One AND ONLY Cousins trade rumors thread

[rhythmless]

As bad as the Maloofs were at the end, at least in the Golden Years they were just a bunch of rich D-bags cheering from the sidelines and let Petrie and Adelman do their jobs. Yikes this is nuts.

The Maloofs were normal rich guys. They let the team run. When everything else went south, they tried to get money out of the franchise (understandable). When they tried to move the team, it was only in order to extract more money (understandable). Loyal? To their family, not Sac. Logical. Yes.

 

[kingjatt]

Would not mind the likes of Scott Brooks, Elston Turner, Thibs, etc get a shot at the head job.

 

[sidney]

Bill Herenda ‏@billherenda 8m8 minutes ago
Vibe around #Kings,Vlade in complete control of all basketball personnel decisions & has complete trust of owner Vivek Ranadive #NBA

Perhaps only second to KJ, there is no one else that I would trust more to make lemonade out of this ####.

 

[Gilles]

Jason Jones ‏@mr_jasonjones
One source said "What's gonna happen when they get to training camp and Cousins doesn't want to do what Karl says?" #toxic

 

[Larry David]

If Ailene is right, the front office is circling the wagons, and it's going to be an all out Divac Vs. Fegan Grudge Match To The Death.

Unless the Kings are prepared to loose another 20% of what's left of their non-die hard fan base, the Kings aren't prepared or able to handle Dan Fegan airing the Kings dirty laundry for another 6-18 months. It will cost them money and DMC's trade value. And after he gets DMC traded, we'll never get another Fegen player.

 

[VF21]

How much do you want to bet this is all Fegan? Every single bit of it.

If Ailene is right, the front office is circling the wagons, and it's going to be an all out Divac Vs. Fegan Grudge Match To The Death.

The implications of all out war on Fegan are not pleasant. But if Fegan is orchestrating this media burn on our franchise to get Cousins traded to L.A., you have to have that war. You cannot let an agent trash your franchise like that.

It hasn't ALL been Fegan, but his stench is permeating throughout the whole thing. And as far as a war goes, there's only one way to win... And I strongly suspect that's the road Vlade will take. Fegan may be powerful and represent powerful players, but he's not the only agent out there...and he's been fired by players before.

 

[HndsmCelt]

My prediction... 10 min before draft time today GK and DMC broadcast a rousing rendition of "Me and My Buddy" on Vine, Facebook and Youtube.

 

[VF21]

Unless the Kings are prepared to loose another 20% of what's left of their non-die hard fan base, the Kings aren't prepared or able to handle Dan Fegan airing the Kings dirty laundry for another 6-18 months. It will cost them money and DMC's trade value. And after he gets DMC traded, we'll never get another Fegen player.

That's not gonna happen. There are 29 other teams watching this, knowing this is a power play by Fegan who has already made enemies of several owners. If Vlade doesn't buckle, Fegan has lost.

 

[sidney]

Bill Simmons ‏@BillSimmons 4m4 minutes ago
I want Vivek to own more things.

Have to admit. That is funny.

 

[jcwkings]

Fegan masterminded his first novel "Dwightmare". Now he is going for his magnum opus "Boogie's Odyssey".

 

[HndsmCelt]

The funny part (funny in a tragic, "why is it always us" Kings fan way) is that the ONE guy that gives me hope that this tire fire of a franchise will get somewhat straightened out is Vlade Divac, the rookie executive who none of us actually realized was going to be the man in charge when he was first hired.

Did you once live down wind from "Crows Landing"?

 

[Jerichoholic]

Unless the Kings are prepared to loose another 20% of what's left of their non-die hard fan base, the Kings aren't prepared or able to handle Dan Fegan airing the Kings dirty laundry for another 6-18 months. It will cost them money and DMC's trade value. And after he gets DMC traded, we'll never get another Fegen player.

If it is true that Fegan is behind this then some of the responsibility falls back on Cousins. I know Fegan is a powerful guy, but if Cousins truly doesn't want to leave and truly wants stability with the team he plays for then he needs to get control of his agent or fire him.

Completely different story if Cousins wants to leave though and Fegan is just trying to give him what he wants. Cousins talks about loyalty, he either is or isn't, but either way he has a move to make.

 

[SLAB]

Rudy Gay just posted on Instagram "Current Mood" and its a squinty eyed dog with the caption "Ya'll Trippin"

Made me laugh.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

AdrianWojnarowski@TheRealWoj: Kings announced that coach George Karl has been relieved of basketball duties, Mike D'antoni hired to six year, $50 million contract.

