George Karl filibusters when asked if Kings want to trade DeMarcus Cousins

Karl declined to confirm what had been written, but he didn’t express his support for keeping Cousins either.

“I think it’s just a lot of crazy crazy fibs and lies,” Karl said. “It’s just a situation where we won 29 games last year and for us as a basketball organization we want to get better. Cous is our best player, we know that. We want him committed and dedicated to being in Sacramento and playing and leading us to the first playoffs in Sacramento in six, seven, eight nine years.”

Karl was then asked directly if he’s interested in trading the 24-year-old All-Star.

“My interest right now is commitment, trust and building a team that’s excited about being in Sacramento, excited and committed to being a good basketball team and representing the city of Sacramento,” Karl answered, later adding: “If he comes committed, I’m a 120 percent into making him the best basketball player he could ever be.”

Maybe these sort of non-answers is why so many NBA players seem to enjoy calling Karl a snake. The initial report got out somehow, and it doesn’t appear that it came from Kings owner Vivek Ranadive or vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac, both of whom are opposed to trading Cousins, according to multiple reports. All indications are that Karl, or someone connected to him, is the person who leaked this information. At this point why not just own up?

Cousins last season averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 3.6 assists per game, each a career high. He is under contract through the 2017-18 season and will earn $15.8 million next year.