DeMarcus Cousins found out about coaching change on Twitter
Hey, if a team is going to abruptly fire a head coach on the whims of ownership even though said coach has done pretty well with the situation he was handed, there's little sense in keeping a superstar player in the loop.
Wait, that doesn't sound right.
That was the case with the Sacramento Kings early Monday, as DeMarcus Cousins says he found out about Mike Malone's removal on Twitter. Cousins expressed disappointment in the move, especially since his absence over the past nine games, during which the team's gone 2-7, may have contributed to the move.
Synopsis from DeMarcus Cousins at Kings practice: It's a business. Yes, he was surprised. No, he wasn't consulted. Yes, he trusts them.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) December 15, 2014
Life and basketball both go on, but it's a bad look for the organization that their franchise player was left in the dark about a major move like this.
Malone managed to get more out of Cousins than any coach before him, and any new coach - interim bench boss Tyrone Corbin or otherwise - will have to make their relationship with Cousins priority number one. Cousins appears to have grown a lot as a player and leader this season, but there's some risk here after he clashed with two coaches earlier in his career.