AdrianWojnarowski@TheRealWoj: Vivek Ranadive says, "We were frustrated with the lack of pace on the floor. Plus, I'm a billionaire, so, you know, this is saving me from building that dinosaur park."

Dammit, you got me for a second. I should have known.

 

[SacKings384]

Media reporters are just running wild now. They're just printing anything they can to generate a click. Gotta be frustrating as hell to Vlade.

 

[Gary]

If Karl leaves this year it's going to be reported as a mutual thing. Karl will take a job somewhere else and there will be some kind of buyout.

 

[randymoss1881]

If Karl leaves this year it's going to be reported as a mutual thing. Karl will take a job somewhere else and there will be some kind of buyout.

Nobody is hiring that clown he basically went on every social media begging for this job and Orlando's.

 

[Bricklayer]

How much do you want to bet this is all Fegan? Every single bit of it.

If Ailene is right, the front office is circling the wagons, and it's going to be an all out Divac Vs. Fegan Grudge Match To The Death.

The implications of all out war on Fegan are not pleasant. But if Fegan is orchestrating this media burn on our franchise to get Cousins traded to L.A., you have to have that war. You cannot let an agent trash your franchise like that.

Now it could be. That's Ailene's narrative, and I have to admit a professional admiration for the audaciousness if true.

Its possible Fegan may not even be seriously trying to get Boogie traded. But you seriously leak that Cuz and Karl have problems and send the Kings scrambling, then you leak that the Kings are trading Cousins to the Lakers, and the Kings are now wholly on the defensive and asking George WTF? Then you leak that Karl could be fired, a shot across George's bow and everybody int he Kings asking each other, you say that? you? And end result is you just posted a giant "don't **** with my client" sign on the front lawn. George is maybe a bit abashed. Everybody is walking on eggshells around Cuz, and since you have done it from the shadows while the franchise you've been using as a punching bag is licking its wounds, you go golfing having completely taken tempii away from Karl and made the Kings afraid of all future conflicts.

Problem with all that is Cuz has certainly seemed to have believed that Karl was out to get him. You either need him to have been badly mistaken, or you need him to have been blatantly dishonest himself in support of this campaign. The 2nd does not seem like him, and I would be disappointed if it were.

Other thing is, you would never launch such an all out assault on a franchise you had any respect for. This would be a power/alpha move of the highest order designed to establish completely who's the boss.

 

[SacTownKid]

Nobody is hiring that clown he basically went on every social media begging for this job and Orlando's.

Yeah, I think this Karls last chance kind of gig.

 

[rainmaker]

Broussard needs to get with the program. Vivek isn't saying a word. Decision would be Vlade's.

BSPN strikes again.

Jason Jones: Similar to what @Chris Broussard is reporting, sources have contacted me saying firing George Karl has been mentioned in league circles

 

[Liontech]

Random thoughts:

- Never could have predicted that I'd be so thankful for Vlade to be in the driver's seat right now. Because I am an eternal optimist, I think that the Vlade/Vivek partnership is going to be a really good one, and in no small part because of them working through this controversy together. I hope beyond hope that Vlade is able to level with Vivek and impress the value of a calculated, patient approach to building a winner.

- I had posted at the beginning of last season (not on this site) about how great it was to begin to see the return on the investment in player development that was evident in how much McLemore had progressed. I thought that it represented a healthy change of philosophy from Vivek. Similarly, Malone was clearly making strides and I was hopeful that the Kings were on the slow but steady path back to basketball relevance. Then Vivek, PDA, Mullin proved me wrong and demonstrated that they truly had *no* clue how to actually build a contender.

- Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I reject the premise that Kings fans needed a championship contender by Fall, 2016. What we need instead is the sense that there is a roadmap for this organization. The fact that up until this point there doesn't seem to have been one is unconscionable. Again, I come back to Vlade being in place as a beacon, though perhaps irrationally so given how unproven he is.

- Journalists involved in being social media mouthpieces for those with clear agendas are not journalists. Again, this is me being an unreasonable idealist, but should journalists be party to the obvious and transparent drive-by shooting of a franchise? Obviously, I'm not Vivek's biggest fan (see above), but to simply be an amplifier for PDA or Fegan or anyone in the Kings' front office is just sickening. We have seen the nuclear escalation metaphor unfold on social media.

- I'm a huge fan of DMC's basketball skills. He also is spoiled narcissist. I'm a huge fan of GK's coaching skills. He is also a spoiled narcissist. You can't build a winning organization around either.

