DeMarcus Cousins: 'I still don’t feel I get the respect I deserve'

#2
Other than the digs at the organization, I thought it gave a possible glimpse into his mindset. The digs at the organization while true in a "practical" sense didn't put them in proper context of what was happening in real life. In terms of Demarcus, the organization should be viewed in the here and now. Has the framework of stability been put in place? Is there a vision?
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#5
Haven't we heard something eerily similar to this the past two seasons? Not enough respect, don't understand the organizations direction/views, etc. This is getting very repetitive...we all said it, change starts within. Control what you can control, that is play basketball, be quiet and stop throwing tantrums on the court and having these mood swings when things don't go your way. Respect is earned, not given....winning will give you plenty of respect. He had a small dose of it when the Kings were winning with Malone, do that for a season...you got respect.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#7
Haven't we heard something eerily similar to this the past two seasons? Not enough respect, don't understand the organizations direction/views, etc. This is getting very repetitive...we all said it, change starts within. Control what you can control, that is play basketball, be quiet and stop throwing tantrums on the court and having these mood swings when things don't go your way. Respect is earned, not given....winning will give you plenty of respect. He had a small dose of it when the Kings were winning with Malone, do that for a season...you got respect.
And who exactly was responsible for ****ing up that small dose of winning?

Winning is an organizational achievement, not an individual one, and Boogie has won just about exactly as many games as he should have. Hsi career has consisted of:

Years 1-3: Dying Maloof era, bargain basement coaches and teammates for a team the owners themselves did not even intend to win in a constantly distracting melodrama.
Year 4: complete teardown year under Vivek/PDA, 22 teammates, 16 different starters, again no CHANCE at winning
Year 5: started the year settled, same coach, more stable roster, and what do you know, we started winning....And then the Great Idiocy happened, Cuz gets sick, we burn through 3 coaches in 1 year again, winning pissed down the drain BY THE ORGANIZATION
Year 6: George Karl

there's nothing there. The charge of "not winniing" is a vague and weak one that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There was noplace TO win. no opportunity presented for virtually anybody shy of maybe a LeBron, and maybe not even him given the terible coaching and constant dysfunction.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#8
And who exactly was responsible for ****ing up that small dose of winning?

Winning is an organizational achievement, not an individual one, and Boogie has won just about exactly as many games as he should have. Hsi career has consisted of:

Years 1-3: Dying Maloof era, bargain basement coaches and teammates for a team the owners themselves did not even intend to win in a constantly distracting melodrama.
Year 4: complete teardown year under Vivek/PDA, 22 teammates, 16 different starters, again no CHANCE at winning
Year 5: started the year settled, same coach, more stable roster, and what do you know, we started winning....And then the Great Idiocy happened, Cuz gets sick, we burn through 3 coaches in 1 year again, winning pissed down the drain BY THE ORGANIZATION
Year 6: George Karl

there's nothing there. The charge of "not winniing" is a vague and weak one that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There was noplace TO win. no opportunity presented for virtually anybody shy of maybe a LeBron, and maybe not even him given the terible coaching and constant dysfunction.
Look...I'm not blaming Cousins for the sole reason of the losing. He's been put into an impossible situation, I understand that. But when I hear "I deserve more respect" of course it will come back to him being the star player, whether the blame is warranted or not. Winning garners respect and recognition, rightfully so. No body cares for 27 and 12 on a 33 win team, or 25 and 12 on a 25 win team.....personal achievements are great and all but at the end of the day....if the team is incapable of winning with him, it's time to move on.
 
#10
Look...I'm not blaming Cousins for the sole reason of the losing. He's been put into an impossible situation, I understand that. But when I hear "I deserve more respect" of course it will come back to him being the star player, whether the blame is warranted or not. Winning garners respect and recognition, rightfully so. No body cares for 27 and 12 on a 33 win team, or 25 and 12 on a 25 win team.....personal achievements are great and all but at the end of the day....if the team is incapable of winning with him, it's time to move on.
While this is somewhat true, Mitch Richmond was well respected around the league despite losing every year. He is not alone on that front. Cousins is often held to a higher standard for his team's success (or failure) than many other stars IMO.
 
#11
I can't find that quote anywhere in the article.

I even Searched the whole webpage, but the word "respect" only showed up in the headline, not quoted in context.

Was he talking about the organization, or was he saying the media and league-at-large don't respect him?

If it's the latter, than there's nothing to see in this article - move on.
If it's the former, then you can stick a fork in the franchise, because it's OVER. Without an engaged, trusting Boogie, this team will not succeed and only pain will follow for years to come.
 
#12
And who exactly was responsible for ****ing up that small dose of winning?

