DeMarcus Cousins is at it again, which is almost never a good thing. The Sacramento Kings centre is one of those players whose obvious talents are too often overcome by his emotions.
There is little doubt Cousins is talented, which is not to say he is superstar material but he does lead the Kings in scoring (16.6 points per game) and rebounding (9.5). The Kings are just 9-18, but he is the best talent they have.
Alas, he is also easily their most volatile player. After one too many flare-ups with the Kings coach Paul Westphal last season, the coach suspended him for a game and publicly criticised him.
Ownership, not wanting to trade away a promising young big man, fired Westphal seven games into the season.
But now - surprise - Cousins has got into it with the man hired to replace Westphal, Keith Smart. Cousins reportedly got into a heated, profanity-filled tirade with Smart during half time of their game on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Smart benched Cousins for the entire second half and told him to stay in the locker room. On Saturday the team, not the coach, suspended him indefinitely for "unprofessional behaviour and conduct detrimental to the team".
"We're trying to set a standard here, and when guys move below that standard, things are going to take place," Smart said.
This time, really, they cannot afford to give in. Ideally they should trade this breathing headache, but right now they would have to sell low.
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