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George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins have reportedly had a rocky relationship from the start.
After a rocky offseason that saw their best player DeMarcus Cousins publicly feud with head coach George Karl amid trade rumors, the Kings have started the season 1-7 and already had a players-only meeting.
According to a report from The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre, the situation has quickly gotten out of hand.
McIntyre reports that after the Kings loss to the Spurs on Monday night, Cousins unleashed a rant of cursing at Karl in front of the entire team in the locker room. Karl reportedly walked away.
Later, as Cousins asked players if he was too hard on Karl, GM and President of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac and assistant GM Mike Bratz were asking players if Karl should be fired.
What hasn't been reported is that after the players spoke, Sacramento general manager Vlade Divac and assistant GM Mike Bratz talked to the players and Divac asked the team, "We don't know what to do with George [Karl], do you think we should fire him?"
The players, a person close to the situation said, were shocked and didn't know how to respond.
Again, this is the latest, and perhaps most dramatic, development in a series of events quickly rolling downhill that began last season with the hiring of Karl against Cousins' wishes.
Over the summer, after a report that Karl was trying to trade Cousins - even though he reportedly wasn't granted total control over player personnel - Cousins sent out a tweet with a snake emoji next to a grass emoji. The two reportedly made up over the offseason, though this cold Summer League handshake did little to dispel concerns over the pairing.
In the meantime, the Kings made one of the most short-sighted trades in recent memory, sending the Philadelphia 76ers a surfeit of assets to clear up cap space in the pursuit of Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews. Ellis took less money to go to the Pacers, Matthews took a max. contract with the Mavericks, and the Kings took a one-year flyer on Rajon Rondo and signed Marco Belinelli and Kosta Koufus instead.
The Kings' roster has legitimate NBA talent, but the fit is questionable. In a stacked Western Conference, they could maybe compete for a bottom playoff spot if everything broke their way. Given all of the other issues, namely Karl and Cousins, things are far from breaking their way, and it appears that the team that hasn't made the playoffs in almost ten years is on the verge of another lost season..
We have reached out to the Kings for comment.