Kings play by play announcer Grant Napear rips DeMarcus Cousins

[VF21]

This!

What?

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Grant Napear's regular behavior towards others (callers on his show) is 100x worse than anything Cousins has done. Cousins has so much higher character than Napear.

I said nearly the exact same thing to my brother in law last night. He agreed. That was kinda my underlying point when I responded to the Ailene Poison nonsense ---- these guys are throwing stones from glass houses. They have zero moral ground to stand upon.

By far the most insane comment I've heard thus far was Naperville volunteering to pick up Blake Griffin from the airport just AFTER the incident when he struck a team employee and fractured his hand. If that doesn't prove a personal agenda, I'm not sure what will.

 

[Glenn]

There are two Grants. The one who is part of the broadcast team and thus may be privy to certain information is in no way the one who shoots his mouth off every afternoon in an attempt to be Jim Rome lite. THAT'S the one I absolutely detest. He's a fraud and he takes advantage of his unique role to garner more attention. He should not IMHO be allowed to collect a paycheck from the Kings AND play the pseudo-pundit on all things Kings at the same time.

In the past, he accused Bobby Jackson of faking an injury. To my knowledge, he never retracted those comments or apologized to Bobby. Napear hides behind his talk show host status as if it's some cloak of immunity that allows him to spout whatever rhetoric he likes without being held responsible for it. It's heinous. It's no different than some of the bullpoopoo Ailene Voisin gets away with.

Sacramento Kings fans deserve better.

And yes, I detest Grant Napear. I believe his radio persona is a good example of what's wrong with sports media today.

Or all media. It's about ratings and not truth.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Grant is what he is, a grouchy old man who loves the game but can't understand a player not behaving how HE things the player ought to behave. He thinks that running your mouth without thinking about what you may be doing to the team or the game you are in is bad behavior. Too bad he does not take his own advice, it is also too bad he does not think about what is best for DMC's career. There is plenty of room for constructive criticism aimed at helping a young talent avoid the pitfalls that far too many in sports have fallen in to. I do NOT think that this is where Grant is coming from and that is too bad. Personally I would prefer concern for what is best for De Marcus because THAT is in the end what is best for the team.

 

[Chubbs]

Just to clear things up, being a Boogie homer doesn't mean I condone his constant barking at officials or screaming at the coach like he did. Or not getting back on defense.

I just don't see it a fatal human flaw that will make it so no team he is on will ever succeed. It's a ludicrous conclusion.

ultimately what Grant is doing is making things worse. How does the voice of the kings going on the radio and saying the team can never win with Demarcus cousins help anyone?

 

[John Galt]

Agreed. People want to believe what they want to believe. Facts are facts. That list above is fairly crappy. Bring in the correct head coach and this team is flirting with .500 Have no clue on how to coach and deliver on the defensive side and its a dumpster fire giving up 109 a game. Facts.

people believing what they want to believe - yes that is true and is a knife that cuts both ways. Boogie supporters and detractors alike.

i don't want to join either camp - I was just saying what I see with my own eyes. it is not mathematical it is subjective - but it is not just me who sees it. Plenty of people see the same thing. And this is a guy who throws a hissy and tries to make it the ref's fault whenever somebody strips the ball from him down low - or if they pack the paint on him and he doesn't score on his take - or if he reaches in and gets called for a wrist slap foul. And further, a guy who takes plays off to sulk and gripe ... a lot.

So some people see what they want to see and it is just "a guy who wants to win so bad". And other people see a guy who would win a hell of a lot more if he developed a modicum of professionalism - and learned to "go on to the next play". And maybe if he dropped those defects of character, he WOULD be the kind of guy who could put this roster on his back and get us 41 wins just on his EPICNESS. But he can't do it. He is not emotionally tough enough to do it.

I don't demand to trade him and I don't even vote to trade him... I would rather not trade him. But if a consortium of executives and owners decide to trade him, I will not knee jerk that they have made a tragic mistake. Boogie HAS been here a number of years without a winning season to show for it. And that is a fact is a fact is a fact is a fact is a fact.

 

[ockingsfan]

Again, why do the Kings continue to employ this joker!!!

I have never seen a team's play by play announcer spew so much venom towards the team that employs him before.

It's one thing to have the radio station employ him for his talk show, but the Kings really need to fire him as their play by play announcer!!!

 

[Glenn]

Again, why do the Kings continue to employ this joker!!!

I have never seen a team's play by play announcer spew so much venom towards the team that employs him before.

It's one thing to have the radio station employ him for his talk show, but the Kings really need to fire him as their play by play announcer!!!

But then we would be stuck with Doug Christie. Oh, wait ..................................

 

[swisshh]

Apparently Grant thinks Cousins is this guy:

In seriousness, it's not surprising that a lifelong Yes Man has issues with Demarcus. I have my problems with Cuz, but they aren't a lack of respect for authority. I also don't believe the team has underachieved with DMC. Every young talent that has rolled through here in the losing years, with Cousins or before Cousins, has underachieved. It's hilarious he listed off guys like Thomas Robinson and Jimmer Fredette as examples of players who don't do what Cuz does, a pair of absolute draft busts, then speaks about the team underachieving with Demarcus. Maybe you shouldn't talk about underachieving for a guy you thought would likely get fat and be out of the league in three years.

The truth is that Boogie and Isaiah are the only two players who have strolled through Sacto and achieved anything. Casspi developed later on, but the rest are the same players they were their rookie year. Oh, and IT and Omri like Cuz. *shrug*



So, in the end, this is the rant of a cowardly man who has not actually respected authority but rather cowered to authority. Doing so in such degrees that he has betrayed his own customers and fan base to appease his bosses by repeating lies to his audience that those very bosses fed to him. A low-life sort of act that, because of his twisted mindset, he thinks he can easily shed by repeating idioms to an aging, creepingly racist fan base.

 

[ovrush]

Fire Grant. Tenure doesn't make someone beloved to a city. He's done this about 8 too many times. If 1140 wants to keep him on fine. Trying to be a radio personality and the face for an organization doesn't work. I'd say it's time for him to choose, but I'd rather hear someone good on the telecast so let's not bother with giving him the choice.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Just to clear things up, being a Boogie homer doesn't mean I condone his constant barking at officials or screaming at the coach like he did. Or not getting back on defense.

I just don't see it a fatal human flaw that will make it so no team he is on will ever succeed. It's a ludicrous conclusion.

Agreed. To me, every player that simply just isn't very good has many more flaws that lead to losing. For example, Ben McLemore seems like a nice enough lad. He doesn't complain much, shows up to practice on time, is a freak athlete, and listens to his coach. But does he help the team win because of it?

People need to keep perspective.

If we allow DeMarcus to leave, we'll be back in the position of "hoping" the ping pong balls fall just right (which they never do) to allow us to draft the next problem child franchise player. When you get down to it, 9 out of 10 of these star players bring baggage with them an are divas. The Tim Duncan's and Steph Curry's of the world are the exception, not the rule. Even then, Duncan has whined and cried at the officials as much as anyone.

 

[kingsboi]

In other news, Napier hates Cousins. The front office has seen this happen time and time again, so they obviously allow Grant to go on his rants about their franchise player without any consequence. He will continue to do so until 15 is gone or Napier gets the boot, which is unlikely. That being said, the only thing I can agree with here from his rant is that Cousins indeed is his own worst enemy. Hell, we all know that after watching him so long. That's what will separate him from being good to great, its all on him to approach the game a bit differently.

 

[LakersStink]

I love Cousins attitude on the court. Aside from his complaining to the refs a bit too much, some of the other Kings players need to be yelled at. How many bonehead mistakes have the rest of the Kings committed this season? Casspi with his errant passes, Collison with his bonehead game costing mistakes, Gay with his nonchalant play 50% of the time, McLemore lol (I don't even know what to say about McLemore anymore, he's just...here), Koufas letting undersized SG's & PG's layup on him, Bellonelli missing wide open shot after wide open shot...I can go on and on. This team is a clusterf**k, that much is clear. Cousins makes them accountable, bottom line. He's more of a coach then Karl. I'd do the same thing that Cousins does on the court. When you're averaging over 30 points per game and damn near a triple double, it becomes quite clear that you aren't the problem, the supporting cast is.

 

[QoooooQ]

He should not IMHO be allowed to collect a paycheck from the Kings AND play the pseudo-pundit on all things Kings at the same time.

