Cousins explains how Garcia changed his original view of the Kings. Premiered on NBC Sports Bay Area.
DeMarcus Cousins’ relationship with the Kings has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least.
Cousins, the No. 5 overall pick by Sacramento in the 2010 NBA Draft, reflected on his rocky relationship with the team during and after his six-and-a-half-year stint with the 916s.
During a recent appearance on “The Draymond Green Show,” the four-time NBA All-Star reflected on a conversation he had with former Kings wing Francisco Garcia that changed his perception of the Kings organization early in his career.
“It was hard and confusing,” Cousins said. “At Kentucky, [Coach Jon Calipari] He treated us like professionals. He prepared us for the next level. I will never forget this. Thanks to Francisco Garcia, my vet. Cisco was my vet. But in my rookie season it was a piece of cake. I don’t even remember what the job was, but I never had anything like that at Kentucky. [and] Then I came to Kings and in my mind I thought this was another step up.
“This is an elite level of basketball, so my expectations were subverted to say the least. I remember it was a quick job and Cisco said, ‘Dude, you were really spoiled at Kentucky,’ and in my mind I thought, ‘Yeah, maybe I was,’ but at the same time I thought, ‘This is an even more elite level, so why would I be considered spoiled?'”
“So, long story short, Cisco ended up getting traded to the Houston Rockets. I remember him talking to me a little while after he got there, and he was like, ‘Hey, I remember you telling me that day that I was spoiled.’ He was like, ‘I was wrong. We were terrible.’ I knew I wasn’t tripping.”
After his impressive tenure at Kentucky, Cousins entered the NBA and joined a team that had just finished 14th in the Western Conference with a 25-57 record.
During his rookie season, Cousins averaged 14.1 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds, but the Kings (14-58) again finished 14th in the West. Sacramento didn’t win more than 29 games during Cousins’ tenure until 2015-16 (33-49, 10th in the West) and again in 2016-17 (32-50), when he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
In 470 games played over seven seasons, Cousins averaged 21.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while earning first-team All-Rookie selections and two-time All-NBA Second Team selections.
Cousins has undoubtedly cemented his greatness in Sacramento, but he acknowledged it was tough navigating all the changes the team was going through in its bid to escape the bottom of the conference.
“I’m not here to criticize the Kings or anything. In sports, you get good years and bad years. I happened to come in at a time when the team was declining and the organization was trying to get back on its feet. It was a transitional period. The owners that drafted me were ready to sell the team and get out. So I got caught up in something that was out of my control. The average fan or whatever doesn’t really understand the business and that part of the game. So it’s easy to look at my situation and pin the blame on them. To be honest, a lot of it was my fault. I did a lot of dumb things. A lot of stupid things. But that’s part of growing up and becoming a man. I hit my head a few times. But it was tough. It was tough to figure out.
“It’s tough to implement a new system every year. Every coach has a different system and a different way of thinking. Trying to succeed in a new system every year is really tough. On top of that, they say the players set the tone, and they do. But whether an organization is successful starts at the top. Like any organization, it starts at the top. So, it just didn’t work. Things weren’t aligned right. And the Kings weren’t ready to grow yet. I ended up going through two ownership groups, three GMs, I was there six and a half years, six coaches. Like I said, it was tough to navigate. But at the end of the day, when it came to competing, that was my foundation.
“I had a personal goal, which was to be the best player I could be and find a way to shine, regardless of my situation. That was my mindset going into it.”
It took 16 seasons, but the Kings have finally come out of their infamous playoff drought and are on track for sustained success in the NBA. As Cousins made clear in an interview last year, this newfound success is “great” for him, and despite past tensions between him and the team, he’s happy for their “great” fans and the city of Sacramento.
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