If you haven’t heard by now (and if you haven’t, I’d love to move in with you), DeMarcus Cousins was removed from the Sacramento Kings flight to Phoenix last evening per the wishes of general manager, Geoff Petrie. Why you ask? Well, according to Sam Amick:
"Cousins was furious at the last play in which Tyreke Evans missed a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation that would have won the game. Cousins, who had been calling for the ball in the post in the final possession, watched angrily as Greene inbounded the ball to Evans for the final shot.After the buzzer, he ran the length of the court to catch up to Evans and Greene and was letting his opinions be known as he blew by them to enter the locker room. According to the sources, Greene and Cousins began exchanging words inside the locker room. The situation then escalated, with both players taking swings at each other before they were separated."
First reaction? To shake your head. And while I understand the concern of some fans, I say calm down – the world isn’t coming to an end.
DeMarcus is a very emotional person. That needs to be understood. In no way, shape, or form am I condoning the actions of he or Donte. Nobody outside of that locker room knows exactly what happened and jumping to conclusions isn’t going to do anything but make one look silly. But I will say this – it happens. This isn’t the first nor the last time two teammates got into it, it just so happens that the media has bred DeMarcus as a malcontent and will use this story to back their point, without the facts.
There was little hubbub earlier this year when O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies got into a physical altercation and if you believe that was the only time players from the same team rumbled this season, then I have a bridge to sell you. Outside of the Spurs game, the Kings have lost consecutive games to the Celtics, Jazz, Mavericks, and Thunder by a combined 12 points, all of the games coming down to a final clutch moment/shot/situation where the Kings failed in really heartbreaking fashion. Again, that’s not condoning either of Cousins’ or Greene’s actions – but emotions can get the best of people, especially those with incredibly competitive natures such as DeMarcus. I don’t need to remind you of the physical altercations that Micheal Jordan and Charles Barkley (among many many others) got into with their teammates, do I?
It’s a heat of the moment thing. We as fans are incredibly frustrated with the way things have been going lately – the Kings have been so close, against so many powerhouse teams, only to continually fall on their face in the gasping moments. Imagine how the players feel. We’ve had Tyreke Evans running into issues with Paul Westphal shortly as a week ago – now this.
Sure, maybe Evans should have handled his displeasure a bit differently. And yes, DeMarcus and Donte never should have come to blows – but I’ll say this. Give me a group of guys with fire and passion for winning over some guys out there just collecting a paycheck.
I’m not saying this situation was correct, at all. But I do understand where the frustrations are coming from. The most unfortunate part of this will be the continued assault by the the mainstream media on Cousins’ reputation, which is unjust. It’s a shame media and fans outside of Sacramento wont take the time or put forth the energy to see just how fun and talented DeMarcus really is. To them, he’s just a malcontent thug. To me, he’s a fun loving, passionate, fiery kid with maturity issues that hopefully graduate over time.
But that’s just a realistic view point – and what good is that shit!?