 

[Bricklayer]

Jason Jones: Similar to what @Chris Broussard is reporting, sources have contacted me saying firing George Karl has been mentioned in league circles

league circles ain't Kings circles, and Kings circles would be the only ones that matter.

Let's be clear here though, I want Karl's head on the block before this is done. I am ambivalent on whether we drop the axe now, but the only way to balance the books and get control of that old egomaniac is for him to feel a threat. \He's a rogue element that you have to bring to heel.

 

[rainmaker]

league circles ain't Kings circles, and Kings circles would be the only ones that matter.

Let's be clear here though, I want Karl's head on the block before this is done. I am ambivalent on whether we drop the axe now, but the only way to balance the books and get control of that old egomaniac is for him to feel a threat. \He's a rogue element that you have to bring to heel.

Of course, but if we're to believe Vlade/Vivek are furious about the latest events, I'd be shocked if firing Karl hasn't been broached. That's crisis management 101, consider every and all options.

All it takes is an honest look at the question of, "can we get Karl/Cuz on the same page? If not..."?

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

It'd be hilarious if Vlade leaked some BS about Byron Scott not wanting to work with Cuz and then Boogie tweets "Snakes in the grass..."

 

[The Hammer]

Seeee this is why none of us will never be NBA GMs. Almost 99% of Kings fan petitioned for Karl. Look at the back fire. Maybe if the FO wasn't under all this pressure by the fans, the hire wouldn't have happened and we could've had Thibbs.

Yea, hopefully the FO will NEVER take in consideration of fan's opinions.

Even with that being said, I'm going to write a strong letter to Vlade about how we should pick Mario or WCS

I petitioned for Malone rehire.

 

[Livinthedream]

If it is true that Fegan is behind this then some of the responsibility falls back on Cousins. I know Fegan is a powerful guy, but if Cousins truly doesn't want to leave and truly wants stability with the team he plays for then he needs to get control of his agent or fire him.

Completely different story if Cousins wants to leave though and Fegan is just trying to give him what he wants. Cousins talks about loyalty, he either is or isn't, but either way he has a move to make.

Cousins doesn't want to play for Karl. Could be a way of trying to force Karl out the door.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

It is becoming obviously clear which reporters are being used by which parties. Like, uncomfortably clear.

Hey, this is like one of those logic puzzles, where you have to use a few clues to infer the rest. So I have:

• Woj being fed by Fegan, at least on the issue of Cousins being traded.
• Jones being fed by PDA....his last series of tweets said PDA was against Karl hire.
• Ailene being fed by...Karl? Not sure.
• Amick I personally trust. I've always trusted that guy.
• Carmichael I trust, although I know he knows people. I just don't think he has an agenda, personally.
• Broussard just makes stuff up based on what other people have already said.
• Marc Spiers, not sure. Maybe trust him?
• Bucher pulls information directly from his...nethers...and reports whatever he finds.
• ESPN makes up whatever will get the most clicks.

After that, I'm lost, because I'm trying to do too many things at once. Who else do you guys have?

 

[Bricklayer]

Hey, this is like one of those logic puzzles, where you have to use a few clues to infer the rest. So I have:

• Woj being fed by Fegan, at least on the issue of Cousins being traded.
• Jones being fed by PDA....his last series of tweets said PDA was against Karl hire.
• Ailene being fed by...Karl? Not sure.
• Amick I personally trust. I've always trusted that guy.
• Carmichael I trust, although I know he knows people. I just don't think he has an agenda, personally.
• Broussard just makes stuff up based on what other people have already said.
• Marc Spiers, not sure. Maybe trust him?
• Bucher pulls information directly from his...nethers...and reports whatever he finds.
• ESPN makes up whatever will get the most clicks.

After that, I'm lost, because I'm trying to do too many things at once. Who else do you guys have?

Ailene has the obvious direct pipeline to Vlade.

Jones information has been cleaner than PDA.

Woj has been working with PDA and Fegan. be an interesting first phonecall when he finally calls Vlade.

 

[VF21]

Jason Jones: Similar to what @Chris Broussard is reporting, sources have contacted me saying firing George Karl has been mentioned in league circles

"sources" ... "mentioned in LEAGUE circles" ... Jones doesn't say it's the Kings.

 

[rainmaker]

This makes me question who's feeding Voisin her info. Tells me her source is closer to the Karl side of things, which also explains her coming out against any discussion of Karl getting fired being discussed.

Ailene Voisin: George Karl intrigued at notion of coaching Cousins when hired, developed same concerns as Vlade Divac in final weeks: Attitude, commitment.