Winning is an organizational achievement, not an individual one, and Boogie has won just about exactly as many games as he should have. Hsi career has consisted of:

Years 1-3: Dying Maloof era, bargain basement coaches and teammates for a team the owners themselves did not even intend to win in a constantly distracting melodrama.
Year 4: complete teardown year under Vivek/PDA, 22 teammates, 16 different starters, again no CHANCE at winning
Year 5: started the year settled, same coach, more stable roster, and what do you know, we started winning....And then the Great Idiocy happened, Cuz gets sick, we burn through 3 coaches in 1 year again, winning pissed down the drain BY THE ORGANIZATION
Year 6: George Karl

there's nothing there. The charge of "not winniing" is a vague and weak one that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There was noplace TO win. no opportunity presented for virtually anybody shy of maybe a LeBron, and maybe not even him given the terible coaching and constant dysfunction.

All you have to do is look at his performance in December and second half of January to see how Boogie's play torpedoed our season when we gave away a ton of winnable games due to his underperformance. The head coaching void and SG void and defensive perimeter void were definitely factors too, but the 8th spot was there for the taking and Boogie was not good enough to lead us there. That's not even opinion or narrative. That's fact with a PG and offense that catered to his skill allowing him over 30% usage rate (#1 in NBA!) while icing out a 20 PPG scorer. All you have to do is look at the WILD variance in production and efficiency over aforementioned time frame for proof.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#13
While this is somewhat true, Mitch Richmond was well respected around the league despite losing every year. He is not alone on that front. Cousins is often held to a higher standard for his team's success (or failure) than many other stars IMO.
That's because he is the only star on the team, with no other player to help take some of the burden off when he isn't on his game, injured or whatever else the case may be.
 
#15
Whaaaaaa. It seems like every time we think we are finally away from the unneeded drama, he has to say or do something to bring the (negative) attention to himself. I'm starting to think he likes being the focus of attention. Just shut up and play basketball. Oh, and maybe lead your team to more than 30 wins and you'll get that "respect" you are looking for.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#16
All you have to do is look at his performance in December and second half of January to see how Boogie's play torpedoed our season when we gave away a ton of winnable games due to his underperformance. The head coaching void and SG void and defensive perimeter void were definitely factors too, but the 8th spot was there for the taking and Boogie was not good enough to lead us there. That's not even opinion or narrative. That's fact with a PG and offense that catered to his skill allowing him over 30% usage rate (#1 in NBA!) while icing out a 20 PPG scorer. All you have to do is look at the WILD variance in production and efficiency over aforementioned time frame for proof.
Proof of foolishness by the fanbase perhaps. Yes, because as we all know all NBA players are absolutely consistent at all points in time.

Boogie had a fugly December. Happens when you're not 100%. I asked Kayte about it on twitter at the time, and she said he was battling some nagging injuries. He had ankles, and eventually came out foot problems over the course of the year too.

He then went on an INSANE run...and laughably you again want to make the argument that because he could not sustain one of the greatest runs any center has had in the past dozen years or so for a full season, that its his fault. Not the way it works. When you put up season long numbers at the level Cousins did, if you had a cold streak, it also means you had hot streaks, and if your team was worth a damn you should have won most of those.


And now trying to imply that Rudy was iced out and that was our problem, even implying it was Cuz's fault, is really nothing short of trolling. Or stupidity. But I will call it trollling.

Rudy performed much BETTER with Cousins on the floor last year. Where he struggled catastrophically was without Cousins. He failed to pick up the slack. And that's not on Cousins. Vlade seems to think it was on Rudy, and hence a trade. I myself think that Karl's start from the perimeter dribble-drive offense was particularly ill-suited to what both Rudy and Cousins do. But either way, Cousins didn't make Rudy have a down year, and you can't possibly point to any evidence that Rudy having up years has provided much of a winning boost to anybody, because it notoriously doesn't exist.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#17
Whaaaaaa. It seems like every time we think we are finally away from the unneeded drama, he has to say or do something to bring the (negative) attention to himself. I'm starting to think he likes being the focus of attention. Just shut up and play basketball. Oh, and maybe lead your team to more than 30 wins and you'll get that "respect" you are looking for.
As I pointed out above, he has been given next to no opportunity to do so. And hence the weaksauce of the "winszzz!!" argument. One time in 6 years a clean shot with an appropriate coach and a weak, but doable roster. And we responded precisely by winning...at which point the organizational stupidity overwhelmed us again, and we promptly re-ruined everything. This next season might be the second time...assuming we don't trade away the last of the supporting talent between now and opening day.
 
