Why isn't Cousins forcing a trade?

[Ogaju]

Cousins is a weird dude.

You do not stay in Sacramento to make Sacramento great again because winning 61 games and not making it to the NBA finals is not the 'great again' to which you aspire.

You want a chance to make a team great again...... you want a real challenge? Boston Celtics baby.

Trying to make Sacramento great again is no way to spend your career.

I don't think dude wants the pressure of the big time. He is milking it in Sacramento. As you can see there is absolutely no pressure on him. Move to Boston and see if mediocrity is tolerated.

[chambers]

He's loyal to a fault. Think KG in Minnesota, with much worse management.

Or the ownership let him do whatever he wants and placate his adolescent on court behaviour.

They sure did a great job of placating him when they fired Mike Malone and didn't offer IT a halfway decent contract

Or when they hired George Karl without consulting Cousins. Or when they kept Karl around even after he tried to organize a mutiny in his own locker room, simply due to money.

If Sactown is placating Cousins, they're doing the worst job of it ever.

So now teams have to consult their best player before they hire someone? Did Karl and Cousins have a problem before Karl went to Sacto that needed Cousins' 'consultation'?

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto. His biggest problem was Cousins. I wonder why.

Funny thing is, just like the other 7 or 8 coaches. Karl is gone now. Cousins is still around.
But hey, he got along with Mike Malone so the other 8 coaches must have been Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.s, not Cousins.

Perhaps we're confusing passion and hunger with immaturity and entitlement.

[BitterJim]

He's loyal to a fault. Think KG in Minnesota, with much worse management.

Or the ownership let him do whatever he wants and placate his adolescent on court behaviour.

They sure did a great job of placating him when they fired Mike Malone and didn't offer IT a halfway decent contract

Or when they hired George Karl without consulting Cousins. Or when they kept Karl around even after he tried to organize a mutiny in his own locker room, simply due to money.

If Sactown is placating Cousins, they're doing the worst job of it ever.

So now teams have to consult their best player before they hire someone? Did Karl and Cousins have a problem before Karl went to Sacto that needed Cousins' 'consultation'?

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto. His biggest problem was Cousins. I wonder why.

Funny thing is, just like the other 7 or 8 coaches. Karl is gone now. Cousins is still around.
But hey, he got along with Mike Malone so the other 8 coaches must have been ****s, not Cousins.

Perhaps we're confusing passion and hunger with immaturity and entitlement.

I'm not even gonna touch whether or not Cousins is a "winner" (I'd need to see him on a competent team first), I just think the idea that SAC has done everything to placate him is ridiculous

[Roy H.]

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto

You haven't followed Karl's career, I take it?

www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

Www.uproxx.com/dimemag/george-karl-snake-carmelo-anthony-andre-iguodala-jr-smith-demarcus-cousins/amp/

[chambers]

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto

You haven't followed Karl's career, I take it?

www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

Www.uproxx.com/dimemag/george-karl-snake-carmelo-anthony-andre-iguodala-jr-smith-demarcus-cousins/amp/

He said Melo's defensive effort was poor in Denver, which it was. Melo then called him a snake.

He said JR Smith was a knucklehead, which he was and is (to a lesser extent now as he's gotten older). JR Smith copied Melo's lead and called him a snake.

He said DeMarcus Cousins was a knucklehead, which he is. DMC then called him a snake.

He said he thought Iggy was acting as a mole for Mark Jackson and GSW. Iggy then called him a snake.

Another A Grade knucklehead in Ty Lawson calls Karl a snake....hmm pattern here?

Sounds like George Karl doesn't like knuckleheads to me.
He's been around the NBA long enough to know a diva/problem child when he sees one.

Why exactly would Karl want to get rid of a franchise talent 7 foot big man? You'd have to be a pretty giant a$$hole to want a veteran coach like Karl to want you out of the locker room when you're that good at basketball.
But that's a good question. What are some reasons that Karl wouldn't want Cousins around Roy?

But yeah, George Karl and the other 7 coaches were the problem in SAC.

[RAAAAAAAANDY]

I don't think the guy is passionate about winning.

hmmm...that's another possibility.  Definitely something to consider.

Not if you know anything about him.

I know what I see, and he has not demonstrated any passion to move himself or the team. There are players that have a passion to win, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant. There are players who have that thrust upon them, LeBron James, Kevin Durant. Then there are highly skilled players who have interests other than basketball and would sooner just get paid do their job and go home win or lose. He seems to fit the very latter group so far.

If you know anything that we do not, please share.

Boogie has improved his game every single season.  He's improved his post game, his passing, his defense, his 3PT. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.

He's played through injury repeatedly, including painful injuries to his feet. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.

As bad as the talent on his team is, the Kings have a positive +/- when he's on the court. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.

He shows up at Summer League to lead practices with the scrubs who will never make the team. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.


He's a passionate guy. Most of his outbursts are related to losing. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.

