DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended indefinitely by the Kings for "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team," club President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced in a release today.
The Kings third-year center was ordered to remain in the locker room after a halftime verbal altercation with coach Keith Smart on Friday night at Staples Center while facing the Clippers. Smart and Cousins got into it verbally at the end of the first quarter.
Cousins expressed remorse for his latest transgression in a brief career marred by similar incidents.
Said Cousins to The Bee's Jason Jones on Friday after the game, "What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room but I was wrong."
Cousins told Jones that he has to react better to tense situations.
"Don't talk back," he said. "That's the thing. I shouldn't have responded back. Should have accepted what was said and stayed quiet....I messed up. I'm apologizing to all my teammates for it, for responding the way I did, and we'll move on from it...I grow from all of my mistakes."
Said Smart to Jones on Friday night, "We're trying to set a standard for all of our players and all our guys who are here. When guys don't fall in line to that we've got to move on."
Cousins is averaging 16.6 points and 9.5 rebounds. He told The Bee's Ailene Voisin earlier this season that he's struggled on the floor, that he's "in a funk" and that his emotions continue to get the best of him.
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