Cousins admits he was disappointed by decision to fire Mike Malone…
Sacramento Kings power forward DeMarcus Cousins has insisted that he plays no role in helping the franchise decide on hiring and firing coaches.
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Cousins claimed that he had no input on the decision making at the franchise, and although he admitted that George Karl was a great coach, he has not been asked for his thoughts on the appointment by the front office.
Speculation claimed that the Kings All-Star was stalling talks as people in his camp were against the appointment, but Cousins moved to address everything concerning him.
“I don’t fire coaches or hire them. Everyone knows I liked and respected Coach [Michael] Malone. I didn’t want [Malone’s firing in December] to happen,” Cousins told ESPN.
“I’m not involved in any coaching decisions right now. I’ve heard that George Karl is a great coach. If that is the direction that the organization chooses, I’ll support it. Out of respect for Coach [Tyrone] Corbin, I hadn’t planned on making any comments about what is rumored out there. But at this point I felt some things needed to be clarified.”
The Kings have yet to formally announce the hiring of Karl, but it is expected that the former Denver Nuggets coach will take over from Ty Corbin after the All-Star break.
Sacramento initially insisted that they would give Corbin until the end of the season, but they are now set to make their third coaching change of the season after losing 19 of their first 25 games under him.
Whether or not Karl can bring an upturn in results this season remains to be seen, but Cousins will certainly hope that he can bring some stability and peace to the organisation as they have now built a reputation of making too many changes when things don’t go to plan.
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