Cousins on Barkley: 'I have no respect for him'
DeMarcus Cousins holds grudges.
Unappreciative of past words Charles Barkley has spoken about him, the Sacramento Kings' big man doesn't care for the NBA Hall of Famer.
"I have no respect for you and I never will," Cousins said, according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. "We have nothing to talk about. So, yes, every time we see each other, there will never be words."
Barkley has been critical of Cousins multiple times. He once said Cousins needed to grow up after watching him during his high school days. Barkley also supported the decision of former Kings coach Paul Westphal to suspend Cousins in 2012 for conduct detrimental to the team.
Cousins and Barkley are both from Alabama, and the Kings' 24-year-old building block didn't seem to take too kindly to the TNT analyst speaking badly about a player that grew up in the same state as him.
Westphal also coached Barkley.
"Coming up as a kid and hearing that from one of the best players ever to come out of Alabama, a guy people grow up looking up to, to hear him say, 'Well, he's not that good...' I remember it like it was yesterday," Cousins said. "Then, coming into my rookie season, you take up for your ex-coach and say I'm the worst thing that ever happened to Sacramento on national TV. Yeah, I'm going to remember."
Cousins and Barkley had similar personalities as players and are both outspoken. Both also put up big numbers on the court.
Barkley averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds over his 16-year career. Cousins, meanwhile, has career averages of 18 points and 10.3 rebounds.
While Cousins has a reputation for being hot-headed, NBA players such as Carl Landry and DeMar DeRozan defended his character in Bucher's article.
For what it's worth, Cousins' mom believes her son will forgive Barkley. Cousins, however, isn't so sure.
"She sometimes knows me better than I know myself," he said. "As of right now, I have no respect for him and don’t really care to forgive him, so I don’t have the answer to that."