#18
All you have to do is look at his performance in December and second half of January to see how Boogie's play torpedoed our season when we gave away a ton of winnable games due to his underperformance.
All you have to do is look at who the coach was last season to understand what went on:

Whether you think it was right or not, but the Kings players did not want to win for George Karl.
If they had won, Karl would still be here, being praised for getting the Kings back to competitiveness (despite the obvious fact that any successes last year were in spite of Karl's incompetence).
If I was one of the Kings players, I would not want Karl to get the credit for my labors either, and I would not want him as my coach for years to come.
So the players were in a bind - if they didn't want Karl as their coach for two more seasons, they couldn't win for too long last season.

Again, you probably don't like this, but you need to be aware of the reality the players were thrown into (despite Cousins' "camp's" protests against bringing Karl in).
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#20
Cuz is in shape right now? Gosh dang it.......that just proves he doesn't want to be here because, because reasons. I mean, there's a reason he's in shape, how is he supposed to be a leader when he's committed to being a better player. Him just doing his job is a clear slap in the face to the organization and reasons and stuff.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
#21
Our players love to talk tough when it does not matter how about they not quit during the season for once. First WCS saying he doesn't get out worked only to be out worked in every single SL game and now Cousins talking rubbish like always just go out there and win a couple games.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#23
Look...I'm not blaming Cousins for the sole reason of the losing. He's been put into an impossible situation, I understand that. But when I hear "I deserve more respect" of course it will come back to him being the star player, whether the blame is warranted or not. Winning garners respect and recognition, rightfully so. No body cares for 27 and 12 on a 33 win team, or 25 and 12 on a 25 win team.....personal achievements are great and all but at the end of the day....if the team is incapable of winning with him, it's time to move on.
Maybe I missed something, but I didn't think he was talking about the Kings organization. I thought he was talking about the media. He felt that they take whatever he says and twist it into their agenda. He referred to that fact that one media person didn't even give him a vote for first, second, or third team NBA. And he's right, he's earned on the court respect with his play. Yeah, he gripes to the officials, but so does Griffin and many others as well. But it's his gripes that get the attention.

In my opinion, Cousins is the best center in the NBA, and should get the respect of the best center in the NBA. Lets remember that Cousins doesn't go and seek out reporters or ESPN talking heads. They seek him out and they ask the questions. As a result whatever he says always seems to have some secret meaning to media. His only alternative would be to not answer the questions, and they would make an even bigger deal out of that. I always find Cousins remarks refreshing. He's honest and doesn't blow smoke up anyone's butt. He'll never be a politician.
 
#25
Maybe I missed something, but I didn't think he was talking about the Kings organization. I thought he was talking about the media. He felt that they take whatever he says and twist it into their agenda. He referred to that fact that one media person didn't even give him a vote for first, second, or third team NBA. And he's right, he's earned on the court respect with his play. Yeah, he gripes to the officials, but so does Griffin and many others as well. But it's his gripes that get the attention.

In my opinion, Cousins is the best center in the NBA, and should get the respect of the best center in the NBA. Lets remember that Cousins doesn't go and seek out reporters or ESPN talking heads. They seek him out and they ask the questions. As a result whatever he says always seems to have some secret meaning to media. His only alternative would be to not answer the questions, and they would make an even bigger deal out of that. I always find Cousins remarks refreshing. He's honest and doesn't blow smoke up anyone's butt. He'll never be a politician.
100% on the mark.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#26
Haha. So true. Maybe we could list some players who get respect and some players who don't. Then we could talk about why they do or don't. Maybe we would learn from it.
Mostly you would just learn from it that human beings as a species are stupid, bigoted, and illogical. They like easy narratives, they bandwagon, they subconsciously bend whatever little facts penetrate their hazy minds to fit whatever agenda the cool kids are pitching at the moment. And then poof!, it can all turn on a dime. Just one event or one stint that makes it cool to suddenly respect or disrespect a guy, and everybody piles on and swings their prejudices back around the other way.
 
#27
Whaaaaaa. It seems like every time we think we are finally away from the unneeded drama, he has to say or do something to bring the (negative) attention to himself. I'm starting to think he likes being the focus of attention. Just shut up and play basketball. Oh, and maybe lead your team to more than 30 wins and you'll get that "respect" you are looking for.
"Shut up and play basketball"???? Really? That is like me telling you to shut up and be a Fan. The whole point of his statement is that writers (I am hesitant to call them reporters) embellish and spin every comment and then the headline writers boast in bold something that was not even said. This plays right into the narrative of KANGZ, dumpster fire, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.

