DeMarcus Cousins was always one of the most polarizing personalities in the NBA, so it’s no surprise that he clashed with coaches during his time in the association. However, the four-time All-Star stressed how players are held to different standards than coaches, which doesn’t help create a strong bond within an organization.
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Boogie explained how when a team recruits a star player in free agency, the franchise tells the player what is expected of them, and they agree before signing. But if the player fails to back up their end of the bargain, they have to face the consequences.
“You get bashed for it,” Cousins said on Gil’s Arena. “You’re not coachable, you’re not the same guy.”
The 34-year-old stressed how those same standards don’t apply to coaches, who can often break promises without any backlash. Cousins recalled his own team’s coaching fiasco when the Sacramento Kings hired George Karl in 2015, and the veteran coach immediately tried to push him out of the organization.
Cousins questioned why Karl didn’t face similar consequences for his own failure, as the Kings never found success in his short tenure. The 73-year-old was canned after just one season, but his distrusting dynamic with Cousins stuck with the big man and quickly changed his feelings toward Sacramento.
While it felt much longer, Karl spent just one year as the Kings’ head coach. The damage had already been done, though, as Cousins still packed his bags for New Orleans less than two years after Karl’s tenure.
The bad blood between Cousins and Karl was there even in 2022 when the former called out the franchise for not treating him well and pointing out that he had to play under 7 coaches in his 7 seasons with the team.
Karl had enough and hit back by claiming that Cousins should have been happy with the $56 million per season contract he was offered by the team, apart from the chances he got to prove himself.
Paid you approx $50M and gave you the opportunity to play professional basketball for a living. https://t.co/KToj2OI82p
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) April 18, 2022
In 2020, Karl infamously named Cousins and put a snake emoji in his tweet while answering a question from HoopHype about the player he disliked the most in the last 10 years. Not one to back down, Cousins replied with a cryptic tweet with a snake emoji of his own to show his contempt for the man who apparently made life tough for him at the Kings.
DeMarcus Cousins has called out George Karl before
Cousins’ outspoken comments toward Karl are nothing new. The 11-year veteran has always been outspoken in his distaste for Karl, especially after the Kings unceremoniously fired a coach Cousins liked in Michael Malone.
In the past, Boogie had praised Karl’s intelligent basketball mind. But it’s clear that Cousins believes the former Coach of the Year’s deficiencies as a coach far overshadow any benefit he would bring to a team.
