Larry Brown Sports

DeMarcus Cousins continues to have issues with the Sacramento Kings, but he found himself in a new position Friday: on the bench to start a game.

Cousins was informed after shootaround Friday that he would not be starting the Kings’ game against the Dallas Mavericks that night. It appears that he was not given a reason for the benching.

“I don’t have to be given a reason. He’s the coach,” Cousins said, per Cowbell Kingdom’s Jonathan Santiago.

Cousins only played nine minutes, recording six points and two rebounds. He did not enter the game until early in the second quarter, and he did not play after being removed with 2:51 remaining in the first half.

Cousins reportedly was in a good mood after the game despite the benching. Fans were chanting “we want Cousins” late in the game, and Santiago says the big man even participated in the T-shirt toss during a timeout.

Cousins seemed to have a casual response to the whole thing.

“Am I surprised? Oh, not at all,” he answered when asked about not getting back into the game following the second quarter.

Cousins has been benched during a game for arguing with coach Keith Smart, and he’s been ejected by referees mid-game. But being benched to start a game is something new. I’m guessing something happened that he isn’t openly discussing.

Sacramento lost 117-108 with him playing limited minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins needed only one possession to solidify his growing reputation as one of the biggest boneheads in the NBA.

The Sacramento Kings were down to the Los Angeles Lakers 101-98 in the final 20 seconds of their game Saturday. Cousins, for some reason, was hanging out beyond the 3-point line and decided to attempt to draw a foul by leaning in to Dwight Howard while shooting the ball. His shot was blocked by Howard. Howard did fall on Cousins, meaning a foul should have been called, but it was not. Cousins proceeded to ask the referee why a foul wasn’t called — while the play was still going on — and then when he got his head back into the play, he called for the ball from John Salmons and attempted another three!

Cousins’ second 3-point attempt went off the front of the rim, and Steve Blake secured the rebound. Kobe Bryant took the ball from Blake, was fouled, and made both his free throws to give the Lakers a 103-98 lead, which was the final score.

Cousins entered the game as a 17.6 percent 3-point shooter for his career.

We’ve shared many stories about Cousins’ stupid behavior on the court, and this is right up there with all of them. In fact, the sequence reminds us a little too much of what another boneheaded center did last year.

Photo credit: Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

DeMarcus Cousins was ejected at halftime of the Sacramento Kings’ 98-91 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday for reportedly cursing at a referee. The ejection did not come while the actual game was in play, but at halftime. Halftime. You can’t make this stuff up.

Cousins was called for a technical foul with 2:23 left in the half. He tried approaching a referee as soon as the second quarter ended to find out why he got the tech, but things did not go well.

Here’s Cousins’ explanation of what happened, via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee:

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The Sacramento Kings are a mess. The team’s majority owners reached an agreement to sell the team to a Seattle-based group, meaning the franchise will be moving. The team is one of the worst in the Western Conference and trying to wade through the season, but that’s never easy when DeMarcus Cousins is your top player.

Cousins is known for being a head case, but he’s also talented. He clashed with head coach Keith Smart earlier this season, and he’s unhappy with his coach again. Following an embarrassing 120-81 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday, the third-year center took a shot at Smart.

According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, Cousins said in a sarcastic tone that the solution to the Kings’ problem is to listen to Smart. Jones says Cousins also said he’s sacrificing his game by going along with Smart’s plan.

Cousins is no doubt frustrated. Not only did the team get blown out Saturday, but they have also lost three in a row and seven of eight. Cousins’ numbers have been down in the past week, and he probably is upset that Smart singled him out this week.

Smart said one of the problems with Cousins is that he is not running the floor. As a result, Cousins faces double-teams when he gets the ball in the half-court offense.

“I’m shared with him sometimes you’re trailing,” Smart said, via The Bee. “You need to get down the floor right away. If you get down the floor right away you just created a post up game for us without me calling a play.