Please tell us how you envision for Cousins to: " lead your team to more than 30 wins" ??? Should Cuz arrange it so George Karl can rally his team to defend the 3 point line at least to some average level? Should he coach Staukas on how to hit an in game 3 point shot? Should he somehow get Rondo to return to his pre-injury self and play stellar defense? Perhaps you want him to teach Ben how to dribble in traffic? How about fixing it so the gerbil and minion mully don't fire Coach Malone?

It just gets so repetitve when all this negativity is focused on the one guy who has laced them up and brought it every game. Many of the naysayers will not be happy until Big Cuz is wearing Celtic Green and the Kings have 3 1st round draft picks to use on players that doubtfully will ever be half the player Big Cuz is.

IMO opinion many just love to lambast Big Cuz because HE IS AN EASY TARGET. Yep I can see that thought process now: kick the dog, complain about the weather and taxes then............"I know I will write some negative crap about the best player on the Kings because............well because it is what I do"
 
#28
Proof of foolishness by the fanbase perhaps. Yes, because as we all know all NBA players are absolutely consistent at all points in time.

Boogie had a fugly December. Happens when you're not 100%. I asked Kayte about it on twitter at the time, and she said he was battling some nagging injuries. He had ankles, and eventually came out foot problems over the course of the year too.

He then went on an INSANE run...and laughably you again want to make the argument that because he could not sustain one of the greatest runs any center has had in the past dozen years or so for a full season, that its his fault. Not the way it works. When you put up season long numbers at the level Cousins did, if you had a cold streak, it also means you had hot streaks, and if your team was worth a damn you should have won most of those.


And now trying to imply that Rudy was iced out and that was our problem, even implying it was Cuz's fault, is really nothing short of trolling. Or stupidity. But I will call it trollling.

Rudy performed much BETTER with Cousins on the floor last year. Where he struggled catastrophically was without Cousins. He failed to pick up the slack. And that's not on Cousins. Vlade seems to think it was on Rudy, and hence a trade. I myself think that Karl's start from the perimeter dribble-drive offense was particularly ill-suited to what both Rudy and Cousins do. But either way, Cousins didn't make Rudy have a down year, and you can't possibly point to any evidence that Rudy having up years has provided much of a winning boost to anybody, because it notoriously doesn't exist.
Except when he had a "FUGLY" December you defended him. So there's that. o_O Your credibility goes out the window IMHO when you can only offer a semblance of objective analysis AFTER the fact. And again you miss the point. Boogie torpedoed our season because in process of coming down from his "INSANE" run (in a system designed by a "BLITHERING IDIOT") he went from GREAT to really bad with 6 for 24 FGs and 5 TOs games.

This has been a primary point of contention that there is TOO MUCH variance to his performance and his bad games which involved forced shots, frustration and barking at refs, which carryover to the defensive side and result in lack of effort that actively LOST us highly winnable games. This is the "GREAT FUTURE HOF PLAYER" you constantly and mindlessly defend. Boogie may get there someday but he's not there yet, and to say that he is, and all the problems related to the team's failure are independent of him is ridiculously naive and blatantly incorrect.

It is really simple so let me state this clear as I can: If you are great player you can have an off-night in terms of your shooting touch while making mostly smart plays and keeping your cool and finding ways to help your team compete (rebounds, smart passes, hustle plays) If your shot is off and you are not getting the calls you do NOT implode and let that frustration effect your effort and intensity. Boogie has yet to show an ability to consistently do this and that's on him an no one else.

As far as Rudy goes "icing out" may not have been the best choice of words, but his usage rate PLUMMETED last season. I don't have the time to look it up but he was effectively shut out of the offense while Rondo-Boogie did their little dance and had their bromance on their way to 33 whopping wins.
 
#29
Except when he had a "FUGLY" December you defended him. So there's that. o_O Your credibility goes out the window IMHO when you can only offer a semblance of objective analysis AFTER the fact. And again you miss the point. Boogie torpedoed our season because in process of coming down from his "INSANE" run (in a system designed by a "BLITHERING IDIOT") he went from GREAT to really bad with 6 for 24 FGs and 5 TOs games.

This has been a primary point of contention that there is TOO MUCH variance to his performance and his bad games which involved forced shots, frustration and barking at refs, which carryover to the defensive side and result in lack of effort that actively LOST us highly winnable games. This is the "GREAT FUTURE HOF PLAYER" you constantly and mindlessly defend. Boogie may get there someday but he's not there yet, and to say that he is, and all the problems related to the team's failure are independent of him is ridiculously naive and blatantly incorrect.

