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As the years go by, issues between the Sacramento Kings and star center DeMarcus Cousins continue to pop up.
The Kings have suspended Cousins for one game for conduct detrimental to the team, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac.
Cousins will serve the suspension in Sacramento’s next contest against the Orlando Magic on Friday.
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Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right ring fingertip during the contest last night at New Orleans, an X-ray taken at Kaiser Permanente confirmed this afternoon.
McLemore will be listed as questionable for tomorrow’s home game against Cleveland and day-to-day moving forward.
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The Sacramento Kings announced today a change to its coaching staff, parting ways with assistant coach Vance Walberg, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac.
“This was a tough decision made after consideration of what is best for the team moving forward,” Divac said. “We want to thank Vance for his contributions to the organization and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”
Walberg joined the Sacramento bench on February 23, 2015.
Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the 21-31 Kings, who are on a four-game losing streak:
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In what might be the most instinctive and impressive move of his short reign as the Kings’ general manager, Vlade Divac hit the brakes and prevented his franchise from spinning out of control. To the surprise of many, he spoke with his coach in Philadelphia, discussed the issues about defense, energy and erratic performances, and reacted with an abundance of common sense.
He didn’t fire George Karl.
He fixated on personnel flaws.
He took the car keys from DeMarcus Cousins.
That latter topic of discussion? That was huge. The 6-foot-11 Cousins, who devours Kings coaches for breakfast, lunch and dinner, isn’t bigger than the building and certainly not bigger than the team. Yet for the first time in a very long time, the Kings’ ownership/front office demonstrated a modicum of maturity, an approach that is thoughtful and measured, not the familiar knee-jerk reaction.
Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay suffered a left ankle sprain early in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Brooklyn. A subsequent X-ray taken following the contest were negative and he will be listed as day to day going forward.
The Sacramento Kings have re-assigned rookie forward Duje Dukan to the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.
Dukan is averaging 13.4 points (.336 FG%, .727 FT%, .318 3PT%), 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 31.0 minutes per game in nine games in which he started for the Bighorns.
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Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins suffered a sprained left ankle late in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game at Memphis.
X-rays taken after the contest were negative and Cousins will be listed as day to day moving forward.
The Kings are 20-27 this season. Cousins is averaging 27.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game and was recently selected as a reserve for the 2016 Western conference NBA All-Star team.
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Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay was reexamined today at Kaiser Permanente and it was determined that he will miss tomorrow’s game at New Orleans as he continues to recover from a left eye corneal abrasion suffered in the waning stages of the second overtime against Charlotte on Monday.
Gay’s condition is improving daily and he will be listed as day to day going forward.
Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings, who just unleashed a 142-point output against a struggling Phoenix Suns squad and on Monday will face a much higher-level opponent:
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There’s no telling which Kings team will appear Monday in Oklahoma City.
It could be the energetic team that runs and enthusiastically moves the ball. Or it might be the team that looks disinterested.
The Kings, 4-11 on the road, begin a two-game trip against the Thunder, followed by a game Tuesday in Dallas.
“We’re capable of being an elite team, so it’s just a matter of what Kings team shows up,” guard Darren Collison said. “We want the best Kings team to show up every night right now.”
The Kings might have been at their best in beating the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Their 142 points were the franchise’s most in 23 years, and they shot a season-high 60.9 percent. But the Suns have lost eight consecutive games.
Coach George Karl moved into a tie for fifth on the NBA wins list with 1,155 when DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and nine rebounds Saturday to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 142-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns, who lost their eighth in a row.
Karl matched Phil Jackson with the milestone win. The 63-year-old Karl is 1,155-795 in 27 seasons…
Darren Collison had 21 points and six assists and Marco Belinelli had 19 points for the Kings. Rudy Gay added 16 points and Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists.
— Associated Press