If the Sacramento Kings want to get their season on track, they need to start by working out their well-documented in-house issues. George Karl, DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo spent some time trying to accomplish that last week.
According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo, Cousins and Rondo asked their coach to sit down for a 15-minute meeting after a film session last week. The three ended up chatting for two hours, and it sounds like they worked toward clearing the air.
“It was a powerful meeting for all three of us,” Rondo told Spears. “We asked him to just sit with us so we can pick his brain and share our thoughts. What I love about [Karl] is he’s very open. George is not a dictator. ‘What can we do positively? What can we do to improve?’
“If you can come into a meeting with no egos and everyone was humble, it just works out for the better.”
The Kings certainly have the talent to contend for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they are just 7-12 through the early part of the season. A lot of that has to do with the discord in the locker room. Just a few weeks ago, Cousins reportedly cursed out Karl and the Kings had a very unproductive players-only meeting.
In their meeting, Rondo and Cousins told Karl to not hesitate to hold them more accountable and give constructive criticism during film sessions.
“I told him to start with me. Whatever I can do to help the team,” Rondo explained. “If you have to bully me or call me out, I can accept that. I’m a 10-year vet. I learned from [former Boston Celtics coach] Doc [Rivers] and the past guys that it has to start with the vets who have the most leeway on the team or the most responsibility.
“[Cousins and I] are both trying to change the culture, change the organization.”
From a basketball standpoint, the trio discussed slowing down the offense. Karl said he was willing to do that, but he wanted to make it clear that there would be compromise rather than his players simply telling him how to run the team.
“I said, ‘OK, I will slow it down if you do what I want.’ That’s not fighting each other. That’s mutually coming together,” Karl said. “If we have to compromise something, we will compromise something.”
There are already rumors that the Kings are planning to replace Karl sooner rather than later — especially if they can convince this college coach to make the leap to the NBA. In the meantime, the team would benefit from Cousins and Rondo not publicly complaining about their coach. Hopefully the meeting put an end to that.
