DeMarcus Cousins Benched After Demanding To Be Traded

January 1, 2012 11:12 PM

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was sent home for a New Year’s Day game after demanding to be traded away from Sacramento, according to head coach Paul Westphal.

In a statement issued Sunday afternoon, Westphal said he told Cousins to stay home for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets after continued conflict led to the ultimatum.

“When a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely,” Westphal said.

Despite a home opener win against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Kings have lost three straight, including an ugly loss New Years Eve against the Knicks, where Knicks rookie center Josh Harrellson outplayed Cousins — a former teammate at Kentucky — in a 114-92 rout.

Cousins’ agent, John Greig, says he “has no idea what the Kings are doing” and didn’t know the team excused him from Sunday’s game until Westphal’s announcement. In a phone interview with CBS13, Greig suggested “maybe they [the Kings] want to trade him and make the fans think it’s his fault.”

Many of Cousins’ teammates expressed surprise at the news before the game, saying they hadn’t heard the center was benched until just a few hours before tip-off.

“I just have to worry about the guys that are dressing and the guys that are playing,” said Chuck Hayes.

The Kings defeated the Hornets 96-80.

Here is Westphal’s full statement on the disagreement with Cousins:

“Whenever a new season begins, in any sport, there is great hope that everything will progress in only a steady, upward direction. As we all know, it seldom happens like that in this life!

As coaches, we can only ask that our players do everything they can to improve themselves as individuals and teammates. If they do this with all their hearts, we live with the results.

Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public. This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.

DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game tonight.”

DeMarcus Cousins Benched After Demanding To Be Traded

sally

Boy O Boy how fricken uneducated are you you dumb %$#@ you need to work for 8.00 an hour like every one else you are a loser and worthless

Big Stizz

DeMarcus is slightly above average at best (14 points, 8 rebs per game).

He has a toxic, team-tanking attitude problem that comes with any young idiot who has never had to fight for anything in his life. Seriously, when your’e that big and that good at a young age there is no more worries: nerds do your homework and cheatsheets get you through tests in school, every hot chick wants to date you and you are almost guaranteed a million-dollar payday by the time you’re 20.

He is JaMarcus Russell. He is Stephon Marbury. He is a lazy, spoiled hack. He will never stand strong against NBA elite, like Howard or even old guys like Odom and Garnett.

File under: Early retirement.

Fred

You nailed it with the JaMarcus comparison.

The Blogger

So here’s the deal………

Cousins is a loser………… Big baby…..

Trade him to the local Dairy Queen…… Let hime make shakes & fries

Maybe he can get a job at Biglot’s

Face the facts, our team stinks……

Fire the coach & start over…….

So what are they, 1 & 4?

Build them an areana? I don’t think so………….

http://www.sacramento-blog-uncut.blogspot.com

Google: Sacramento Blog Uncut

Peace!

Dylan Thompson

Try 2 and three. They will look good in the new arena. See you at the ground breaking ceremony.

Bro

Who can blame him for being frustrated? We are all frustrated. The Kings are more concerned with Jimmer logging minutes, than winning. Hope they can pull it together.

CT

Yes, let’s all feel for the poor, frustrated, overpaid crybaby. The Kings suck because they have whiners like Cousins on the team.

Nick

Is this baby boy a sixth grader whining on TV like some kind of fool. I don’t know what they want. Bench this loser and have him work the janitorial job and bring in the janitor in his place. What a disgrace and who checked out this guys psychological profile before they picked him up.

Shine

Not feeling sorry for the “crybaby” but I kind of agree with you Bro, Cousins is not the first player to demand to be traded from the kings….not the first by far. I don’t know about Jimmer and all of that but something’s not right.

sad

Seven years of watching the Kings slip lower and lower. Almost considered seasons tickets because you really do have a lot of the pieces. But it was over, finally, yesterday. Nobody takes Westphal seriously. He lost the team long ago, if he ever had them. You can see it in everyone’s dispirited performance. Nobody believes in him. Absolutely no defense. No switching. No rebounding. Terrible free throw shooting. Few successful plays run. Little recognition of the flow of the game. Poor ability to recognize and respond effectively to situations arising moment to moment. I feel sorry for the players. I completely understand Cousins’ anger. The whole team is wearing it’s frustration on it’s sleeve for all to see. It boils down to poor management, as usual. You get what you pay for. BUY A GOOD COACH. Too painful to watch any more.