“You may run the floor 10 times and only get the ball once but you can’t stop running the next 10,” Smart said. “These things have to become habits to keep yourself involved in the basketball game. Because you can’t slow the game down too much where you’re calling the play 5-down, 5-down over and over again.”

The only good news here is that there are only 33 games left in the season for the Kings. You have to figure the new owners will consider changing coaches or moving Cousins once they assume control.

Chest bump to Rotoworld NBA
Photo credit: Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

We all know DeMarcus Cousins has had a challenging year with the Sacramento Kings, but give him credit for not letting his frustrations show. On Thursday, Cousins spoke with the media during practice. As you can see, he was enthusiastic, upbeat, courteous and gave extremely thorough responses.

But seriously, how sick of Sacramento is this guy? Cousins missed the last two games as he was serving a suspension from the team following his halftime exchange with head coach Keith Smart last week. Earlier this month, he said he has absolutely no confidence in his game. Not only has he lost control of his temper at moments like this, but he also sounds completely depressed.

Obviously, it is time for a change of scenery. The problem is Cousins is too talented and has too much baggage. The only way Sacramento could get a team to trade for him is if they practically gave him away for free. Given how much they have invested in the former Kentucky star, that would be extremely painful to do.

H/T HoopsHype

DeMarcus Cousins is in serious need of an attitude adjustment. Now in his third year as a pro, you could make the argument that the former Kentucky standout has regressed. Statistically, Cousins is right where he has been throughout his career — roughly 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. But emotionally, he seems as bad as ever.

Cousins was benched for the second half of the Sacramento Kings’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night after an argument with head coach Keith Smart at halftime. He remained in the locker room when the rest of his team came out for the second half. According to the Sacramento Bee, Smart would not go into detail about what happened but said Cousins was benched for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

After the game, Cousins took responsibility for the situation.

“What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room but I was wrong,” he said. “But what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.

“(I shouldn’t) talk back. That’s the thing. I shouldn’t have responded back. Should have accepted what was said and stayed quiet. I messed up. I’m apologizing to all my teammates for it, for responding the way I did, and we’ll move on from it…I grow from all of my mistakes.”

If Cousins grows from all of his mistakes, he should be a giant when the season ends. Last month, he was ejected from a game but blamed the official. A couple weeks later, he told reporters he has absolutely no confidence in his own game. And then there was the whole punching an opponent in the groin thing.

The Kings are 8-18 and struggling mightily once again. At this point, Cousins has become more of a distraction than a potential solution to their problems.

Photo credit: Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

DeMarcus Cousins and O.J. Mayo are in a little bit of a beef right now. Matters began when Cousins punched Mayo in the groin during Monday’s Kings-Mavericks game. Mayo said after the game that the Sacramento center “has mental issues.” He also said Cousins’ immaturity was keeping him from becoming a franchise player.

Cousins heard Mayo’s remarks, and he fired back at the Dallas guard.

“This coming from a guy that doesn’t have a great image himself,” Cousins responded, via The Sacramento Bee. “So what does his really mean? I’m fine with it.”

Mayo’s image includes allegedly accepting cash payments while at USC, a marijuana issue before college, fighting with a teammate on a team flight, and being suspended for a positive steroid test.

Cousins may not like the source of the comments, but it’s hard to dispute what Mayo said.

“Is he a franchise player?” Cousins said. “So how is he going to tell me what I am.”

Again, another comment from Cousins that supports what Mayo is saying. The guy is so immature that not only is he not admitting he did something wrong, but he’s also disputing what the entire sports world saw on video.

“In slow motion it looks like I did on purpose,” Cousins said. “But you look in real speed you see what happened. Of course it’s gonna get thrown out there that I did it on purpose.”

Well, yeah, you punched the dude in the groin. I’m not sure how else we should interpret it.

Cousins was suspended for Wednesday’s game without pay for the groin punch. Let’s just hope he learned more during his time off than Rajon Rondo did.