You know, with Cousins, he just needs to realize time and place. If the Kings were on a 3 game winning streak, or were playing much better than they are know, then matters like him making the choking sign are moot! If the Kings had any solid veterans, they would set him down and put him in his place. I have not heard of ANY rookie hazing of Cousins and That bothers me more than anything else. There used to be stand up players on this team who would make sure rookies stood in their place. Players like Bobby Jackson or Vlade Divac would have put this kid right down in his place. Just because you are starting for a BAD TEAM that is desperate for wins who has no remarkable veterans to control the locker, doesn't mean that you can act any old way you want! OMG this guy would have more than Popcorn in his whip for some of the BS he has already pulled. Why no rookie Hazing? Is Cousins such a malcontent that none of his fellow teammates feel comfortable hazing him? This is a valid question. Is Cousins trying to Big Time the other players on this team and act like he can act any way he wants to act? I understand WHY he is getting thrown out of practices and fined for childish crap! And the problem is, Westphal doesn't have the veteran leadership on this team to really get to Cousins. So until they bring in a veteran all star or a player with enough star power to tone Cousins down, it will continue to be like this. As it is, he thinks the Kings HAVE to start him to win (which hasn't worked lately...).
I say let him watch from the bench for a coupla weeks and then work him back into the lineup. He will eventually mature a bit more and he will perhaps appreciate the minutes that he does get. Dalembert isn't a terrible center like we used to have. It's just that the rest of the team is so lacking in any talent that the little they were getting from Cousins was actually helping the Kings. And I am certain that a majority of the players on this team do NOT know where they stand. Are they part of the future plans? Are they going to get blown out during the next makeover or coaching change? It is obvious the leadership of this team has not told many of their players where they stand, so these players are looking at the situation and wondering what they have to gain from busting their hump on a bad team. They are NOT dumb. I am sure they have their agents whispering in their ears that this team wont be the same next season, with the major changes the Maloofs will make after the new CBA. The Maloofs have already said in so many words that there will be a major shakeup and that they will be bringing in new players to replace the players on the team. The ONLY players on the Kings with Job Security are the ROOKIES! No matter how well they play or how much they make, players not named Evans or Cousins are trade bait for anything that the GM sees as an improvement on the team. So this whole "CHOKE GATE" nonsense has a more sinister underpinning I believe. The giant murals on the Arena, the Tyreke 20-5-5 run that traded wins for one player to get to that magic number is coming back to haunt the Kings Ownership!
