DeMarcus Cousins used his official Twitter account Wednesday morning to do his best to put an end to a media controversy before it could get started, but by then it appeared to have been too late.
Cousins’ joke about his recovery from a sprained right ankle had already made its way across the Internet with the assumption the Kings center was taking a shot at Chicago guard Derrick Rose, who is out for the season with torn meniscus in his right knee.
Cousins sat out Tuesday’s loss to Oklahoma City because of his injured ankle and was later asked in the locker room if he would be available for Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Probably not. Think I’ll be out the rest of the season and I can get a comeback commercial,” Cousins told reporters as a joke to downplay the seriousness of his injury.
Rose sat out the 2012-13 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the 2012 playoffs. Rose, who has a shoe deal with adidas, recently had a commercial campaign based on his return before the latest injury ended his season.
The Kings had Wednesday off, so Cousins had time to respond to the growing controversy via Twitter: “Let me clear this up now! In no way shape or form was I taking a shot at drose! Stop trying to make a story!!!”
It was too late for that, as several websites had taken the quote and called out Cousins for making fun of the injured former MVP.
Cousins’ relationships with other players around the league has always drawn attention because of his reputation for not getting along with opponents.
Most notably this season, Cousins has made no secret of his disdain for Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, to the point he wouldn’t allow teammate Isaiah Thomas to shake Paul’s hand after a game last month in Los Angeles.
Cousins is expected to play Friday.
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