This is the heart of the matter. I'm actually surprised to hear that he is a Kings employee (I didn't know anything about it since I live in Europe), I always assumed he was employed by your local television network. It seems absurd to me that such a visible part of the Kings' organization has his own radio show (is he employed by the radio channel as well?) where he actively undermines the team with vindictive accusations and gossip. That makes no sense whatsoever. Everyone's allowed to voice their opinion, but at the same time shouldn't his contract with the Kings limit his freedom of speech concerning Kings players as long as he's an employee?

 

[Elektrik]

There are two Grants. The one who is part of the broadcast team and thus may be privy to certain information is in no way the one who shoots his mouth off every afternoon in an attempt to be Jim Rome lite. THAT'S the one I absolutely detest. He's a fraud and he takes advantage of his unique role to garner more attention. He should not IMHO be allowed to collect a paycheck from the Kings AND play the pseudo-pundit on all things Kings at the same time.

In the past, he accused Bobby Jackson of faking an injury. To my knowledge, he never retracted those comments or apologized to Bobby. Napear hides behind his talk show host status as if it's some cloak of immunity that allows him to spout whatever rhetoric he likes without being held responsible for it. It's heinous. It's no different than some of the bullpoopoo Ailene Voisin gets away with.

Sacramento Kings fans deserve better.

And yes, I detest Grant Napear. I believe his radio persona is a good example of what's wrong with sports media today.

Not to argue or go on a Grant love fest but he did in fact apologize to Bobby. Bobby called him out on that on the air about it and Grant did a real about face after Bobby made it clear that he had a real injury and that it is not okay to call any player out for faking an injury when they are not. He said he was wrong on the air and to his credit Bobby accepted his apology and they now have a very good relationship. I can't point to any link about this but I heard it with my own ears and I have heard Grant refer to his incorrect comments about Bobby several times on his show and that he did apologize to Bobby.

 

[VF21]

This is the heart of the matter. I'm actually surprised to hear that he is a Kings employee (I didn't know anything about it since I live in Europe), I always assumed he was employed by your local television network. It seems absurd to me that such a visible part of the Kings' organization has his own radio show (is he employed by the radio channel as well?) where he actively undermines the team with vindictive accusations and gossip. That makes no sense whatsoever. Everyone's allowed to voice their opinion, but at the same time shouldn't his contract with the Kings limit his freedom of speech concerning Kings players as long as he's an employee?

Grant is employed by the Kings and also by CBS (which owns the radio station KHTK). Two separate employers, two separate contracts.

 

[VF21]

Not to argue or go on a Grant love fest but he did in fact apologize to Bobby. Bobby called him out on that on the air about it and Grant did a real about face after Bobby made it clear that he had a real injury and that it is not okay to call any player out for faking an injury when they are not. He said he was wrong on the air and to his credit Bobby accepted his apology and they now have a very good relationship. I can't point to any link about this but I heard it with my own ears and I have heard Grant refer to his incorrect comments about Bobby several times on his show and that he did apologize to Bobby.

I am glad to hear that. Thank you for the clarification.

 

[bloom]

I haven’t posted in a while but I feel like this is the perfect time….
Sorry if this is going to reflect the whole Team and not just Grant’s rant about Demarcus.

1st. Demarcus has grown a lot since his rookie year. But how can we expect him to really grow if there’s no real guy to lead? His coaches have been rotational and replaceable. The only guy that started to improve, build this Team & create a bond and trust with Demarcus was Coach Malone. And I’m not saying Mike was the answer. He was great at what we really needed and I felt like they did him/the Team growth a disservice.

I was totally wrong with bringing in George Karl. I thought we were going to get the guy who knew how to utilize all of his players. I thought he would be better at keeping solid rotations but we’ve got a guy who’s lost his fire and has been more interested in trading Demarcus than using him and creating a Team that can play.

I actually love that Vlade is here and I believe that he’s a great person to have and really build a quality Organization. We just need to replace a few people and you start the thing that we should have had & built since we got a new Ownership.

2. Grant is partially correct. I can see how getting ejected, yelling at the coach & getting beyond upset (leading to dumb fouls in momentum swinging moments) - Yes, this affects the whole Team. And I’m a huge Demarcus fan but his actions do affect the other guys. And I don’t want him to lose his passion but you can see when those things affect the team. And he does need to understand those type of situations in a game.

3. George Karl does need to fight for his players. Especially Demarcus. Something that I liked about Coach Malone, the guy defended his players. I don’t think George has done that once for any of the guys.

3. Coach Karl needs to go. The guy is being paid a lot of money but he’s not helping the team - in fact it’s getting worse and at this point I don’t see the problem going away.

