Sacramento Kings Playing a Dangerous Game with DeMarcus Cousins-Bleacher Report

[fansinceday1]

After today I can honestly say that sacramento is not the best place for him to showcase his talent. If he goes to a team with a competent FO and head coach the sky would be the limit. All star appearances. Playoffs. Finals. Boogie is that good.

If I were his agent I would demand a trade out of this cesspool. My gut tells me he doesn't serve out the entirety of his contract.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

If I were his agent I would demand a trade out of this cesspool. My gut tells me he doesn't serve out the entirety of his contract.

if something doesn't change quick i see this happening soon. think about it, he's already had blowups on the court, like 8 games into the assassination era. theres still like 48 games left. if this dumpster fire continues through all those games, Mt St. Cousins is really going to erupt.

 

[kingsnation]

Return to the dark times? When did we get out of the dark times? Last time I checked, we've sucked for a long time.

Technically? We were at leasing peeking our heads through for about 3 and a half weeks in November.

 

[King Baller]

Don't shove Boogie out the door quite yet. Right now we need to be exhorting everyone wearing a Kings uniform without the name Cousins on the back to suck it up and freaking play. Cousins made it very clear - he wants to surround himself with warriors. This is one time I wish Doug Christie could be a special advisor to the team on how to be that warrior. Doug was it for Chris and Vlade and we need his kind of mentality. Who doesn't remember Doug going out early with an injury and coming back OUT OF THE LOCKER ROOM when Peja got injured? That's a warrior mentality. Who doesn't remember Doug clocking Rick Fox? Warrior mentality again. About the only guys I see show that attitude are Omri and Darren.

I'm not going to worry about Cousins leaving. I'm going to focus on doing whatever I can to encourage the rest of the team to be who he needs/wants them to be.

I think you can add Ben McLemore to your list. He has been playing hard this season.

 

[King Baller]

And JT also has been banging inside.

 

[VF21]

I think you can add Ben McLemore to your list. He has been playing hard this season.

And JT also has been banging inside.

I'll give you McLemore and I'll add Omri. I'll think about Darren and Rudy because they generally come to play even with occasional lapses. I'm just conflicted about JT, especially with the diminishing focus on defense.

 

[PBNJ85]

You guys are so negative. I don't agree with Malone being fired but. Nor am I impressed withe Pda or viveck and Mullin is a joke but these guys need to play ball and play as hard as they can for the checks they are cashing

 

[Uk kings fan]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

 

[fansinceday1]

You guys are so negative. I don't agree with Malone being fired but. Nor am I impressed withe Pda or viveck and Mullin is a joke but these guys need to play ball and play as hard as they can for the checks they are cashing

I can only speak for myself. Yes, I AM MORE NEGATIVE today than I have been in a long time. This FO has sucked the life out of this kings fan. The Malone led team was not going to light the world on fire but any longtime fan could see the good things that were being done to make this team a contender. This has all been hashed and rehashed already. When I heard Jim Rome talking to Malone, the coach of the sacramento kings, I knew things were different this year. This team has been bad for so long that when that green sprout of life showed itself, I thought this FO would have built a fence around it and babied it. Not stomp it out because it wasn't the right type of sprout.
Yes, I'm more negative. Im dam near despondent because since the firing,(Key in yakety sax here) all I see is ineptitude.

 

[randymoss1881]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

Man I hope not I've been joking about this lately but my heart literally dropped when I read this. Karl is the only way to salvage this not Mullin or Jackson and why we are waiting till the off season is mind boggling.

 

[jdbraver]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

If this is the case PDA needs to go....if Cuz leaves it will set us back big time. You cannot replace his talent.

I wonder what info james is basing this on. Cuz always seems angry after a loss...why was this different?

 

[Uk kings fan]

If this is the case PDA needs to go....if Cuz leaves it will set us back big time. You cannot replace his talent.

I wonder what info james is basing this on. Cuz always seems angry after a loss...why was this different?

the way he has been playing and his interviews with him i believe... james was really angry on the last podcast.

 

[ESP47]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

How about Demarcus Cousins for Dion Wiaters and Tristan Thompson?

PDA, do it!!!!! Bring us the gold baby.

 

[theclash4u5]

How about Demarcus Cousins for Dion Wiaters and Tristan Thompson?

PDA, do it!!!!! Bring us the gold baby.

I have some bad news....

 

[CruzDude]

@Chris_Broussard summed it up best:

SA has shown it for years, ATL showing it now - the superiority of TEAM basketball vs this simplistic "let-your-stars-do everything" mess.

Kings were beginning to play TEAM ball with DMC in a Vlade leader mode, then things changed. In retail (and silicon valley too) disruptors are innovators as it seems Vivek sees himself. But not in the NBA unless you have ALL the pieces in place: good bench, core three on same page, good (innovative?) coach and 15 players buying into the TEAM style of play such that no one player dictates wins and losses. Fast, exciting basketball may win some games but not likely progress in playoffs toward the Finals. Wins require team ball and defense first and foremost. Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Defense yields fast breaks and scoring. Fans want wins. Just because a team runs-and-guns doesn't mean wins. Cuz knows this I,ll bet. And he, as the rest of us, want the same thing with visible progress. It doesn't happen overnight but Cuz, as do we, want to see progress and a PLAN how the team can get there.

