It seems like the pressure of each game is starting to get into the heads of the players, especially with those who have been struggling in this regular season. It was reported recently that star center player of Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, had an outburst of emotion following a defeat last Monday against the Spurs. According to yibada, in an "alleged altercation" between Head Coach George Karl, Cousins "stormed into the locker room and cursed out head coach George Karl with a torrent of obscenities."
The said incident is merely an iceberg rooted from the bad season start of Kings. The action of Cousins is due the current team standing, ranking them 13th in the western conference, having a 2 wins and 7 losses standing. However, after the incident got out from the locker room, Cousins had a statement released which was shared by Marc Spears of Yahoo on his twitter account. According to Spear's via sacbee, Cousins stated that,
"It's no secret that we are all frustrated by losing - me more than anyone. I let my frustrations get the best of me in the locker room following the loss to San Antonio - that is my bad. For the record, my frustration is not about any one person or player or coach. There is no one to blame. All of us is accountable. My frustration is that we are 1-7, simple as that."
In response to the action of DeMarcus Cousins, Coach Karl planned to suspend him for two games. However, such intention was thwarted by King's General manager Vlade Divac. According to Divac, Coach Karl has no authority over such matter. And in response to the tirade in the locker room, Divac called for a meeting to discuss important matters concerning their team.
In connection to the tension between Cousins and Coach Karl, there are now some rumors that Karl would be replaced by former Chicago Bull's head coach, Tom Thibodeau. According to yibada, Divac and assistant GM Mike Bratz asked their player about Karl saying that, "We don't know what to do with George [Karl], do you think we should fire him?"
If the rumors are indeed true, then Kings having Coach Tom on their side would surely show some improvement in their defensive efficiency. Chances for this speculation to come true is quite high, especially that Coach Tom Thibodeau has no coaching job as of the moment. However, if Coach George Karl would be asked about his current team performance, he has this statement for a reply;
"You're building a team, you've got 10 new faces. You're trying to build a culture and an energy that's different... And it's not a light switch. It's a little bit better tonight, a little bit better the next three games, and then you get stronger on the road trip. It's a process; it's not like a light switch."
