke sign to someone. I'll ask again. Why didn't Westphal call a timeout at the end of the game? Please don't give me the lame excuse of the Warriors not having any timeouts left. Your coaching your own team, not the Warriors. Should the players have known to defend the 3 pt line? Sure! But with the way this team has played in the last few minutes of every game, are you really going to trust them to make the right decision?
The answer is no. Its a young team struggling to win, and its up to the coach to settle them down, get the right players on the floor, and give them the right instructions. He didn't do that. Period!

But now were shifting all the attention to a 20 year old rookie. Good move there!

 

[Sluggah]

The benching should be for such an extreme and blatant jinx. The karma gods' wrath came down hard.

 

[gunks]

WTF move here.

I feel that if Reke did something like this last year, when he was the Golden Boy/Savior, nothing would have happened.

We're gonna chase Cuz out of town, watch him end up on the Lakers after Pau retires....

...Ok that last bit was melodramatic. But still.

 

[FaStRmAn]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before, but is it just possible that Cousins was saying that the KINGS were choking again???

 

[SacTownKid]

If the Kings coddle Cousins like so many would like, Cousins will end up on the ash heap of basketball - one of those "what if" kind of guys that have the talent, but are their own worst enemy, a guy who will never win because he doesn't have the internal discipline to do so. You should hope that they have the spine to do something about his antics. They're doing him a favor, and the team, and us by taking action. And it's a small action - having him come off the bench and limiting his minutes. (Big freaking deal). But if that doesn't work what are they going to do? "Escalate the consequences," according to Westphal. As they should. Otherwise, that 5th pick in the draft is going up in smoke. The child ends up running the nursery. If Cousins acts up again, on the court, or in practice, I'd like nothing better than for him and Whiteside to trade places.

Cousins' will to win has never been questioned. Even the question marks around him aren't based around that. In fact, most of them are considered a result of him wanting to win too badly. The actions by a coach you speak of are typically ones that splinter teams and cause coaches to get fired while also damaging the development of young players. Do some research, Westphal has somewhat of a sorted history with his star players. It's not about spine, it's about knowing personalities and how to handle them, especially young and immature ones and not waiting with baited breath to prove a point. Did it with Hawes last year while the double standards abounded. Cousins is kind of going to be the guy to take this franchise back to glory if anyone on this team is, you know? And don't be naive to think most of the big stars in this league weren't and still aren't "coddled" every second of their lives.

 

[itzcoatl]

Let's bench Paul Westphaul instead. Ugh. I am so sick of these starting lineup changes.

 

[IfAt1st]

If Westphal didn;t react strongly, Kings nation would have his head on a plate for coddling Cousins.

Amazing how they want his head on a plate for actually enforcing some discipline.

I'm a fan of DMC, and like to watch him play even when he's messing up - my leash for him and his development cycle is LONG.

But that choke move was sheer bush league bull****.
He had NO CALL embarrassing the organization like that. He didn't even do it right - he looked tawdry doing it, and not confident, and of course hadn't accomplished anything in the game to warrant it.
It was a elementary school move which is why it needs to be reacted to - the guy is starting to scare me with how juvenile he is, and I really didn't think much could make me feel his attitude was a problem.

 

[Section 101]

If the Kings coddle Cousins like so many would like, Cousins will end up on the ash heap of basketball - one of those "what if" kind of guys that have the talent, but are their own worst enemy, a guy who will never win because he doesn't have the internal discipline to do so. You should hope that they have the spine to do something about his antics. They're doing him a favor, and the team, and us by taking action. And it's a small action - having him come off the bench and limiting his minutes. (Big freaking deal). But if that doesn't work what are they going to do? "Escalate the consequences," according to Westphal. As they should. Otherwise, that 5th pick in the draft is going up in smoke. The child ends up running the nursery. If Cousins acts up again, on the court, or in practice, I'd like nothing better than for him and Whiteside to trade places.

Here's the thing. It never should have gotten to where it is. You lay down the rules for the team, not just Cuz. When they break them you give them the consequences. This stuff should have been taken care of before the season started. And now we have 2 sets of rules, one for Cuz and one for Evans. Evans plays like crap all year and hasnt been benched, but everyone other starter has been.

 

[gunks]

If Westphal didn;t react strongly, Kings nation would have his head on a plate for coddling Cousins.

Amazing how they want his head on a plate for actually enforcing some discipline.

I'm a fan of DMC, and like to watch him play even when he's messing up - my leash for him and his development cycle is LONG.

But that choke move was sheer bush league bull****.
He had NO CALL embarrassing the organization like that. He didn't even do it right - he looked tawdry doing it, and not confident, and of course hadn't accomplished anything in the game to warrant it.
It was a elementary school move which is why it needs to be reacted to - the guy is starting to scare me with how juvenile he is, and I really didn't think much could make me feel his attitude was a problem.