Sacramento is a lousy team in a lousy city. DMC is hurting his "brand" by staying there. However, he's extremely loyal. Hell, he's got a "loyalty" tattoo, and that's the name of his clothing line. He wants to make Sacramento great again, not bail for an easier opportunity. That's not what guys just collecting a paycheck do.

He wants to make Sacramento great again? Maybe that is the problem. When was Sacramento ever great? If he is trying to lead Sacramento to greatness then he is more an epic fail than the guy who really invented the great again slogan will be on November 8.

Respectfully, you're as uninformed about Cousins as you are about politics. (Trump didn't invent that slogan; Margaret Thatcher used it in 1950, Reagan used it in 1980, etc.)

Although Sacremento was pretty darn great in the early 2000's. Biggest referee hatchet job I've ever seen.

[gift]

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto

You haven't followed Karl's career, I take it?

www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

Www.uproxx.com/dimemag/george-karl-snake-carmelo-anthony-andre-iguodala-jr-smith-demarcus-cousins/amp/

He said Melo's defensive effort was poor in Denver, which it was. Melo then called him a snake.

He said JR Smith was a knucklehead, which he was and is (to a lesser extent now as he's gotten older). JR Smith copied Melo's lead and called him a snake.

He said DeMarcus Cousins was a knucklehead, which he is. DMC then called him a snake.

He said he thought Iggy was acting as a mole for Mark Jackson and GSW. Iggy then called him a snake.

Another A Grade knucklehead in Ty Lawson calls Karl a snake....hmm pattern here?

Sounds like George Karl doesn't like knuckleheads to me.
He's been around the NBA long enough to know a diva/problem child when he sees one.

Why exactly would Karl want to get rid of a franchise talent 7 foot big man? You'd have to be a pretty giant a$$hole to want a veteran coach like Karl to want you out of the locker room when you're that good at basketball.
But that's a good question. What are some reasons that Karl wouldn't want Cousins around Roy?

But yeah, George Karl and the other 7 coaches were the problem in SAC.

Karl wanted to recreate his Denver team in Sacramento. Cousins didn't fit his style. People knew this at the time he was hired. The fact that Karl actually ended up lobbying against Cousins when everyone was waiting for it to happen shows this.

I really think you would have benefited from following the George Karl saga throughout his career in real time instead of in hindsight. These aren't excuses people are making after the fact. Sacramento is such a mess on their own, that they made the George Karl mistake when everyone knew it was a mistake. It doesn't make George Karl less of a mistake or Demarcus Cousins a worse player because Sacramento doubled down on stupidity.

Zach Lowe had Karl on his podcast some time after his Sacramento tenure ended and later said that he didn't want to correct Karl during the podcast, but several "facts" he stated were just wrong. He didn't think Karl was even fully invested in the job.

[Roy H.]

I don't recall George Karl ever being a problem coach until he arrived in Sacto

You haven't followed Karl's career, I take it?

www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

Www.uproxx.com/dimemag/george-karl-snake-carmelo-anthony-andre-iguodala-jr-smith-demarcus-cousins/amp/

He said Melo's defensive effort was poor in Denver, which it was. Melo then called him a snake.

He said JR Smith was a knucklehead, which he was and is (to a lesser extent now as he's gotten older). JR Smith copied Melo's lead and called him a snake.

He said DeMarcus Cousins was a knucklehead, which he is. DMC then called him a snake.

He said he thought Iggy was acting as a mole for Mark Jackson and GSW. Iggy then called him a snake.

Another A Grade knucklehead in Ty Lawson calls Karl a snake....hmm pattern here?

Sounds like George Karl doesn't like knuckleheads to me.
He's been around the NBA long enough to know a diva/problem child when he sees one.

Why exactly would Karl want to get rid of a franchise talent 7 foot big man? You'd have to be a pretty giant a$$hole to want a veteran coach like Karl to want you out of the locker room when you're that good at basketball.
But that's a good question. What are some reasons that Karl wouldn't want Cousins around Roy?

But yeah, George Karl and the other 7 coaches were the problem in SAC.

So basically, the fact that Karl repeatedly clashes with his stars is fine, because they're all jerks? Even "good guys" like Andre Iguodala, Kendall Gill, and Ray Allen?

I was, was furious. I felt that the next time I saw George, I was going to do something to him. That’s how I felt. That’s how furious I was

"If we were tired, he made us work harder. If we needed a day off, he made us practice. It always seemed like when something went wrong he'd bash us in the papers. He'd go at me, at Sam, at Glenn, and for a time there it was almost like -- from me to him as a coach-player relationship -- I started despising him.

"Every time something went wrong it was Ray's doing this, Ray's doing that," Allen said. "My family was walking around saying 'Look what George said about you now.' I got tired of that after a while, and my hatred started growing."

As for coaches, he's had Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Mike Malone,  Tyrone Corbin (interim) and George Karl. Only one of those coaches is currently a head coach in the league, and that's the guy DMC loved.

[gift]

Don't forget Paul Pierce and the much of the 2002 USA squad not liking Karl and being thrown under the bus by him after the tournament.

''I learned not to go play USA basketball if George Karl is the coach,'' said Pierce.