DeMarcus Cousins Fined, Not Suspended, By Kings For Locker Room Altercation

DeMarcus Cousins has been fined an undisclosed amount after the Sacramento Kings wrapped up their internal investigation into a Saturday locker room altercation between the rookie and third-year forward Donte Greene. Cousins was not suspended for the incident; he did miss the Kings’ Sunday game against the Suns after Sacramento brass pulled him off of the team plane Saturday night, but the team never termed his absence a suspension.

Cousins reportedly got into a fistfight with Greene just after the end of Sacramento’s two-point home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. With the Kings down two and just more than five seconds remaining, Greene inbounded the ball to Tyreke Evans beyond the arc. Evans eventually missed a potentially game-winning three-pointer. Cousins had position inside, and had been waving for the ball. It remains unclear how open he really was, as Nick Collison was draped over Cousins’ left arm and Kevin Durant was guarding against the post entry. But Cousins believed he was open, and complained about not receiving the ball as the Kings made their way back to the locker room.

But the Kings were sure to avoid calling Cousins’ grounding a suspension. The Kings’ official release danced around the issue, possibly to avoid the NBA Players Association from getting involved. Here’s the Kings’ release from Sunday in its entirety:

Reportedly, DeMarcus Cousins will not be joining the Kings in Phoenix for their game against the Suns tonight, effectively making his punishment for an altercation with Donte Greene at least a one-game suspension. Fanhouse’s Sam Amick provides this update on Facebook:

Regarding Cousins situation, no official word yet from team. Source says Kings forward was told to meet with basketball president Geoff Petrie on Monday morning at the team’s practice facility to discuss the situation further. The team plays tonight at Phx, Tue. at OKC and Wed. at Dallas before the All-Star break.Amick also notes that these instructions were given to Cousins last night, and that circumstances could change today. And Amick’s report is based on a source; the Kings have yet to make an official announcement on the altercation or Cousins’ status.

Sam Amick of Fanhouse does the detail work: