The Kings seem like they’re getting back on the right track with a new arena and a promising new coach in Dave Joerger. The centerpiece of the franchise, however, is DeMarcus Cousins and the team will likely go as far as he can carry them.
It was no secret that Cousins and former head coach George Karl did not get along, and their volatile relationship led to suspensions and verbal spats between. Throughout Karl’s tenure, there seemed to be constant trade rumors between centered around DMC, and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive finally publicly confirmed that Karl was trying to move the franchise player.
Ranadive and USA Today‘s Sam Amick did a thorough Q+A that ended with the two discussing Drake and the night the rapper went to the team’s locker room following an argument between the former coach and player:
Before parting ways, Ranadive wanted to discuss the night that Drake’s presence in the Kings’ locker room after a loss left many questioning his judgment…
A: “He’s friends with DeMarcus. And by the way, I’ve never ever been into the locker room (after a game). So when he was on his way, he said, ‘Hey, I’m just going to go say hi to DeMarcus.’ He had come all the way to support him, and I didn’t know that (there had been a fight).”
Q: That night, though, did you sense pretty quickly that there was some serious tension in the room?
A: You know, look, George had tried to trade Cousins that whole summer, and there was not a lot of love between those two, and so there was tension there. So that was not a new thing.”
Cousins has been highly complimentary of Joerger during training camp and said that he “loves” the Kings’ offense.
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