 

[ArcoKings]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

Geez. If this is true we are doomed but honestly it wouldn't be surprising. I would not blame DMC one bit. The FO is spinning its wheels and time flies. DMC wants to win and win NOW. He may already have come to the conclusion that winning is something the FO cannot deliver in a reasonable time and that the FO does not impress. Sad. Very sad. Things seem to go down rather fast in Sacramento.

 

[lawlman91]

@Chris_Broussard summed it up best:

SA has shown it for years, ATL showing it now - the superiority of TEAM basketball vs this simplistic "let-your-stars-do everything" mess.

Kings were beginning to play TEAM ball with DMC in a Vlade leader mode, then things changed. In retail (and silicon valley too) disruptors are innovators as it seems Vivek sees himself. But not in the NBA unless you have ALL the pieces in place: good bench, core three on same page, good (innovative?) coach and 15 players buying into the TEAM style of play such that no one player dictates wins and losses. Fast, exciting basketball may win some games but not likely progress in playoffs toward the Finals. Wins require team ball and defense first and foremost. Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Defense yields fast breaks and scoring. Fans want wins. Just because a team runs-and-guns doesn't mean wins. Cuz knows this I,ll bet. And he, as the rest of us, want the same thing with visible progress. It doesn't happen overnight but Cuz, as do we, want to see progress and a PLAN how the team can get there.

irritant ftfy

 

[jdbraver]

The worst part, other than DMC bailing, is that the kooky FO is scaring FAs away from here. They don't care about weather they care about $ and winning. Winning takes a cohesive team as stated above.

 

[KingsFanGER]

@Chris_Broussard summed it up best:

SA has shown it for years, ATL showing it now - the superiority of TEAM basketball vs this simplistic "let-your-stars-do everything" mess.

Kings were beginning to play TEAM ball with DMC in a Vlade leader mode, then things changed. In retail (and silicon valley too) disruptors are innovators as it seems Vivek sees himself. But not in the NBA unless you have ALL the pieces in place: good bench, core three on same page, good (innovative?) coach and 15 players buying into the TEAM style of play such that no one player dictates wins and losses. Fast, exciting basketball may win some games but not likely progress in playoffs toward the Finals. Wins require team ball and defense first and foremost. Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Defense yields fast breaks and scoring. Fans want wins. Just because a team runs-and-guns doesn't mean wins. Cuz knows this I,ll bet. And he, as the rest of us, want the same thing with visible progress. It doesn't happen overnight but Cuz, as do we, want to see progress and a PLAN how the team can get there.

I'm sorry but we may have build a team identity under Malone, but we didn't play the team ball Atlanta and San Antonio are known for. You take this tweet out of his context.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

@Chris_Broussard summed it up best:

SA has shown it for years, ATL showing it now - the superiority of TEAM basketball vs this simplistic "let-your-stars-do everything" mess.

Kings were beginning to play TEAM ball with DMC in a Vlade leader mode, then things changed. In retail (and silicon valley too) disruptors are innovators as it seems Vivek sees himself. But not in the NBA unless you have ALL the pieces in place: good bench, core three on same page, good (innovative?) coach and 15 players buying into the TEAM style of play such that no one player dictates wins and losses. Fast, exciting basketball may win some games but not likely progress in playoffs toward the Finals. Wins require team ball and defense first and foremost. Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Defense yields fast breaks and scoring. Fans want wins. Just because a team runs-and-guns doesn't mean wins. Cuz knows this I,ll bet. And he, as the rest of us, want the same thing with visible progress. It doesn't happen overnight but Cuz, as do we, want to see progress and a PLAN how the team can get there.

isn't ATL filled w/ former SA FO & assistant coach now head coach? could be a reason why they mirror closely. well, we know who we have in place and who we are attempting to mirror.

 

[CruzDude]

I'm sorry but we may have build a team identity under Malone, but we didn't play the team ball Atlanta and San Antonio are known for. You take this tweet out of his context.

Correct. One would hope to play this kind of ball a year or two or three down the road after starting to build a team mentality and team play. The Kings were taking the first baby steps in that direction. Not now.

 

[kingjatt]

James Ham on the Cowbell Kingdom (post-game pistons, latest episode) thinks that DMC is close to asking for a trade and doesn't want to be here.

This is why i have no patience left with PDA and crew. I understand why alot of people want to give Pete a chance but from what hes saying he basically just threw away a good thing to chase some mythical form of winning that may never happen. He overestimated his talent, mismanaged firing malone, and overall has done more bad than good. Its a small sample size but its obvious that the winning and all of these "great moves" were mostly Malone's doing and NOT PDA.

If we continue to give him time to try to chase these hopes and dreams for which he has zero personel for we WILL lose Cousins. I guess at that point he can have all the time he wants because a whole lot of fans are going to simply tune out.

I feel that Vivek might buy into trading Cousins(when cuz demands it) if PDA and Mullin sell him hard on it. He came up in the tech biz where innovation makes you successful and popular, thats all he knows.

Simply winning isnt good enough (as proven by the Malone firing), Vivek and Co. feel that they must be innovative as well so they can say they revolutionized the NBA just as he did the tech industry.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Correct. One would hope to play this kind of ball a year or two or three down the road after starting to build a team mentality and team play. The Kings were taking the first baby steps in that direction. Not now.

You may be right, but if you look at Atlanta this is Budenholzer's second season as the head coach and this team oriented playstyle, with lots of ball movement and outside shots was very visible even in his first year. This was not the case with Malone. But of course you have to take into account,that the Kings made more roster moves than the Hawks and that the Hawks followed the same vision from top to bottom, because GM and Coaching Staff and Players were all on the same track.

 

[Livinthedream]

You guys are so negative. I don't agree with Malone being fired but. Nor am I impressed withe Pda or viveck and Mullin is a joke but these guys need to play ball and play as hard as they can for the checks they are cashing

Agreed. Nothing they do or say is going to bring Malone back. Be professional and do your job.

 

[Chubbs]

Agreed. Nothing they do or say is going to bring Malone back. Be professional and do your job.

Here's the thing. Do the players even know what their jobs are anymore? The whole system and identity of the team is being torn down and built back up. I don't know what they're supposed to be doing, and based on their quotes lately, they don't either.

What you've said is a nice sentiment, but in the absence of leadership and direction, this is the result. Poor effort, concentration, hanging their heads, openly questioning roles, etc. Absolute devastation mentally.

 

[SacKings384]

Re

Here's the thing. Do the players even know what their jobs are anymore? The whole system and identity of the team is being torn down and built back up. I don't know what they're supposed to be doing, and based on their quotes lately, they don't either.

What you've said is a nice sentiment, but in the absence of leadership and direction, this is the result. Poor effort, concentration, hanging their heads, openly questioning roles, etc. Absolute devastation mentally.

1000x this. Can anyone here tell me what the game plan is? Think of it from the players perspective and listen to PDA in that radio interview.

PDA: We fired Malone. He wasn't playing our style.

Players: So what is our style?

PDA: We want to focus on running the ball.

Players: OK we're running the ball

PDA: I don't know you guys are running too fast now.

Players: what about defense?

PDA: Yeah that's what I'm saying. We need more threes. More running. But play better defense.

Players: We'll we were playing the pace you wanted at the beginning of the season (around 10th in pace which is where you want us) and we were playing defense... None of us really shoot the three well so...

PDA: Just play faster. Harder. Play better D. But not too fast. Oh and we'll have a coach for you eventually but right now take whatever Corbin says with a grain of salt because he won't be here next season.

Players: So I guess we'll just wing it out there guys?

 

[lawlman91]

I'm sorry but we may have build a team identity under Malone, but we didn't play the team ball Atlanta and San Antonio are known for. You take this tweet out of his context.

I hope that your comment doesn't take anything away from Malone. While he is not a great coach, he was certainly dedicated to the sport and would surely improve his on-court coaching , while still maintaining a semblance of stability and loyalty within the organization.

 

[Chubbs]

I hope that your comment doesn't take anything away from Malone. While he is not a great coach, he was certainly dedicated to the sport and would surely improve his on-court coaching , while still maintaining a semblance of stability and loyalty within the organization.

 

[Livinthedream]

Here's the thing. Do the players even know what their jobs are anymore? The whole system and identity of the team is being torn down and built back up. I don't know what they're supposed to be doing, and based on their quotes lately, they don't either.

What you've said is a nice sentiment, but in the absence of leadership and direction, this is the result. Poor effort, concentration, hanging their heads, openly questioning roles, etc. Absolute devastation mentally.

Nice sentiment? Do they need Malone to tell them not to hang their heads? Do they need Malone to tell them to put in full effort? If they do, then the system or their roles is not the issue. Corbin hasn't even changed that much. It's pretty evident we're still a iso heavy team. Corbin hasn't told the players to stop playing defense. Collison's effort isn't suffering and he's lost the same coach as everyone else.

Being professional means doing your job to the best of your ability regardless of the circumstances.

 

[Chupacabra]

Nice sentiment? Do they need Malone to tell them not to hang their heads? Do they need Malone to tell them to put in full effort? If they do, then the system or their roles is not the issue. Corbin hasn't even changed that much. It's pretty evident we're still a iso heavy team. Corbin hasn't told the players to stop playing defense. Collison's effort isn't suffering and he's lost the same coach as everyone else.

Being professional means doing your job to the best of your ability regardless of the circumstances.

it boggles the mind that youre blaming the current rut on player effort.