4. We need a real coach. Can we find a Rick Adelman somewhere? A Coach that teaches Team ball. Every player touched the ball, played together and ENJOYED playing together. We don’t need to play small ball and we don’t need to play one-on-one. We need a coach that can use all of his guys and play together, united and inside out - outside in.

5. Some of the players need to be traded. What we lack is guys that mesh, guys that blend and some guys who basically tune out when they’re not interested. Our guys don’t go together. You want them to look like they belong together. And I hope during this offseason we can trade and alter our Team to look like a Team. And hopefully we don’t lose Demarcus.

6. If Grant has such a big issue with Demarcus, why not invite him to his show and actually have a conversation. Why not get Demarcus’ perspective and his view on things and have a discussion.

 

[VF21]

6. If Grant has such a big issue with Demarcus, why not invite him to his show and actually have a conversation. Why not get Demarcus’ perspective and his view on things and have a discussion.

In order for that to come about, there would have to be at least a modicum of trust on the part of DMC. I cannot see it happening. In fact, if I were Andrew Rogers, I would be adamantly and loudly against it. You cannot trust what Napear might do on the air.

 

[bloom]

In order for that to come about, there would have to be at least a modicum of trust on the part of DMC. I cannot see it happening. In fact, if I were Andrew Rogers, I would be adamantly and loudly against it. You cannot trust what Napear might do on the air.

I agree with you. I never said it was going to happen. This is what I believe should have happened. We never really get Demarcus' perspective. We get Grant moaning and whining that this keeps happening. We have our own journalists saying things that they could easily ask the player if they can do a sit down. Ask some intelligent questions. Questions without any agenda and get his perspective.

 

[gilly420]

In order for that to come about, there would have to be at least a modicum of trust on the part of DMC. I cannot see it happening. In fact, if I were Andrew Rogers, I would be adamantly and loudly against it. You cannot trust what Napear might do on the air.

Grant would be doing a disservice to all of us if he didn't ask serious questions about Cuz's dimeaner, anger, temper, and lack of leadership. I for one would love to hear Demarcus's side of his behavior.

 

[funkykingston]

Right or wrong, Cousins holds grudges.

He still refuses to speak to Barkley after Chuck had some unkind words about Boogie's play in a HS game.

So I'm guessing he's taken umbrage with several things Grant has said over the years.

Grant travels with the team and is around them a LOT. And Cousins seems like he can be very unpleasant to be around if he chooses to be.

Thus, I'd imagine that he and Cousins have a terrible relationship at this point and that colors Grant's view.

 

[VF21]

Right or wrong, Cousins holds grudges.

He still refuses to speak to Barkley after Chuck had some unkind words about Boogie's play in a HS game.

So I'm guessing he's taken umbrage with several things Grant has said over the years.

Grant travels with the team and is around them a LOT. And Cousins seems like he can be very unpleasant to be around if he chooses to be.

Thus, I'd imagine that he and Cousins have a terrible relationship at this point and that colors Grant's view.

You'd think, however, that at least one of them could be the grown-up.

 

[King Baller]

I still listen to Grant's radio show now and then. Fortunately for me my radio has knobs to turn it off or change to something else when he starts to annoy me, which is pretty often these days I do not blame Boogie for giving Grant the cold shoulder. You reap what you sow in this world. As far as his gig on the broadcast team I have always liked the broadcasts with Grant and Jerry but I suspect their days are numbered as announcers in Sacto.

I am still amazed that so many give Blake Griffin a pass for beating the H%$# out of his friend (He broke his hand on his skull). Meanwhile Boogie is a bad guy for yelling out his opinion??? Kobe was charged with rape, yet is being lauded for a wonderful career. Barkley threw a man through a plate glass window but is the darling of TNT Basketball. CWebb had plenty of off the court issues but oh that smile

Hey we all know Boogie is a emotional guy on the basketball court. He definitely could stand to learn to calm down and channel his emotions into his game. The Kings need to find a Head Coach who can handle the best Big Man currently in the game. Obviously Karl cannot.

 

[hrdboild]

I still listen to Grant's radio show now and then. Fortunately for me my radio has knobs to turn it off or change to something else when he starts to annoy me, which is pretty often these days I do not blame Boogie for giving Grant the cold shoulder. You reap what you sow in this world. As far as his gig on the broadcast team I have always liked the broadcasts with Grant and Jerry but I suspect their days are numbered as announcers in Sacto.