Sad
Rudy_in_Sac

Petries the problem. Let him go. It’s not Westphals fault. The team is the 2nd youngest in the league, what does everyone expect. Westphals basically babysitting a bunch of brats. Demarcus sucks. Every time he gets the ball he runs out of control into some type of spin and throws the ball away or throws up a horrible shot. Get rid of him if he doesnt like it. Send him to Milwaukee or some other purgatory.. We had the most money to spend on free agents and they go and give Chuck Hayes millions, lol.. Its Petrie people, not the coach..
riodan

bench the cry baby all season,and get rid of the cancer soon as possible!
hoops fanatic 2012

none of those players respect paul westphal’s system. when they drafted this dude, they had to hire his aau coach just to tame him. not worth it. he was weak in college and he’s weak now. paul westphal hasn’t done anything in the nba to get the players respect. he should be fired next.
THENBAISRIGGED

Don’t trade him. Let him sit and actually have honor his contract….crazy thought I know….actually honoring the million dollar contract. These babies make me never want to watch the NBA. Frak these overpaid babies. The NBA sucks now.
riodan

THE BLOGGER is a idiot, what does this have to do with a new arena! SIUYA.!!
Whitey

Adios, Demarcus, you’re a punk diva that reads his own clippings. And when you read those, Demarcus, notice how it always says “potential” when they refer to your greatness? You haven’t achieved or accomplished anything yet.

Paul Westphal has the youngest team in the league. Now you want to fire him because DeMarcus, and others, don’t hustle?
NBA has lost touch

I’m so sick and tired of these whiners. Hey Maloofs, moving this sorry team will not make you more money. Try getting some people that WANT to play, get players, you’ll get the fans. ’nuff said
Tired of prima donna’s (NOT)

DeMarcus Cousins, whiner. 2 year contract for 7 MILLION dollars. that’s (regular season) 82 games per year x2. that’s 164 regular games. Broken down to $42,682 per game. that’s I repeat, FORTY TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY TWO DOLLARS, a game (game being 48 regulation minutes). with the economy today, STFU and play, you pathetic loser. Hey Maloofs, release him from his contract and black ball the SOB. He can then serve fries with that whine!

Sukita

Were you there..? No. then Shut your mouth. Whether if DC wants to traded or not, he can’t he still a rookie, he can’t control anything, but just play ball no matter if he wanted or not or whatever he says. Now the Coach just being stupid too, he know better than that, it is beyond he’s control (if it was true) not his decision to make trade more like the GM’s job not the Coach, benched a player for such opinionated is weak. Good thing the Kings won that game.

JRT

Gee they WON without him. What does THAT show you?
Sterling

He needs to take his ball & run home to Mommy
fed up

Get rid of the MFing cry-baby!
Fred

I’ve observed the Kings since they moved to SAC, and with the exception of a few years during the Rick Adelman era, they have ALWAYS been lousey. This team smells the same as all of the others – waste o’ space.
bored with it all

Maybe if he got to wear his flat billed baseball cap sideways while he played with unlaced sneakers he would be happier. Treat him for what he is, or isn’t.
sally

what a puss
Nathan Sherwood

Could have been big things from the Kings this year. To bad demarcus cousins is demanding a trade. maybe he will change his mind and continue playing for the kings. Now that we have Jimmer it could be a special season and a unexpected playoff run for the kings and demarcus cousins. http://demarcuscousinsseekstrade.blogspot.com

derF

DC is an immature thug. Four games and he goes off on this rant? He should spend the season on the bench.

Pter

Kings organization is a loser, never won anything since they expanded into the NBA, of course DC has the right to be worried.

larry

The coach is in a tricky situation… his coaching career depends on the maturity of his so called star players… PW is an ex player himself!! the youngsters these days have a lack of respect for elders and authority… what happened to discipline? what happened to sitting someone down till they get their act together? someone that young, that immature, shouldn’t have any influence in the future of a head coach.. owners need to stand up for coaches. There’s plenty of players that can do dm’s job! Anyone who watches dm play for the first time, instantly picks up on his lack of emotional control… I SWEAR! We have more youngsters that are ADHD, BIPOLAR, and soo on … more than any other time in our american culture!! COME ON PARENTS! wHAT HAPPENED TO RESPECT? LOOK AT WHAT THE LACK OF DISCIPLINE HAS CAUSED!! MAKING OUR COUNTRY WEAK AND SPOILED!!! JUST LIKE DM.
larry

DM NEEDS TO GET HIS HEAD RIGHT… AND THE REST OF HIS BIG ASS BODY WILL FOLLOW!