It is really simple so let me state this clear as I can: If you are great player you can have an off-night in terms of your shooting touch while making mostly smart plays and keeping your cool and finding ways to help your team compete (rebounds, smart passes, hustle plays) If your shot is off and you are not getting the calls you do NOT implode and let that frustration effect your effort and intensity. Boogie has yet to show an ability to consistently do this and that's on him an no one else.

As far as Rudy goes "icing out" may not have been the best choice of words, but his usage rate PLUMMETED last season. I don't have the time to look it up but he was effectively shut out of the offense while Rondo-Boogie did their little dance and had their bromance on their way to 33 whopping wins.
He said, she said. If this was politics, Brick would be one extreme and you the other. Both giving the occasional platitudes in an attempt to be objective. And the irony is (possible misuse of that word) you both have solid cases. He IS one of the best centers in the game AND his career up to this point has been in one of the worst run NBA (not sure I would go as far as pro sports) organizations. And by HIS demeanor and actions ON the court HE hasn't done himself or the team any favors.

IF the organization has truly stabilized then it will be up to HIM to reflect that on the court. IF both are up to the task, and I think he will be, I think they can have a good season next year.

And in no way am I claiming to be objective.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#30
Except when he had a "FUGLY" December you defended him. So there's that. o_O Your credibility goes out the window IMHO when you can only offer a semblance of objective analysis AFTER the fact. And again you miss the point. Boogie torpedoed our season because in process of coming down from his "INSANE" run (in a system designed by a "BLITHERING IDIOT") he went from GREAT to really bad with 6 for 24 FGs and 5 TOs games.

This has been a primary point of contention that there is TOO MUCH variance to his performance and his bad games which involved forced shots, frustration and barking at refs, which carryover to the defensive side and result in lack of effort that actively LOST us highly winnable games. This is the "GREAT FUTURE HOF PLAYER" you constantly and mindlessly defend. Boogie may get there someday but he's not there yet, and to say that he is, and all the problems related to the team's failure are independent of him is ridiculously naive and blatantly incorrect.

It is really simple so let me state this clear as I can: If you are great player you can have an off-night in terms of your shooting touch while making mostly smart plays and keeping your cool and finding ways to help your team compete (rebounds, smart passes, hustle plays) If your shot is off and you are not getting the calls you do NOT implode and let that frustration effect your effort and intensity. Boogie has yet to show an ability to consistently do this and that's on him an no one else.

As far as Rudy goes "icing out" may not have been the best choice of words, but his usage rate PLUMMETED last season. I don't have the time to look it up but he was effectively shut out of the offense while Rondo-Boogie did their little dance and had their bromance on their way to 33 whopping wins.
To be honest with you, I'm not sure what your point is, other than to say you don't like Cousins. So then what is your conclusion? Should we trade him, waive him, or maybe horse whip him? What is it that you want? I mean personally, if I didn't have a center, and someone told me I could acquire a center that averaged 26.9 ppg and grabs 12 rebounds a game I'd be happy as a clam. The drinks would be on me. If our starting center was Spencer Hawes, or Hibbert, I doubt there would be much conversation about him. The reason he's talked about is because he's so damm good! And when your at the top, unfortunately people with low self esteem start trying to bring you back down to their level.

In the month of March, Cousins, with two feet that were killing him averaged 25.6 ppg on 46.8% shooting while grabbing 12.0 rebounds. He also blocked 1.6 shots per game and averaged 2.0 steals a game. If I had a team, I would give my right arm for a player like that. And, I might add, that when the Kings were getting blown out, or on the rare occasion that they were blowing out the other team, and Karl had a chance to let Cousins rest his sore feet, he kept him in the game. Cousins never complained publicly and no one except the organization knew.

No one is saying that Cousins is a boy scout. I've been critical of him when it's deserved, but I've seen growth in him as a player and as a person since his arrival. Maybe that growth has been slower than I would have liked, but not everyone in this world is the same, and Cousins came with more distrust than most players. He wears his emotions on his sleeve at times, and it gets him in trouble. But neither you nor I know what it's like to be DeMarcus Cousins. We don't walk in his shoes. I'd probably lose it more often than he does. It's easy to sit behind our little computers and criticize. And I'm not saying you don't have the right to do that. Just be careful what you wish for.

By the way, I've come close to leaving this forum several times. I get tired of listening to some of the nonsense on here and frankly, have better things to do with my time. But people like Bricky, Warhawk, VF21, Glenn, Gilles, Uncia03, The Capt, and several others provide a wealth of information that keeps me coming back. I don't always agree with them, but I sincerely respect them, Until they prove me wrong and then of course I hate them. My point is, we all believe what we believe, but be careful not to box yourself into a defenseless corner and refuse to to listen to advice. Just ask George Armstrong Custer about where that got him.