I am still amazed that so many give Blake Griffin a pass for beating the H%$# out of his friend (He broke his hand on his skull). Meanwhile Boogie is a bad guy for yelling out his opinion??? Kobe was charged with rape, yet is being lauded for a wonderful career. Barkley threw a man through a plate glass window but is the darling of TNT Basketball. CWebb had plenty of off the court issues but oh that smile

Hey we all know Boogie is a emotional guy on the basketball court. He definitely could stand to learn to calm down and channel his emotions into his game. The Kings need to find a Head Coach who can handle the best Big Man currently in the game. Obviously Karl cannot.

This is a great point. The double standard alone is bad enough, but the complete lack of awareness is where it reaches eye-roll territory for me. To drone on and on about what a bad teammate DeMarcus is and then two seconds later talk about Kobe Bryant's "legacy" without any intended irony is insulting to the audience. I tried to make this point about Rondo earlier this season as well though it didn't seem to go over well. We're getting force-fed storylines that fit an idealized view of what the league is. So when Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, or Draymond Green whine about foul calls it's evidence of their competitiveness and drive to win. When James Harden goes tumbling to the court at every whiff of contact it's a clever veteran executing his "gift" for drawing contact to get to the line. Yet DeMarcus is a problem because he's looking for calls that other players get routinely? Have you seen the last 5 fouls Stephen Curry drew? Me neither, but based on past evidence I bet the contact was incidental at best.

So I don't have a problem with DeMarcus' candid reaction to the double-standard in how the game is called. It doesn't bother me that he's calling out the coach for failing to do his job. But I do think he's been around the block long enough to know that complaining about it isn't going to change anything. The all-time great players figured out a way to channel their frustration and direct it back at the other team in a productive way. I'm hoping DeMarcus figures that out at some point, though it's probably going to require a strong coaching personality to get him there.

 

[Jeremy Fraser]

You EARN Cuz's respect

Uhhh no. An NBA coach of 30 years who has consistent (regular season at least) success doesn't need to earn the respect of a 5 year NBA player who has yet to lead his team to even mediocrity. And whatever coach we hire next year will not have one care in the world about earning the respect of a player who hasn't led this team even close to 500.

Don't get it twisted. Cousins isn't LeBron.

 

[VF21]

Uhhh no. An NBA coach of 30 years who has consistent (regular season at least) success doesn't need to earn the respect of a 5 year NBA player who has yet to lead his team to even mediocrity. And whatever coach we hire next year will not have one care in the world about earning the respect of a player who hasn't led this team even close to 500.

Don't get it twisted. Cousins isn't LeBron.

No, Cousins isn't LeBron ... and George Karl isn't Greg Popovich.

Karl started all this with his Twitter comments and public pronouncements about his willingness to trade Boogie before he even got unpacked here in Sacramento.

You're late to the argument and you're regurgitating stuff that's been brought up time and time again. George Karl's resume does not indicate his ability to CURRENTLY perform at that level.

I said it elsewhere, but I'll repeat. I have an HP computer in a closet somewhere that utilizied the Windows 95 OS. It was state of the art at the time and it functioned quite admirably. Why is it in the closet? Because time and technology march on. The same is true with George Karl.

 

[Chubbs]

Uhhh no. An NBA coach of 30 years who has consistent (regular season at least) success doesn't need to earn the respect of a 5 year NBA player who has yet to lead his team to even mediocrity. And whatever coach we hire next year will not have one care in the world about earning the respect of a player who hasn't led this team even close to 500.

Don't get it twisted. Cousins isn't LeBron.

Were you around for Bill Russell and his 11 championships? 3 as coach?

Didn't mean jack crap when he was here. Neither does Karl's previous 30 years.

 

[Glenn]

Were you around for Bill Russell and his 11 championships? 3 as coach?

Didn't mean jack poopoo when he was here. Neither does Karl's previous 30 years.

Word has it that at practices, Russell would sit up in the stands and watch the assistants run the practice. This is probably not unlike now except Russ was being lazy and Karl is physically limited.

 

[BonziFan]

One question I have for Fans who say this. Do you also think this way about all the other NBA Star Players who complain to the Refs all the time? LBJ, CP3, Harden, heck Draymond Green complains more to the refs than Boogie.

Yes I do. I hate it no matter who does it