The Sacramento Kings have long been the epitome of dysfunction in the NBA, although the hiring of Dave Joerger as head coach appeared to be a step in the right direction to get things back on track. But because it's the Kings, the drama never ends. Star DeMarcus Cousins stoked the flames with some bizarre comments at Team USA's training camp on Monday:
DeMarcus Cousins says he doesn’t ‘really understand what’s going on’ with the Kings
Cousins still seems a bit confused by some of the Kings’ decisions this summer, even though he’s praised them in the past.
Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
DeMarcus Cousins on Kings Draft: 'I can't control that. I control what I can control. I don't really understand it, but I do my job.'
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) July 18, 2016
DeMarcus Cousins - Kings getting younger/bigger: 'Like I said I don't really understand what's going on, I just control what I can control.'
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) July 18, 2016
This comes after Cousins sent a cryptic tweet on draft night that seemed to imply he wasn't happy with the Kings' decision to take center Georgios Papagiannis with the 13th pick after trading back from No. 8. Not only did Sacramento enter the draft with a stable of centers already on the roster in Cousins, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos, but Papagiannis wasn't regarded as a lottery pick by most draft experts. The Kings later added another raw big man in Skal Labissiere with the 28th pick, along with guard Malachi Richardson at No. 22.
Cousins later explained the tweet was about a “hot sculpting class,” which raised plenty of eyebrows.
Sacramento has followed up its weird draft with a rather mundane free-agency period that's included the additions of veterans Arron Afflalo, Garrett Temple, Anthony Tolliver and Matt Barnes. These deals are all on the shorter side and don't have much risk associated with them, but they also don't move the needle much for the Kings as they look to finally make a return to the playoffs.
Sacramento now has a logjam in the frontcourt and not much happening in the backcourt, where Darren Collison is the only legitimate point guard on the roster. To make matters worse, Collison is dealing with legal issues following a domestic violence charge.
The Rudy Gay trade winds continue to swirl, and perhaps the Kings are shopping him in an attempt to bolster the backcourt. But as of right now, nothing is imminent on that front.
Making this whole situation even stranger is that Cousins said he’s actually upbeat about the free-agent additions, as well as the selections of Richardson and Labissiere. But if that’s the case, why be so cryptic when asked about the team’s summer decisions? There seems to be something still bugging Cousins, and the Kings may again be a team to watch for all the wrong reasons.
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DeMarcus Cousins was upset on NBA Draft night
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