[aamir543Participant]

DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended indefinitely for “unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team”. This comes in result of an altercation between Cousins and Coach Keith Smart last night during halftime of their game against the Clippers, and did not come out of the locker room for the second half.

As a huge Cousins supporter, this is really disappointing and disturbing. It seems like he’s always getting in trouble. This is his third suspension just this season and his second major altercation with a coach in the last year.

This guy has All-NBA 1st team talent, but he has serious attitude and shot selection problems, and he’s also a part of an extremely dysfunctional organization with no direction whatsoever.

If I’m a GM, I’m calling Geoff Petrie every hour asking about Cousins. If he’s in the right organization he’s an automatic 20 and 10 guaranteed. I think that at this point, it’s best for him and the organization to go separate ways.

http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/

[JoeWolf1]

Man, the Kings have more talent and a better record than a few teams at the bottom of the NBA, but it’s hard not to view their future as the most bleak and disfunctional of any other team in the league.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I love players who are feisty, competitive and play with a “mean” edge, but it’s starting to become clear that DeMarcus Cousins has a lot more going on than that. This guy has issues…

I was watching the Sacramento vs Clippers game and despite the fact they sort of made it a game (Clippers seemed to stop trying), they didn’t even look like a real team.

They need to clean house and just start over.

[SportsNinjaParticipant]

The players have turned against Smart. just like they did PWest. No legitimate coach will join an organization with all of the internal issues they have. Owners that don’t appear to want to spend money and arena issues has to make a coach with options uncertain of the franchise’s future. No stability, and stability is the point of a job.

If I’m the Maloofs and selling the team isn’t an option I want to take advantage of, I would offer max contracts to CP3 and Dwight, along with making them part owners and renaming the arena after them. The Paul Howard or Howard Paul Arena even has a nice ring to it! They have 4 first names between the two of them, I’m sure they can figure out a name. . .I’m joking, but I’m kind of serious too, the Maloofs have ran this franchise back into the ground and they will never get it out of the gutter without making some big changes. David Stern will never give them the first pick in a franchise altering draft, so they are going to have to get creative. . .

[Wavy BagelsParticipant]

Jay Blias said it best when Cousins got drafted:

“The only person that can keep DeMarcus Cousins from being a superstar and a 20 &10 player is himself.”

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

This like the 2nd team he’s had an altercation the coach,got into fights with 2 teammates,has been given several suspensions…I Doubt if the Kings try trading they’ll get equal value,his reputation as a trouble maker and locker room cancer will turn off alot of teams…

Maybe the need to pass some type of conduct restrictions in his contract..

[mds0549Participant]

Cousins is a headcase and probably has some of the same issues that Royce White is dealing with but hasn’t been diagnosed yet. He’s a cancer to his team and will be a coach killer for sure. As long as he is on the Kings roster they will be losers because you can’t move forward with a player trying to tear the team apart. His only chance is to get on a team with a strong coach – Popovich or Karl might be able to help him but I don’t know at this point.

[SubZeroParticipant]

If DeMarcus Cousins ended up on the Spurs…they would be near unstoppable. Having Duncan as a mentor (assuming Cuz would let him teach him) would only make him better

[DolanCareParticipant]

I agree that the spurs are a class organizaiton that gets players to buy into their system and play into their potential the most. But you can’t just name any wacko in the league and say he should go to the spurs. Popovich is amazing but not a prophet.

[SubZeroParticipant]

I didn’t say he should, I just said if he did. I doubt the Spurs are willing to give up as much as the Kings would want back

[MkadozaParticipant]

George Karl would not play Cousins because of his lack of patience with immature players. EI. JR Smith, Javale McGee. I think Karl and Cousins would come to blows at some point.

[MkadozaParticipant]

I remember when people were saying they would take Cousins 1# based on talent and production alone, his detractors maintained his body language and attitude were real issues. A young, losing team like the Kings was definitely not the place for him, with only Washington as perhaps a worse spot.

However, with his talent, a respected authoritative coach could certainly bring about his talent. At this point, if the Lakers had Phil Jackson, first thing I’d do is offer Pau for him straight up. The other team that should really try to trade some pieces is the Celtics. A Rondo-Cousins pick and roll for the next 5 years, with Garnett as a mentor, and Doc as his coach, the C’s would be an IDEAL situation.

[aamir543Participant]

I know this is a bit far fetched, but if I’m a team like the Thunder, I would at least inquire about Cousins and see if he’s avalible for PJ3, Jeremy Lamb, their own pick, the Raptors 3-14 pick, and the Bobcats’ 2nd round pick. I know the Thunder would shy away because they’d have to pay Cousins big money in 2 years, and I’m not sure the Kings would even consider that trade, but just throwing that out there.

I would love for my Dubs to go after him, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green with a first rounder would be fine.

And the most inticing situation to me is the Spurs. Now for this to happen I’m sure Tiago Splitter and Kawahi Leanord would have to be involved, and we know how much the Spurs love both of those guys, but if there’s any team in the league that can deal with Cousins it’s the Spurs.

[KayjayParticipant]

Anymore. I’ve been through so much as a Kings fan I just do not care anymore. If he gets traded, w/e. Keith Smart has lost his team weeks ago. Cousins is just the only one vocal about his opinion. He’s a knuckle head basket case, but the right organization could do more for him. Look at Zach Randolph, does anybody remember him earlier in his career? Again its whatever.

[SubZeroParticipant]

The Zach Randolph comparison is right on. I believe that Cousins will eventually put it together and whichever team he is on will be really lucky to have him

[HitsterParticipant]

Cousins trade value would be low at the moment but no doubt Geoff Petrie will get some enquiries, the likes of Coaches Poppovich and Karl spring to mind as being able to handle him. But Coach Karl already has JaVale McGee sitting on his bench unable to get or not deemed ready to get a starters gig so I’d rule him out.

