Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Sacramento rookie DeMarcus Cousins was fined by the team Monday for fighting with a teammate after a recent game and will rejoin the Kings after missing one game.
Cousins got into an altercation in the locker room with Donte Greene after a 99-97 home loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Cousins reportedly was upset that Greene had not passed him the ball for the final shot in the game. Greene passed the ball to Tyreke Evans, who missed a 3-point attempt.
President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie said there is no place for violence on or off the court in the NBA and that’s why Cousins needed to be punished. Cousins did not join the Kings for Sunday’s win in Phoenix while the team investigated.
“We will now move forward together,” Petrie said. “We do not intend to give up on DeMarcus’ talent or potential. We look forward to watching his continued improvement and development, which has been significant since the beginning of the season.”
This is not the first time the team has had to discipline Cousins. He was taken out of the starting lineup for one game and fined by coach Paul Westphal for making a choking gesture at Golden State guard Reggie Williams during a game in December.
He also was kicked out of practice by Westphal in November and reportedly fined in the preseason for a verbal altercation with the team’s strength and conditioning coach.
Cousins apologized to his teammates, the organization and Kings fans.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions and know that I must keep raising my standard of professionalism to be my best and a great player in the NBA,” he said.
Cousins, the fifth pick in last year’s draft, is averaging 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
-AP