HoopsHype.com Rumors

Will DeMarcus Cousins play Friday when the Sacramento Kings host the visiting New York Knicks? The final say is up to Keith Smart, who has apparently made a decision. But in typical Smart fashion, he wouldn’t offer any further details. “I won’t share it right now,” Smart said following Thursday practice. “Because that’s my prerogative to keep it where I want to keep it right now.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

On the treadmill, on the sideline, in the locker room, Keith Smart sweats profusely. He sweats the small stuff and the big stuff. He sweats about his young center's destructive behavior, the Kings' erratic performances and a collective body language that suggests his 12 players work for 12 different corporations. The one thing he doesn't sweat is his ability to do the job. "I know I can do this," Smart said, "and my nature is that I never get discouraged. If we lose a game, I walk in the next day, and it's like a graveyard around here. I'll ask the guys, 'Did you read the obituaries? Did you see your name in there?' If you're here, you always have the opportunity to change." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart 

Given the chance to stick around – and the Maloofs have given every indication they plan to keep Smart for the duration of a contract that runs through 2013-14 – the Kings' second-year coach will stick to his program while continuing to advocate for significant personnel changes. He notes the chronic need for an elite facilitator, for a locker room craving a dynamic, established star, along with the fact that his assembled cast – which is not devoid of individual talent – consists of too many small guards and not enough frontcourt length. Nonetheless, given the Kings' poor record (9-18) and an ill-defined style of play, questions about Smart's own stewardship have increased. Is he a capable head coach? Can he establish a team identity? And does he have the forcefulness and internal clout to discipline and nurture Cousins, the gifted center who has been suspended three times this season, most recently for cursing out his coach during halftime of Friday's game against the Clippers at Staples Center? Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart 

Jon Santiago: Keith Smart suggested that though DeMarcus has been reinstated, it doesn't mean he'll play Wednesday vs. Blazers. #nbakings Twitter @itsjonsantiago

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

Sam Amick: Keith Smart seemed to be almost a father figure to DeMarcus. They did have a connection. news10.net

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

The decision to sit Cousins was mutually agreed to by both head coach Keith Smart and President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Smart said the team would revisit the possibility of bringing back the 22-year-old “after a couple of days or so.” “Like I said, all along I’m trying to create an environment here,” Smart told reporters after Saturday practice. ”And we all gotta move forward to making sure that we do everything we can to keep that environment in the right direction. And when any player goes beyond that, then there’s going to be consequences to that. And I thought last night, it moved in that direction.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Geoff Petrie, Keith Smart 

Clearly the Kings felt his apology was not enough this time around. And it appears that his behavior and actions are beginning to wear thin. “Deeds become important now,” said the Kings head coach when asked if Cousins’ continued apologies still hold credibility. “It’s not so much words. And I think that’s where you’re trying to get him or any person to get (to understand) the deeds of it. Because everyone will see your deeds and then there will be more believability there than just words you’re saying.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

Here are some quotes from the Kings locker room regarding DeMarcus Cousins being left in the locker room at halftime of tonight's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers after a verbal altercation with head coach Keith Smart. Smart on why Cousins didn't play in the second half: "It was conduct detrimental to the team and we left it at." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

Smart on if Cousins would play Sunday against Portland: "I'm going to focus on tonight and then I'll move forward to the next day." PCousins said he "was in the wrong" during halftime. "What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room but I was wrong. But what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

Cousins said the situation was humbling. "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." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart 

Namely, sources close to key Kings players have told ProBasketballTalk that they are frustrated with the fact that point guard Isaiah Thomas isn’t starting and acting as the team’s floor general. Thomas finished seventh in last season’s Rookie of the Year voting, but arguably could have finished as high as second place when one compares his numbers to that of Ricky Rubio, who held that spot. NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart, Isaiah Thomas 

As it turns out, the Kings players themselves are having a real hard time understanding the train wreck they’re a part of on the court every night. “They know that they’re playing terrible basketball right now,” said one source close to the players. “But they’ve thrown their hands up trying to figure out Keith Smart.” NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart, Isaiah Thomas 

“A lot of times, the ball has stopped,” said the Kings head coach of his team’s tendency to go one-on-one more often than not. “The guy gets it and now the defense loads up to him (yet) he still tries to make a move.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Keith Smart 

But coach Keith Smart shouldn't worry, not only because the Maloofs remains supportive of his program but because they aren't interested in making what would be fifth coaching change since 2006. Smart already had his 2013-14 contract option picked up, and – record aside - has received major credit for establishing a defense-first culture and connecting with third-year forward DeMarcus Cousins. USA Today

Sacramento Kings, Coaching, Keith Smart 

Sean Cunningham: That awkward moment when Keith Smart notices that he & Sacbee beat writer @Jason Jones are wearing same dress shirt #nbakings Twitter @News10Sean

Sacramento Kings, Keith Smart 

Smart said guard Tyreke Evans should be available for tonight's game against Toronto. Evans, who missed the last two games with a bruised left knee, was held out of parts of practice Tuesday but had a good workout, Smart said. "He came in and did some treadmill work, did some sprint work on the floor and then got up his shots," Smart said. "I just wanted to get him to where he did some change of direction on the floor and ran into someone, but I think he'll be ready to go." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Keith Smart, Injuries, Tyreke Evans 

The team's lack of improvement and charisma have left Petrie with few allies among the owners. His contract expires at the end of the season, and if the trend continues, he could be gone within weeks. The Maloofs wholeheartedly endorse Keith Smart and are adamantly opposed to firing another coach. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Geoff Petrie, Joe Maloof, Keith Smart 

Under Petrie, the NBA's longest-tenured top basketball executive, the Kings have missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons; four coaches have been scorched in the process, with Keith Smart's job security suddenly not so secure; the slow start has dampened preseason enthusiasm and furthered the belief that the Maloofs don't care and Smart can't coach, and that Petrie's Princeton pedigree notwithstanding, he is no longer the brains behind a highly successful venture. (NBA scouts summarized the Kings as a low-IQ roster that lacks a floor leader/facilitator, and has too many small guards and duplicating small forwards, a dearth of perimeter shooters, terrible chemistry and inexplicable offense.) Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Geoff Petrie, Keith Smart 

Cousins, who missed Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, did not meet with media following Monday practice in Natomas. Teammates and coaches avoided offering any details on what Cousins may or may not have said to Spurs’ color commentator Sean Elliott following Friday’s loss at Sleep Train Arena. Geoff Petrie was also asked to address the Cousins situation, but the Kings president of basketball operations declined to meet with reporters. Cowbell Kingdom also reached out to the NBA for further clarity, but the league doesn’t release details of their investigations to such incidents, according to an official. “He told me his story, his side,” Kings head coach Keith Smart told the media pack present at Monday’s practice. “That’s between my center and the coach of the Sacramento Kings.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Geoff Petrie, Media, Keith Smart, Sean Elliott 

Kings coach Keith Smart has discussed the incident with Cousins. "Any little mark is gonna knock you all the way back down again," he said, remembering their conversation. "So you've got to stay one step ahead and be perfect, with everything that goes on. You've got to be a man now and accept what's happening. And then we've got to move on. But understand that everything you do until you are this person that we believe you can become, you have to do things perfect, because when you make mistakes they affect not just you but it affects our entire team. "So let's put this behind you, we've got the right people in place now to get you through all these things and we're looking forward to the polished person to eventually come out." ESPN.com

Sacramento Kings, DeMarcus Cousins, Keith Smart