The Spurs have 4 bigs Splitter, Blair, Bonner and Diaw all out of contract this summer, I could see Splitter and Blair getting offers above MLE and so I figure one of them may move on. Diaw would probably be happy to remain with the Spurs and Bonner is a cult figure there so could well also stay. We know that Ric Burford would drive a hard trade bargain and if we assume the big 3 – Duncan, Parker and Ginobli won’t move would the Spurs part with Leonard I wonder.

Also teams like Boston or Dallas could be a decent fit for DMC but Boston don’t have a huge amount to offer and Dallas has a mixed bunch around their star duo of Mayo and Nowitzki.

I wonder if a team like the Bobcats in what is not considered a great draft might look to make an offer maybe the right to swap draft picks or the pick they have due from Detroit.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I don’t like the Zach Randolph comparison. Randolph’s problem coming into the league was he wanted to stay true to the people he hung out with in the hood in Marion. He also probably had a questionable work ethic and played selfish. He never had the type of issues DeMarcus Cousins has. Randolph is actually a quiet, laid back and controlled dude for the most part.

Cousins… This dude has like real mental issues. He needs a great psychologist or therapist… Not even Greg Poppovich would want to deal with him.

[BlueRivers25Participant]

DeMarcus Cancer

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Great talent who will be a head case stay away. This I was certain of. He has mental issues. Bad for tue locker room. I would stay away.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Crazy. That franchise is a disaster.
Cousins has some skills. But he lead the league in fouls his first two seasons. He is averaging less than a block a game this season. And his FG% is bad for a shooting guard, forget about for a center. I think the right coach and system could transform him as a player (and he already rebounds and is already kind of close to being good) but he might be years away from having his head in the right place to take advantage. The well run franchises (like the Spurs) will never take a chance on a guy like that.

[Beard13Participant]

A fine example of a million dollar talent ten cent head

[GottaFeedTheFamParticipant]

Well cant say that the suspension is a suprise, Cuz is known commodity around the league for being easy to rile up and goad into stupid decisions. I cant imagine when pedigreeless coaches such as Westphal and Smart try to talk sense into Cuz and are rebuffed over and over again to the point where I imagine they get tired of it and tell management to suspend him. On another note the kings player personnel dept need to determine the teams identity and start making moves so that they can assemble a team that has a chance of winning and get rid of malcontents. Cuz and Tyreke were seen as the Kings franchise building blocks and both need a change of scenery badly, sadly for the kings those players value has deteriorated significantly and they will never recoup fair value. For Cuz to suceed in the league hes going to need a dedicated and proven coaching staff with a strong veteran player presence, where he would be a #2 option on offense with defense minded center who could make up for his lack of defensive intensity and awareness. Two options immediately came to mind for me as plausible landing spots that would have the necessary trade pieces to make the kings satisfied and the structure in place for Cuz to suceed: Chicago and Houston. Chicago has one of the best coaches in the league who happens to be the best defensive coach in the league and has proven hes an excellent teacher of the fundamentals and gets players to buy into his system. DRose, Noah and Deng are all very good to great players who are established and respected in the league and could provide a veteran presence to steer Cuz in the right direction. Rose is the unquestioned #1 option on offense (when healthy) and would allow Cuz to be a #2 option on offense which would alleviate Cuz from pressing so much on offense and from his team relying on him even when hes playing inconsistently. Noah would allow Cuz to be a power forward all the time, hed be able to guard the opposing teams best post player letting Cuz take the easier to the two frontcourt assignments, plus they would be able to play off eachothers passing abilities and the Bulls would benefit greatly as they use more cuts than almost any team in the league. The Bulls badly need offense and especially post scoring and Cuz would be an excellent match style wise for the team I believe, a package centering around Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and some picks should be enticing enough to the Kings to possibly pry away Cuz. Ok Now onto Houston, a package centering around Chandler Parsons, Patrick Patterson and/or Terrance Jones should be enticing enough for the Kings to think about unloading Cuz. Houston has been looking for a dominant big man for quite some time and have stockpiled assets to make a move, lo and behold a young, potentially dominant big man may be available and they are one of the few teams with the chips to make the move and the team structure to pull it off. James Harden would be the #1 option, Asik would make up for Cuz defensive “issues” and do a lot of the things I mentioned about Noah minus the passing ability. McHale is a very solid coach and one of the best big man mentors in the game who also seems to be able to connect with his players, plus Houston has shown they are willing to take on a player with questionable mental makeup. I also really am intrigued by the posters who mentioned OKC and Boston as possible landing spots, both those teams would be excellent fits for Cuz and would make for great basketball.

[SiggyParticipant]

Holy crap.

[HitsterParticipant]

Chicago is an interesting call Coach Thibs would hammer defence into him and DMC would probably have to prove himself off the bench, a package around Taj would be what I’d assume they might offer. But teams will not shower Sacramento with picks as DMC is damaged goods.

Another team which has loads of assets is Cleveland who might decide to cash in on Varejao to create even more trade options, moving Varejao to a 3rd team could free up a frontcourt spot where they could take DMC and still have the option of drafting another big this year. With Cleveland I’d be looking at them doing the deal around the picks due from Miami and what they may get from Varejao. We know that Coach Scott pulled Waiters from a game earlier this season so he’d certainly give DMC some tough love and DMC would have Rivers to feed him his baskets.

[aamir543Participant]

Per Adrian Wojanowski’s twitter, DeMarcus Cousins has been reinstated. On Hoopshype, it says the Kings have also advised Cousins to see a mental health counselor. Not sure when he’ll play next though.

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