I partially agree.

Cuz's move was pretty boneheaded, and warranted some discipline. Its just that a benching AND a fine for something like that seems a bit much and reeks of scapegoatism (Westphool has scapegoated Cuz in the past).

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

A bit weak, would of made more sense to do that after Cousins was upset at Beno for not giving him the the ball and instead gave it to Landry who got fouled and when Beno tried to talk to him he pushes Beno away.

These things happen to broken teams.

I agree. I didn't see him push Beno away but if he did that bothers me FAR more than him making a choke sign.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I partially agree.

Cuz's move was pretty boneheaded, and warranted some discipline. Its just that a benching AND a fine for something like that seems a bit much and reeks of scapegoatism (Westphool has scapegoated Cuz in the past).

Not just Cuz. He scapegoated Hawes Last season. And it seems like Casspi and Greene are always paying for their mistakes harder than anyone else.

It is just crazy to me how easy Westphal is getting off for how this team has played. I know this is a Cousins thread, but the coaching staff has to be blamed for this terrible start more than any ONE player. Sure, guys have underperformed, but the coaching has been ... I cant even comprehend what we are trying to do out there sometimes. Its barely basketball.

I think Bajaden makes a really good point. Whether it is intentional or not, ALL of the attention is on Cousins now. Not some of Westphals terrible lineups in the fourth, not the terrible transition D, Not Cisco's shot, Not how bad Evans was last night .. nothing. Its all Cousins talk now. Nationally and locally. I wouldnt call this fair.

 

[gunks]

I agree. I didn't see him push Beno away but if he did that bothers me FAR more than him making a choke sign.

Yikes. I missed the game, so naturally I didnt see that push either, but that is some bad stuff right there.


SIGH....Hopefully we'll hit a homerun with this years worst record/4th draft pick.

 

[Asaf]

Some comic relief..:

http://kingstalkingpoints.blogspot.com/2010/12/demarcus-cousins-is-fined-but-its-not.html

 

[kingsboi]

I didn't see this coming but I can't really say that I'm surprised about this move. Now, I know a fine is in order, sure. The benching situation, we will have to see how Westphal handles it, he is either not going to play at all or get very limited minutes rather than his usual 25 something. While I do think his "choke hold" was unecessary, his emotions got the best of him once more. The problem with disciplining him is that there is nobody on this team that has the power to do that and make him "get it". I don't want to play the blame game here, I'm not blaming Westphal or Cousins. Whatever happened, happened and let's hope that he learns his lesson.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

s in the fourth, not the terrible transition D, Not Cisco's shot, Not how bad Evans was last night .. nothing. Its all Cousins talk now. Nationally and locally. I wouldnt call this fair.

And the worst part about it is that Westphal is fueling the fire. He could have disciplined Cousins privately. He should have known that benching him over making a choke sign would turn into a media storm of negativity.

 

[nbaFan]

i cant believe this happened to DMC, doesnt seem like him to do that

 

[gunks]

i cant believe this happened to DMC, doesnt seem like him to do that

You are a hater and I dont support your agenda.....But that sarcasm made me lol

 

[cstorm]

Does anyone think that this may have been ordered from above? It just seems like such a stupid thing for PW to do. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that middle school coaches do, not coaches of men.

 

[SacTownKid]

Does anyone think that this may have been ordered from above? It just seems like such a stupid thing for PW to do. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that middle school coaches do, not coaches of men.

The fine maybe, but if the fine was Westphal had to get his jabs in too, hence the benching.

 

[gunks]

Maybe they'll "chest bump it out" and everything will be A-O-K

 

[Boogie-havoc]

Oh man, coach is taking his stupidity to new heights... can't wait till he's fired - the celebration GIF marathon following it is gonna be AMAZING.

 

[JJ22L]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before, but is it just possible that Cousins was saying that the KINGS were choking again???

You know, when I first saw the picture, this was my immediate first reaction. Several cues lead me to this line of reasoning:

1.) Someone mentioned that he's not even "doing it right." There was no real spite in his face when he was "choking."
2.) The Kings have "choked" away a majority of the games this season. Maybe he was alluding to us doing it again?
3.) Why would a man, unless he is a complete bafoon, make fun of another team for choking when his own team had just given up a 20 point lead.

Now, I did not watch the game, I only read the reports and saw the picture posted in this thread. To me, I guess I need to view the action in context. Was he making the choking sign after a missed free throw or was it after one was made? I think there is a tremendous perspective change.

Does it matter? No. In fact, if he was making the motion toward his own team, I think that's even worse. But, whatever. I am bored and am trying to add a different perspective to the conversation.

 

[UK_King]

I think if he meant the gesture toward our own team he'd come out and say it. Doesn't seem like the kinda guy to hold back.