George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins (Photo : Getty Images/Rocky Widner)
The season is over for the Sacramento Kings but the drama continues.
Former head coach George Karl broke his silence on his tenure with the Kings and he did not mince words about the big question-his relationship with the team's superstar, DeMarcus Cousins.
In a revealing interview with Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, Karl admitted that he did have some fault with why their relationship went sour.
"I never felt I got into a good place with Cuz," said Karl,. "Some of that was my stupidity when I said that no player is untradeable. I still believe that. But I should have been smart enough not to say it, and I in no way, at any time, thought DeMarcus was going to get traded."
He also lamented how the team never got behind him. "Eighty percent of the time, I think the Kings did what had to be done," Karl said. "But I'm old-school enough to think that a coach has to feel powerful, has to feel supported -- and I never felt that level of support."
To be specific, he narrates the incident early in the season when Cousins shouted and cursed at him in the locker room.
"That night the bomb went off," Karl said. "Vlade was right there. When they supported Cousins instead of me, I felt, 'OK, I'm in the compromise position. Cuz has the power.' They sent that message many times, too many times sent it to the players. And the players wanted someone to stand up to Cuz, and they wanted it to be their coach. But at that point, I realized that you either compromise or you blow it up, and my job was to make us a better basketball team and get to the end of the year."
He then proceeded to talk about what the franchise should do with Cousins and he was frank that the team needs to explore other options aside from the center.
"If the decision is made to keep Cuz, you have to put the right players around him. But it can't be about Cousins. You have to make basketball decisions."
It would be inappropriate for Karl to directly state that the Kings trade Cousins as he would be accused of sour-graping. However, he seems to have subtly suggested it and he places the fault on the team owner.
"Vivek [owner Vivek Ranadive] wanted magic to happen. But in the NBA, magic happens once in a while -- and usually is associated with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan. I think you can win with him [Cousins], but my thing is, how long is it going to take to get there? Then, how long before you become a winning team? I think there are faster ways to go."
Karl is aware that Ranadive is solid behind Cousins being their top draw. In both good and bad ways, Boogie has kept the Kings on the map, being the topic of league wide conversations and speculations. However, he warns about the long-term effects of trying to appease him at every turn, especially now that the Kings are about to embark on a coaching search.
"Whether or not they trade Cuz, they have to empower their coach," he said. "They have to let him coach. It takes a few years to build a program. It becomes a culture, an energy force."
ESPN noted that the Kings have had eight coaches since the 2006-07 season and they have not made the playoffs in all of that time. In contrast, their coach before that stretch, Rick Adelman, made the playoffs in all of his eight seasons. While personnel is also a factor, it does support the argument that having an empowered head coach can make a team better.
